Christian Era Research Articles

A plea for vengeance in Psalm 35: 1-3 and its reflections in Africa (Yoruba) indigenous churches

Psalm 35 is one of the most popular, widely read and used Psalm among the African indigenous churches (Yoruba) in Nigeria. This article investigates why and how Psalm 35 vv. 1-3 is used as a plea for vengeance among the Yoruba Christians in African indigenous churches in Nigeria. The article explores how the plea for vengeance is understood and expressed in the African traditional context. African biblical hermeneutics with the view of providing a useful lens to reread biblical text in African context was adopted for the study. It was discovered that as early as the 3rd-century Christian era, the book of Psalms was used in the liturgy of the church. The notion of vengeance as found in Psalm 35 vv. 1-3 is a recurrent theme in African indigenous churches in Nigeria. This Psalm is used among the Yoruba Christians in African indigenous churches as a plea for divine intervention against their enemies. Through a synthesis of biblical and traditional African sources, this article demonstrates how the plea for vengeance is expressed in the cultural practices and beliefs of African indigenous churches. The plea for vengeance in this Psalm is a reflection of African indigenous churches’ understanding of key social issues such as justice, relationships between individuals and groups, and the need to maintain social integrity. Psalm 35 is usually read, sung, memorised, inscribed on parchment, and chanted by African christians and non-christians as expression of faith in God to intervene in the issues confronting them as he did for the Psalmist.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The Yoruba Christian readers of Psalm 35vv. 1-3 appeal to God for intervention against their enemies. The article emphasises that Christians should not take laws into their hands but trust in God for justice.

Technical Progress and Endogenous Growth: An Econometric Analysis Using Panel Data on the MENA Region

From the dawn of the Christian era until the Industrial Revolution, the standard of living saw little to no change and remained relatively stable during this period. However, since the Industrial Revolution, living standards have experienced sustained growth up to the present day. The Solow model attributes this growth to technical progress, but where does this progress come from? To truly understand economic growth, we must therefore go beyond the Solow model and attempt to explain technical progress itself. The objective of this work is to identify and specify the factors that may explain technical progress (in other words, what causes growth in A (PGF)?). To this end, initially, we relied on a set of theoretical works ( (Romer, 1990; Lucas, 1988; Barro, 1990; Aghion, Blundell, Griffith, Howitt, & Prantl, 2009), among others) which led us to a set of recommendations. Therefore, in a second step, we proceed to an empirical analysis using panel data to test the significance of the impact of this set of recommendations on technical progress in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Our econometric results show that there is still much to be done in the MENA region to catch up with the United States, Sweeden, Switzerland, Japan, Germany or France: the establishment of a research and innovation system based on the needs of economic and social development, an increase in the budget allocated to research, massive investment by the private sector in universities, the strengthening and creation of institutions, etc.

From Choresmia to Cathay: A New Look at al-Bayrønð’s Chronology

al-Bayrūnī’s Chronology of Ancient Nations is a famous work on calendars and historical chronology, written in the year 1000 of the Christian era. The present paper is the first investigation of the complicated textual history of the Chronology and an attempt to construct a stemma codicum. The investigation leads to some unexpected discoveries, among them the only known complete list of the twelve names of the animal cycle in the language of the Kitan (Liao) people.

A Study of the Baiga Women's Tradition of Tattoos, Modernization of this Art and Situation of Tattoo Industry in India

The Polynesian term "Ta," which signifies hitting something, or the Tahitian word "tatau," according to some anthropologists, may be the source of the word "tattoo." It is "to mark something." Since before the start of the Christian era (CE), tattooing—a kind of bodily modification—has been ingrained in the cultures of many indigenous tribes worldwide. It is also demonstrated by anthropological evidence of various tattoo designs from various cultures that tattooing originated independently in many parts of the world. For various tribes across the nation, getting tattoos has always been an essential aspect of daily life. Tattoos are considered an essential component of the culture and history of the Baiga tribe's women. With the tribal people of Central India, tattooing, sometimes referred to locally as "Godna," is a common form of body art that has deep cultural significance. In this work, the importance of tattoo culture among the women of the Baiga tribe in central India is discussed and examined. This study aims to provide an overview of the Baiga tribe the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) of Central India. It also explains the tattooing process, from the development of the indelible ink to the tattoo artist's application of the ink into the skin's dermis layer. At present, this art has been modernized to a great extent and the tattoo industry has become a major identity all over the world. At the same time, it has spread to many states in India as well. There are immense possibilities of development in this field in the future.

