Sainte-Baume

And from this-- it's from this standpoint that we might appreciate the marvel of her encounter with angels.

This is also where Saint Baume gets it wrong.

[laughs] Um, this is an image of inside the cave church where Mary Magdalene is depicted as being supported by angels.

Um, this too is not contested across all four gospel accounts.

Angels met Mary Magdalene at the tomb.

In the tradition of the medieval church, the attendance of angels became primarily associated with their care of her, like a kind of Elijah in the cave of Saint Baume, France, bringing her food and water as she finished out her days as a hermit.

But this hagiographical story should not distract us from the biblical witness that angels not only revealed themselves to Mary Magdalene, but they spoke to her.

Across the gospel accounts, they recognized her grief, they calmed her fears, and they pointed her in the right direction.

Since, you know, Merovingians really, you know, not a big deal.

you know uh so just early medieval kings in france that didn't seem particularly you know enlightened in any way so um so this is this part of the story right so and then even in the catholic tradition there are two versions of mary magdalene being important so one is a tradition in southern France, in Provence, Saint-Baume, when lots of pilgrims, Catholic but also New Age pilgrims and people who are really reading Margaret Starbuck's book and so on, go to France to worship Mary Magdalene in May.

And the story is such that The story that Mary Magdalene repeats, but also there's a golden legend from early 13th century or mid 13th century.

And I have a name here that was written down by Jacobus de Voragine, who was a Dominican friar.