Synopsis
These are the preliminary stages of a synopsis, i.e. a parallel comparison of several medieval versions and translations of the Life of St. Mary of Egypt — from the original 7th century Greek legend attributed to Sophronios, to its numerous Latin translations and abridgements from the 7th to the 14th century, to a number of vernacular versions (cf. the list below under Sources). Many of these texts are accompanied by modern translations.This whole project is very much work in progress. For the foreseeable future, the synopsis will remain restricted to one section of the legend's plot: The feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross comes; Mary of Egypt joins others to go to the church, tries to enter, but some divine force holds her back; she sees the icon of the Mother of God above where she is standing.
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Texts & Sources
Under sources, all the sources used for the synopsis are also available as separate texts. These are:Greek
Latin- Prose translations
- Poetic versions
- Flodoard (10th c.) - Latin // English translation
- Hildebert (1133) - Latin // English translation
- Prose abbreviations
- De Transitu Mariae Aegyptiace (in: Ælfric, Lives of Saints, 996/997) - Anglo-Saxon // two English translations
- Buchedd Mair O'r Aifft (mid 13th c.) - Welsh // English translation
- Märterbuch (~1320) - German
- Cavalca: Vite dei Santi Padri (~1320-1342) - Italian
- Maria Saga Egipzku - two Old Norse translations from the 14th and 15th century
- Bdinski Zbornik (1360) - Old Church Slavonic
- Der Heiligen Leben (~1400) - German