This model makes the distinction between the analytical use of comparison (i.e., comparison oriented around similar kinds of individuals/groups at a particular period of time) and the illustrative use of comparison (i.e., comparison oriented around a broader idea, concept, or model that transcends specific groups or a particular time period). The team’s comparative study of Jewish and Christian magical traditions will draw upon the work of historian Victoria Bonnell (1980) and its application for the study of late antiquity by David Frankfurter (2012). For instance, how do the material properties or the format of the object contribute to its overall function and meaning? How do both words and images engage local and global traditions?įinally, the project will engage with theoretical work on comparison and classification. Carrying a papyrus with a psalm inscribed on it to church, for instance, might have meant one thing however, that same object probably served a totally different function when the carrier was sick or afraid of demonic attack.Īlthough one of the project’s areas focuses specifically on the various ways early Jews and Christians approached the intersection of words, images, and materials in their ritual practices, all team members will attend to the interaction of these features to a degree. Team members will take into consideration the material and textual properties of the object in order to help identify its primary function (especially in terms of its created purpose).Īre there holes on the object (which might suggest that it was worn as an amulet)? Does the shape and character of the artifact – as well as its texts, symbols, or images – resemble other objects with known magical functions? It should be noted that this project operates from the general assumption that objects could serve multiple functions for their users, even for a single user. Indeed, it is not always clear, for instance, if a small biblical artifact was primarily meant to be used as an amulet or was primarily designed for another purpose (e.g., a memory aid). For instance, team members will draw on the insights of recent scholarship on how to identify the amuletic or magical function of an object. This methodological area involves several dimensions. The methodology is oriented around a series of questions and problems, which fall into three basic areas.įirst, we will focus on both text and artifact. The project’s synthetic methodology, which draws from various disciplines, including religious studies, sociology, and art history, further unites the scholarly endeavors of the individual team members. to provide new readings of patristic, rabbinic, and legal texts, which describe or complain about Christians and Jews participating in illicit rituals.to reconfigure the ways historians of antiquity approach key terms in the field, especially Judaism, Christianity, magic, syncretism, and communal boundaries.to offer unique insight into the dynamics of religious assimilation, cooperation, and differentiation in late antique lived religion.to synthesize insights from ancient magical studies, comparative history and religion, art history, and sociology in order to illuminate the local and global features of early Jewish and Christian magical objects and to assess their implications for the study of early Jewish-Christian relations.Team members will analyze these shared practices, with particular attention to the four primary objectives of the project: All such magical materials will be further illuminated through close readings of late antique patristic, monastic, rabbinic, and legal writings that describe or complain about illicit ritual activity. Team members will also make use of related material objects, such as the Greek Magical Papyri, the Jewish Palestinian Aramaic amulets, and the Mandaic incantation bowls, as well as magical literary texts, including the Book of the Mysteries and selected passages from the Babylonian Talmud. These objects date from approximately the 3rd through the 8th centuries CE and come mainly from Egypt and Mesopotamia (though the armbands and gems have a broader geographical distribution). The principal material artifacts for this project are the Christian Greek and Coptic amulets (including gems and metal armbands) and the Christian handbooks as well as the Jewish Babylonian Aramaic and Syriac incantation bowls. Used with permission.ĮJCM focuses on these extant magical objects – and the social historical questions they engender – as sites for thinking about early Jewish-Christian relations and ancient magic, more generally. Credits: Professor Matthew Morgenstern and the Schøyen Collection.
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