Apokatastasis in Russian philosophical and theological thought

The doctrine of apocatastasis in the era of early Christianity was debatable, in the era of the Ecumenical Councils, the discussion ended with the decisions of the Fifth Ecumenical Council. In modern times, a religious and ideological need arose for a new understanding of Christian doctrine. The revival of the theory of apocatastasis has theological, philosophical and psychological prerequisites that arose at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. This article describes the understanding of the idea of apocatastasis in the Russian philosophical and theological thought of the twentieth century, analyzes the elements of the doctrine of apocatastasis in the works of V. V. Rozanov, N. A. Berdyaev, V. V. Zenkovsky, N. O. Lossky, A. E. Zhurakovsky, P. Florensky, P. N. Evdokimov, archpriest S. Bulgakov, L. A. Zander et al. According to the research, Orthodox philosophers of the twentieth century prepared important prerequisites for rethinking the idea of apocatastasis, but none of the thinkers gave a complete doctrine of universal salvation — neither the time nor the style of thought of Orthodox theology of that period contributed to this. The author has identified the most important prerequisites and components of building a theoretical basis for the hope of universal salvation in the Orthodox context, which provides the necessary material for finalizing the idea of apocatastasis in modern theology. The article introduces numerous Russian authors, classical writers and theologians, the vision of theologians of European thought and Christian saints.

Латинские раннесредневековые путеводители и описания Святой Земли

The article presents an overview of Latin early medieval characteristics and descriptions of Jerusalem and the Holy Land, written from the very first decades of the Christian era, – starting from the first third of the 4th century. This is a Latin version of the Onomasticon by Eusebius of Caesarea (ca 320 AD), created by Jerome the Blessed ca 388 AD. The so-called Bordeaux Itinerary dated to 333 is an independent author's description of a pilgrimage from Bordigala (Bordeaux) through Constantinople to Jerusalem and other places of Palestine and back – through Rome to Bordeaux. At the end of the 4th century a unique monument of Latin pilgrimage literature was created, the Peregrinatio to the Holy Places by Egeria, or Etheria, or Sylvia the Virgin, which not only lists but describes in detail the holy places of Palestine and the Middle East by a pious pilgrim lady. An example of early Byzantine Latin-language monuments of this kind may be On the Location of the Holy Land by Theodosius and Itinerarium by Antoninus of Placentia in the late 6th – early 7th century. Around 670 there appears the Narration of the Holy Places by the Gallic bishop Arculphus in the Records of Abbot Adamnan, who lived and died in Ireland at the beginning of the 9th century. The Tale of the Disasters in Jerusalem of the time of the Jerusalem patriarch George (796–806?) describes the beginning of the Arab conquest of Near East. These monuments developed the canon of pilgrimage descriptions, terminology, localization and identification of Biblical events with modern geo- and topography, and created the foundations of the genre in its various modifications.

Georgian Literature before the Weltliteratur

The history of Georgian writing starts much earlier than when Goethe introduced the term “Weltliteratur.” It starts from the era of Christianity from the 4th century. Due to the fast spread of Christianity in the Early Medieval period, Georgia was already included in the European net of Christian writing. All branches of Christian spiritual literature were presented. Georgian culture and literature naturally were developing in the frame of the Western European tradition. The period of the 11th-12th centuries was a Golden Era for Georgia, and the heyday of fame for Georgian culture and literature as well. Precisely during this period, “The Knight in the Panther’s Skin” was created by Shota Rustaveli. Apart from its aesthetic, philosophical, and worldview depth, it is a first text in Georgian literature as well as in European literature which reflects the clashing of two huge universes in Georgian culture—the West and the East. The Western principles are revealed in the Christian worldview of the text, in the way of thinking of the author and in its genre; however, the 12th century is already a period of strengthening of the influence of Eastern culture and literature in the European part of the Caucasus, and Rustaveli regards with obvious favor the Oriental poetic motifs. Unfortunately, at this stage of European literary history, Georgian literature was separated from the Western European literary process due to tragic political events. As for literature, it was a period of almost three centuries of silence. After the fall of Constantinople, Georgian literature had to move closer to the Eastern area as an historically offered alternative. From the 17th century, the process of the returning of Georgian political and cultural life back within the European frame had been started. Genuine Georgian writers were able to tie Georgian literature to the cultural models of European Classicism and the Enlightenment.

