Two things distress me about knowing the Basilica of St. Mary Magdalene in Vézelay, France was one of the top pilgrimages of the Middle Ages.

First, I know that it has been referred to as the fourth most popular pilgrimage destination in medieval Europe, by Margaret Starbird, I think, and I’ve been unable to locate data to substantiate that number. It’s not that I doubt Margaret on this particular point, but I’d like to be able to refer readers to the source of this statistic, and I’m curious about it myself.

Second, it troubles me that I’m unable to find any information about badges that may have been available to pilgrims who traveled to Vézelay. Knowing that pilgrim badges were commonly made available at holy site destinations causes me to think that Vézelay may have had its own symbol for pilgrims who made the trip. I’ve not found any information about badges specific to that location though, much to my frustration. I’m certain that there is information out there, somewhere, I just haven’t managed to find it yet. It will take more serious digging than I’ve devoted to it to date.

Having said that, however, I did still manage to find one interesting story about “souvenirs” of sorts that were given away by Bernard of Clairvaux at the Basilica of St. Mary Magdalene. I wrote a brief article about it for EzineArticles.com:

During the middle ages, pilgrimages to holy sites of Christendom was a common activity. Hundreds of thousands of people traveled long distances to visit a particular site, maybe because of their devotion to a saint, maybe because they felt it would bring them closer to God, and sometimes because they were ordered to do so in order to make penance for sins. It wasn’t unusual for pilgrims to travel hundreds, even thousands of miles, to complete a pilgrimage. In the days before most people had transportation, it was on one’s own feet that the journey was made (and in the cases of some particularly pious individuals, on their knees).

Because making such a journey was an incredibly difficult undertaking, pilgrims often sought emblems to symbolize their journey. On the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, the route most popularly followed to Santiago de Compostela, the scallop shell became the symbol for the pilgrimage. Pilgrims engaged in this journey wore scallop shells on their clothing or their walking sticks in order to identify one another and themselves to those who were friendly and supportive of pilgrims. Often the scallop badge meant the difference between a meal and a place to sleep and a night spent outdoors. It has been said that the badge protected pilgrims also, given that superstitious bandits were hesitant to attack those on a journey for God.

At many pilgrimage sites, pilgrims were able to purchase badges made to symbolize their journey. These were the earliest and most popular tourist souvenirs. Often they were made of inexpensive metals so even the poorest among pilgrims could afford to buy one. The practice of making pilgrim badges available at holy destinations was commonplace, and many varieties have survived.

By far the most popular pilgrimage site of the middle ages was Santiago de Compostela in modern-day Spain, which is devoted to St. James. But one of the top five destinations was one devoted to St. Mary Magdalene – the basilica at Vézelay, France. We know now that pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela wore a scallop shell, but what about pilgrims to the Basilica of St. Mary Magdalene? What pilgrim badges were available to them? What was their symbol?

It is unfortunate that very little is known by way of an answer to this question, but there is one intriguing story that survives to shed some light on badges given out at Vézelay.

It happens that the Second Crusade was launched from the Basilica of St. Mary Magdalene in Vézelay, France. The County of Edessa, a Crusader state set up in the Holy Land during the First Crusade had fallen, and Bernard of Clairvaux preached the crusade far and wide at the behest of the Pope. When it came time to kick the crusade off, the site at Vézelay, France was chosen as the location. A parliament was held, attended by kings, princes and lords (and the notorious Eleanor of Aquitaine), during which Bernard handed out wooden crosses to those who pledged themselves to the crusade. One after another the aristocracy prostrated themselves before Bernard and accepted this emblem of the crusade – so many, in fact, that he ran out of the crosses that he had prepared in advance of the event.

The wooden crosses of Bernard of Clairvaux thus became the most popularly remembered badge of the Basilica of St. Mary Magdalene at Vézelay, France.

To learn more about pilgrim badges, please visit BadgeBadge.com.

Lesa Bellevie is the founder of Magdalene.org and the author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Mary Magdalene. She has contributed to several books about Mary Magdalene and maintains a Mary Magdalene blog called The Magdalene Review. In addition to her Mary Magdalene work, Lesa researches and writes about many non-Mary Magdalene topics ranging from technical to domestic. In her spare time she enjoys watching classic movies, cooking, and visiting art museums and galleries.

You can learn more about Mary Magdalene at her site, Magdalene.org.

That’s at least something!

Collectible Mary Magdalene doll

I’m really not sure how to approach this one.  It’s a doll, a la Barbie.  It’s collectible, which means it’s expensive.  The outfit is interesting, purple and red, with a little jar on a chain.  Her hair is long, auburn, and wavy, much like a Pre-Raphaelite Magdalene.  And really, that’s about all there is to her.

