The life of the Virgin
By: Maximus the Confessor ; [translated by] Stephen J. Shoemaker
Contributors: Shoemaker, Stephen J., 1968-
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 2012
Place of publication: New Haven
Language: eng
Number of pages: 215
ISBN-13: 9780300175042
Subjects: Early works to 1800
Work titles: Life of the Virgin
Description: "Long overlooked by scholars, this seventh-century Life of the Virgin, attributed to Maximus the Confessor, is the earliest complete Marian biography. Originally written in Greek and now surviving only in Old Georgian, it is here translated for the first time into English. It is a work that holds profound significance for understanding the history of late ancient and medieval Christianity, providing a rich source for understanding the history of Christian piety. This Life is especially remarkable for its representation of Mary's prominent involvement in her son's ministry and her leadership of the early Christian community. In particular, it reveals highly developed devotion to Mary's compassionate suffering at the Crucifixion, anticipating by several centuries an influential medieval style of devotion known as 'affective piety' whose origins generally have been confined to the Western High Middle Ages."--Jacket.