Образ Филострата в творчестве К.К. Вагинова: опыт деконструкции

The article examines the image of the ancient rhetorician Flavius Philostratus (II–III centuries) in the works of the St. Petersburg and Leningrad poet and writer Konstantin Konstantinovich Vaginov (1899–1934). Flavius Philostratus is a figure symbolizing the complex and contradictory transition from ancient culture to the Christian era. In Vaginov’s work, Philostratus also appears as a symbol of the passing Silver Age and the collapse of the ideals of creative youth. The purpose of the study is to show the hidden interpretative possibilities of the works of K.K. Vaginov, which relate to the general cultural context of the Silver Age and the ideas of its largest representatives: N.A. Berdyaev, P.A. Florensky, Vyach. Ivanov, F.F. Zelinsky, and authors from the inner circle of the writer. Some interpretive codes, which are implicitly present in the texts of Vaginov, allow the possibility of their hermeneutic interpretation followed by the deconstruction of the paralogical model of artistic reality of Vaginov’s works, as well as the deconstruction of the nomadically moving semantic center and hermetic artifact of this model: the image of Philostratus as a hypostatic and other-named character. The experience of deconstructing the paralogical model of artistic reality of Vaginov’s works and the “displaced” center of this model, the image of Philostratus, is justified by the methodological principle of complementarity, in which a formally absent element becomes conceptually significant in the interpretation, because it complements the entire system of meanings. In the works of K.K. Vaginov, such formally absent elements in the structure of other-named-hypostatic images-doubles of Philostratus are unnamed Dionysus, Apollo of Hyperborean, and Pythagoras.

Spiritual origin of national patriotic education in the military chaplaincy system

The article examines the role of military chaplaincy in the formation of national-patriotic education of the Ukrainian army. The relevance and novelty of the research lies in determining the essence of Ukrainian military patriotism’s spiritual foundations, which is formed on the archetypes of "clan", "Father", "Mother", "Family". Historically, "Father" embodies power, dominion not only over the body, but also over the soul, he brings conscience and moral grounds for subordination in the entire military family, based on the principles of fraternity. The archetype of "Mother" was formed from ancient Slavic ideas about Berehynia, in the Christian era it receives a new incarnation in the image of the Mother of God as the heavenly protector of the entire human race.
 One of a woman-mother archetype’s varieties in Ukrainian spiritual culture is Mother Nature, which transforms into the archetype of Mother Earth, which in turn is transferred to the paradigm of the native land - "Nenka-Ukraina", creating the archetype of the Motherland. The lack of desire to conquer others and the desire to preserve one's original, native, defines the essence of the Ukrainian army’s patriotism. It has been established that the Orthodox tradition of military chaplaincy is based on the spiritual union of Cossacks and monasticism during the liberation struggle. Later, the formation of the Ukrainian military clergy was closely connected with the Greek Catholic Church, which at that time had the greatest experience in moral and spiritual support of the Ukrainian national liberation struggle participants in the western Ukrainian lands. The dangers of the destructive influence of pro-Russian denominations’ priests on the moral and psychological state of military personnel are analyzed. It was noted that the armed aggression against Ukraine led to the intensified use of the church and the clergy’s potential for consolidation of the population and strengthening of patriotic feelings in servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as to expose and isolate pro-Russian religious communities. On the basis of the positive experience of the leading world’s countries, an own system of professional training and education of personnel was created, which was based on defining principles: national dignity, patriotism, Christian morality, fidelity to the oath, fidelity to military duty.

AN ELUCIDATION OF THE POSITION OF WOMEN BEFORE THE ADVENT OF ISLAM AS DESCRIBED IN THE GLORIOUS QUR’AN

Before the advent of Islam, the position of women varied widely across different regions and cultures. It is important to note that the following information provides a general overview and may not apply uniformly to all societies of that time. Pre-Islamic Arabia: In pre-Islamic Arabia, women's status varied greatly depending on tribal customs and traditions. Some tribes practiced female infanticide, considering daughters a burden, while others valued women as members of the community. Women were often married off at a young age and had limited rights in matters of inheritance, divorce, and property ownership. Polygamy was prevalent, and women were sometimes treated as objects of trade. The position of women in pre-Islamic Arabia was varied, depending on their social status and tribal affiliation. However, in general, women had few rights and were often treated as second-class citizens. They were not allowed to own property, inherit, or testify in court. They could be married off without their consent, and they could be divorced by their husbands at will. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to expose these issues in details. Also, the paper explains the status of women in Roman period, in Jews period and in the Christian era. The method used in conducting this research is analytical method.