On one hand I’m fascinated because I find it amazing the many places Mary Magdalene is showing up in our commercial culture.  Given the price, this is obviously not a doll meant for children.  Perhaps doll collectors are on board for something like this?  Would someone devoted to Mary Magdalene buy it though?  Is it something that would go on a devotional shelf?  I can’t really imagine having a Barbie-like doll anywhere near my spiritual life, but maybe that would be meaningful for some people.

Regardless, I had to share.

Mary Magdalene puppet

On another note, I do rather like the Mary Magdalene puppet.  It appears intended for children, and seems like it would be useful in storytelling and play.  Plus there are other puppets of Bible characters that can be purchased to go along with it.

Yes, it’s true.  It’s a brave new world we’re living in, and although I hadn’t thought about it before today, it makes sense that Mary Magdalene movies would be among those being released for mobile phone platforms.  I found a site today called AndroidZoom that is selling The Secrets of Mary Magdalene, the documentary made by Dan Burstein in association with the book of the same title, for Android.  It’s $5.98.

The Secrets of Mary Magdalene at AndroidZoom

If you have an Android, you might want to get some MM on there!

“Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus, were his plural wives, and Mary Magdalene was another.”
(Brigham Young’s 19th wife, on Young’s belief that Jesus was married)

There is quite a tradition within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day saints that not only was Jesus married, but he was married to multiple wives.  When I think about this, it brings to mind the scenes from The Last Temptation of Christ, in which Jesus walks to town with his wives, Mary and Martha of Bethany, with whom he has a small brood of children after the death of his first wife, Mary Magdalene.  It’s not really a new idea if the Mormon church has been nurturing such ideas since the 19th century at least.

Today the subject of polygamy within the Mormon church is controversial, to say the least.  While it’s clearly part of the church’s past, it seems that the church as an organization wants to move past that legacy.  There are some within the faith, however, who recognize the practice as part of their spiritual heritage, and they continue to practice plural marriage (in this world, not the next) to this day.

I came across a blog post about this the other day.  In a Mormon Coffee post called “Sister Wives,” blogger Sharon Lindbloom discusses an upcoming TLC reality show about a modern Mormon family with one husband, four wives, and thirteen children.  Lindbloom points toward some fascinating passages from a book called Jesus Was Married, by Anne Wilde (and her husband), including this one which quotes Orson Pratt, an early leader of the church:

“One thing is certain, that there were several holy women that greatly loved Jesus — such as Mary, and Martha her sister, and Mary Magdalene; and Jesus greatly loved them, and associated with them much; and when He arose from the dead, instead of showing Himself to His chosen witnesses, the Apostles, He appeared first to these women, or at least to one of them — namely, Mary Magdalene. Now it would be natural for a husband in the resurrection to appear first to his own dear wives, and afterwards show himself to his other friends. If all the acts of Jesus were written, we no doubt should learn that these beloved women were His wives.” (Orson Pratt, The Seer, p. 159)

It looks like the book may be hard to find, but it seems like an interesting read.  Maybe a trip to the university library is in order.  In the meantime, I wanted to point out another interesting book about Mormonism, Jesus, marriage, and Mary Magdalene:  Dynasty of the Holy Grail: Mormanism’s Sacred Bloodline, by Vern G. Swanson.  I’m still reading through it, but it doesn’t appear nearly as sensational as the title.  It contains some fantastic resources on the subject.

If any readers happen to see an episode of Sister Wives, I would love to hear whether Mary Magdalene’s name is dropped anywhere!

Maybe you’ve found yourself in a moment of silence, pondering Mary Magdalene, when all of a sudden a thought occurs to you: “I wonder how to say ‘Saint Mary Magdalene’ in other languages?”

Well, you’re in luck.  I just happened to be asking myself that same question today (and several other days, in fact), so I decided to do something about it.   Read the rest of this entry »

His Popeness, Benedict XVI, has decided in all of his wisdom to refrain from mentioning Mary Magdalene and Martha in a children’s book he published earlier this year called “The Friends of Jesus.” And it’s not because he only wanted to included the canonical 12 disciples; no, he also mentioned Matthais (who replaced Judas after he committed suicide), and –get this– PAUL, who never even met Jesus.

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Long gone are the days when Magdalene.org was #1 on Google, but that’s okay. There are some great resources at the top of the heap these days, so I thought it was worth a post to talk a little bit about them. Here are the top 3, in order, as displayed on Google…

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So you say you’ve never heard of Lolita fashion? Wikipedia to the rescue!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolita_fashion

Now that the definition is out of the way, I can share my discovery: a brand of Lolita clothing called Mary Magdalene.

http://www.marymagdalene.jp/

(The site is in Japanese, but the images still load…)

I’m filled with wonder!

What!? You don’t see the resemblance?

Yesterday my son and I sat in the children’s literature section of the UW library, randomly picking up books and giving them a read. I came across several copies of Robert Browning’s “The Pied Piper of Hamelin,” and decided to read it. Much to my surprise, the date Browning gave for the Pied Piper’s “abduction” of the town’s children was July 22nd (the feast day of Saint Mary Magdalene).

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