Yunan Topluluklarının Müzikal Kimliklerinin Oluşumunda Etkili Olan Dönemler

Effective Periods in the Formation of the Musical Identity of Greek Communities 
 
 Abstract
 Anatolia, which has hosted many civilizations, still hosts traditions, cultures, and music, even though centuries have passed. It is an inevitable result that cultures that have lived in the same region for many years have left their traces and that other societies have followed and adopted those traces. The clarity of the results encountered when it comes to the question of how interactions at common points and their origins are adopted is not fully clarified. Important points in history need to be known to better understand how cross-cultural interaction connects to essential points, how it becomes a critical part of their lives, and how it influences traditions and music. In this study, the Anatolian influence on the formation of Greek music will be examined using periodic approaches. One of the qualitative research methods is the survey model study. Document analysis methods through source study were used. As a research type, it is descriptive historical research. By the set objective, "Music of Ancient Greek and Hellenistic Era", "Music of Roman Era", "Music of Byzantine and Christian Era", "Music of Ottoman Empire" and " Music of Modern Greek Era" were set as sub-objectives.
 
 Keywords: Music, Anatolia, Greek, Byzantine, Ottoman

New discoveries of ancient iron smelting sites in Kalimantan

In the past five years, our archaeological research has uncovered evidence of iron making in the Meratus mountains, located upstream of the Barito watershed on the east coast of Kalimantan (Indonesian side of Borneo Island), as well as the Lamandau watershed in southwestern Kalimantan. At these iron industry sites, we discovered slags, ore fragments, tuyere, charcoal, and smelting furnaces. These discoveries provide new insights to address the debates among experts about the emergence and development of iron metal technology in Kalimantan/Borneo Island. Radiocarbon dating conducted at the Cililin 1 Cave site in the Meratus Mountains indicates that the earliest iron ore smelting occurred during the early Christian era (2000–1700 BP). Our excavations also confirm that this ferrous metal technology spread and was practiced towards the east coast and watersheds by the end of the 19th century. The excavated smelting furnaces suggest that direct smelting (bloomery) techniques were used to produce raw iron, based on the furnace shape, charcoal dates, and type of iron slag found. The shape and size of the smelting furnaces in Kalimantan remain consistent from the oldest to the most recent sites. This similarity suggests that there was little technological advancement in iron-making in Kalimantan/Borneo Island between the early AD period and the end of the 19th century. This finding supports the theory that iron technology possibly emerged and developed in Kalimantan several centuries BC.

TWO LEAVES WITH THE OLD TESTAMENT SCENES IN THE CONTEXT OF CURRENT STUDIES OF MODELS AND COPYING PROCESSES IN RHENO-MOSAN ART OF THE 12th CENTURY

Th e Library of the University of Liege (Université de Liège. Biblio-thèque, Ms. 2613) and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London (Victoria and Albert Museum, Ms. 413) have two leaves created c. 1150–1170 and produced in the Meuse region. Although the question of the purpose of the leaves is under discussion, these two oeuvres of Romanesque book illumination have not yet received special scholarly attention. Th e leaves have a similar layout: each side contains two compositions based on stories from the Book of Genesis, and there are no inscriptions or biblical quotations. Th e Old Testament episodes included in the pictorial program of the leaves do not form a consistent narrative cycle. Th us, the scenes of the sacrifi ce by Cain and Abel and the murder of Abel by Cain in the leaf from the Victoria and Albert Museum are followed by an episode of the meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek. Th e leaf from Liège begins with the scene of the sacrifi ce of Isaac. Th e cycle does not contain a number of scenes with a fairly consistent iconographic tradition (for example, the story of Noah). Such narrative heterogeneity can be interpreted through the prism of the purpose of the pictorial series. Th e Sacrifi ce of Abel, the Gift s of Melchizedek and the Sacrifi ce of Isaac by Abraham are mentioned in the Eucharistic Canon of the Sacramentary of Pope Gelasius I and have been used in iconographic programs since the era of early Christianity as the main liturgical prototypes. Th e back of the leaf from the Library of the University of Liege contains another subject which alludes to the typological parallelism of the Testaments – the Blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh by Jacob. Th e designated subjects can be found in a number of contemporaneous works of decorative and applied arts and book miniatures of the Rhine-Meuse region, which are compiled on the basis of typological logic in the arrangement of stories. Th e selection of stories, as well as the stylistic and iconographic analy-sis of the range of oeuvres with typological iconography, suggests that the leaves could have been fragments of a model book and probably served as models in the process of the spreading of the compositional and iconographic techniques which were characteristic of the Rhine-Meuse region.

PALLAVA ELEMENTS IN SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIAN ART – VISUAL APPRAISAL

It is a known fact that contact between the Tamil country and Southeast Asia, including Śrī Laṅkā and China was a long-established tradition. References to the yavanas in Tamil Caṅkam literature and the notes supplied by Greek, Roman, and Egyptian classical authors would establish the fact that commercial intercourse between the east and west was an immemorial process 1, datable to at least a few centuries earlier than the Christian era 2. However, it was under the Pallavas and Cōḻas that the arts of the country made a daring intrusion into the distant lands 3. In this process of sharing artistic idioms from the subcontinent, the Āndhras of the Amarāvati School, the Guptas, and the Pālas of Beṅgal played a vital role. The Pallava link with the Malaya peninsula was blood-based because a collateral branch of the family is said to have ruled the distant land under Hiranyavarmaṉ whose son Nandivarmaṉ Pallavamalla (731-96 CE) became the ruler of Kāñci when there was no direct male heir to occupy the throne after the premature death of Parameśvaravarmaṉ II (Minakshi (1941), Subramaniam (1967) 80-94).

NARRATIVE STRATEGY AND THEATRICAL CREATIVITY IN PAK NASIR'S SITA MARRIAGE CONTEST

Shadow puppets are very popular in Southeast Asia. The foreign culture that is present in this area has a strong enough influence on the growth and existence of local culture. Stories were brought and spread by the Indians at the beginning of the Christian era as material developed through their local intelligence. Two geographical areas that are unique in Malay culture are important and deserve attention, namely Malaysia and Thailand. Kelantan Malay shadow puppets cannot be separated from the influences inherent in them, namely Java and Thailand. The plays that are shown revolve around Rama's struggle to get Sita, who is assisted by his younger brother, Laksmana. Nasir's play Sita's Mariage Contest deserves to be appointed as an object of study on the grounds that the mythical and magical content is very strong and Malay local wisdom is in contact with Javanese and Pattani localities in Thailand. The data is downloaded from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= DbA53E3M0Zw. To examine the data, a qualitative descriptive method is needed, as well as a theoretical framework of narrative strategies, namely sanggit play and work on pakliran. The results of the study show that sanggit play, which is the power of knowledge of the dalang, is packed with mythical and magical content and combines genealogy, tradition, and local conventions of Malay (Malaysia), Javanese (Indonesian), and Pattani (Thailand) armed with the power of imagination, intuition, sensitivity, intellectuality, and mastery of cultural codes. The work on pakliran combines ethics and aesthetics that describe local wisdom with the implementation of acculturation and adaptation as a Malay cultural identity.

God in dialogue with His creation

Christian faith, theology and natural sciences are brought into conversation with each other to analyse different aspects of the dialogue between God and his creation. The methodological approach consists of bringing research results from theology and the natural sciences documented in current publications as well as philosophical considerations into a dialogue with the Christian faith. Furthermore, the chronological development is given special attention. Both philosophical considerations and physical observations show that this universe was created by a transcendent intelligent supreme being, the Christian God, and that it is very important for this supreme being to communicate with the intelligent living beings in this universe. God entered and continues to enter into an ever more intense and intimate dialogue with his creation in various ways, both in Earth history and evolution, and in the history of the people of Israel, as well as today in the Christian era. To remove all possible barriers and obstacles to dialogue, God himself became man in Jesus Christ. The incarnation of Jesus Christ is the culmination of the dialogue between God and his creation. The incarnation and resurrection of Jesus Christ had a very great impact on the triune God. God gives himself so much to the dialogue with his creation that he takes into his innermost being the human body of Jesus Christ, which is a part of his creation marked by time. At the end of time, all human beings who have chosen God will live eternally with each other and with the triune God in comprehensive and fulfilling communion. This all-encompassing and all-fulfilling dialogue of love will originate from the triune God and will fill and glorify the whole of creation. The article shows that dialogue is central to understanding the relationship between God and his creation. The intra-Trinitarian dialogue of love between the three persons of God is the starting point, model and goal of both creation and God's dialogue with his creation. Contribution: The synthesis of Christian faith, theology and natural sciences makes it possible to see more clearly how much God is in dialogue with his creation. This can help us to recognise more deeply God's love for his creation and especially for us humans, and to act from this insight.

The convent of San Esteban de Salamanca in the 14th century. Chronological details, devotional, and funeral topography

In this article we detail the patronage of the Limógenes and Godínez families in the works of the church, cloister, and fence of the San Esteban de Salamanca convent during the first third of the 14th century. The dating that we present explicitly corrects the wrong interpretation of the dates of the different documents, which for centuries were confused by historiography when calculating between the Hispanic era and the Christian era, compromising the known data of the previous temple to the current one. Likewise, we reconstruct the devotional topography of the old Dominican church from the family pantheon promoted by the lineages.

Chinese traditional formula Kaixin San suppressed ferroptosis of hippocampal neurons and cardiomyocytes in mice with paradoxical sleep deprivation

Kaixin San (KXS) is one of the most famous traditional Chinese formulas prescribed by Sun Simiao in 652 Christian era. It is composed of Panax ginseng C.A.Mey, Polygala tenuifolia, Poria cocos and Acorus calamus var. angustatus Besser. KXS is widely used for the treatment of emotion-thought disease, such as settling fright, quieting the spirit and nourishing the heart. However, whether KXS benefits hippocampal neurons and myocardial cells of mice impaired by paradoxical sleep deprivation (PSD) and its mechanism remains unclear. This study was aimed to investigate the effect of KXS on hippocampal neuron and cardiac ferroptosis in rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep deprived mice and clarify its potential mechanism. PSD was induced by a modified multi-platform method. Morris water maze (MWM) was used to detect the ability of learning and memory. Cardiac morphological changes were assessed by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining. Heart rate was detected by a PowerLab multichannel physiological recorder. Serum levels of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were measured with biochemical kits. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), immunofluorescent, and Western blotting analysis were used to observe the process and pathway of ferrotosis in hippocampus tissue and heart tissue of PSD mice. KXS administration improved the impaired learning and memory of PSD mice. It prevented the damage of mitochondria in the hippocampus and heart of PSD mice. KXS also alleviated the myocardial injury, such as morphological damage, abnormal heart rate, serum ANP, and serum LDH induced by PSD. Further study disclosed that KXS reversed the expressions of proteins involved in ferroptosis such as TFRC, SLC7A11/xCT, GPX-4, ACSL4, and FTH1 in hippocampus and heart tissues. KXS improved learning and memory of mice with REM sleep deprivation, which was closely associated with suppressed ferroptosis in hippocampal neurons and myocardiocytes.

Waiting for the End: Two Case Studies on the Relationship Between Time and Gender in Early Christianity

Abstract The present article attempts to discuss the relationship between time and gender in the Acta Pauli et Theclae and the Passio Perpetuae et Felicitatis. By analyzing both the temporal perception in the narrative and the construction of time through a series of narratological devices, I will focus on how specific notions of time that emerged in the early centuries of the Christian era proved to be a key factor in shaping women’s agency. Building on this evidence, I aim to identify a set of key features that may define the relationship between eschatology and the role of women in early Christianity. The figures of Thecla, Perpetua and Felicitas will be analyzed as highly representative case studies of gendered temporality.

“Quella importanza di materia”: Women and saints in Francesco Pona’s Galeria delle Donne Celebri Magdalena Maria Kubas

In his Galeria delle Donne Celebri, a collection of twelve short stories about famous female figures, Francesco Pona “depicts” four lascivious women and four chaste women from classical antiquity, and four saints from the early and medieval Christian era. Pona, a writer and medical doctor, rationally studied the Other, that is, women; his narrator in Galeria analyzes the characters’ bodies and behaviours, but almost never their psychology. In this essay, I examine the “portraits” of saints in Pona’s Galeria (Magdalene, Barbara, Monica, and Elisabeth of Hungary) and the observation of otherness by a collector who studied both the natural and miraculous aspects of female sanctity. As interest in the ancient and medieval saints was typical of the period following the Council of Trent, I investigate Pona’s short stories within the framework of the decree on saints and relics issued in 1563. I also consider the misogynistic controversy that took place in Italy between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, as well as Pona’s treatise Della Eccellenza et Perfettione ammirabile della Donna.