Editing Mary Magdalene (section)

==Legacy==

===Patristic era===
[[File:Dura Europos baptistry women at the tomb.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|This fresco from the [[nave]] of the [[Dura-Europos church]] dates to {{circa|240}}{{sfn|Haskins|2005|page=59}} and contains the oldest surviving depiction of Mary Magdalene.{{sfn|Haskins|2005|pages=58–59}} She is shown alongside two other women (the third now almost completely missing due to extensive damage),{{sfn|Haskins|2005|page=59}} each holding a lit torch and a bowl of [[myrrh]], as they approach [[Tomb of Jesus|Jesus's tomb]], which is still sealed.{{sfn|Haskins|2005|pages=58–61}}]]

Most of the earliest [[Church Fathers]] do not mention Mary Magdalene,{{sfn|Schaberg|2004|page=86}}{{sfn|Ehrman|2006|page=185}}{{sfn|Haskins|2005|page=90}} and those who do mention her usually only discuss her very briefly.{{sfn|Schaberg|2004|page=86}}{{sfn|Ehrman|2006|page=185}}{{sfn|Haskins|2005|page=90}} In his anti-Christian polemic ''[[The True Word]]'', written between 170 and 180, the pagan philosopher [[Celsus]] declared that Mary Magdalene was nothing more than "a hysterical female... who either dreamt in a certain state of mind and through wishful thinking had a hallucination due to some mistaken notion (an experience which has happened to thousands), or, which is more likely, wanted to impress others by telling this fantastic tale, and so by this cock-and-bull story to provide a chance for other beggars".{{sfn|Schaberg|2004|pages=84–85}} The Church Father [[Origen]] ({{circa}} 184 – {{circa}} 253) defended Christianity against this accusation in his apologetic treatise ''[[Against Celsus]]'', mentioning {{bibleverse||Matthew|28:1|9}}, which lists Mary Magdalene and "the other Mary" both seeing the resurrected Jesus, thus providing a second witness.{{sfn|Schaberg|2004|page=85}} Origen also preserves a statement from Celsus that some Christians in his day followed the teachings of a woman named "Mariamme", who is almost certainly Mary Magdalene.{{sfn|Schaberg|2004|page=87}}{{sfn|Ehrman|2006|page=256}} Origen merely dismisses this, remarking that Celsus "pours on us a heap of names".{{sfn|Schaberg|2004|page=87}}

A sermon attributed to [[Hippolytus of Rome]] ({{circa}} 170 – 235) refers to Mary of Bethany and her sister [[Martha]] seeking Jesus in the garden like Mary Magdalene in {{bibleverse||John|20|9}}, indicating a conflation between Mary of Bethany and Mary Magdalene.{{sfn|Schaberg|2004|pages=85–86}} The sermon describes the conflated woman as a "second [[Eve]]" who compensates for the disobedience of the first Eve through her obedience.{{sfn|Schaberg|2004|page=86}}{{sfn|Haskins|2005|page=90}} The sermon also explicitly identifies Mary Magdalene and the other women as "apostles".{{sfn|Ehrman|2006|page=253}}{{sfn|Bock|2004|pages=143–144}} The first clear identification of Mary Magdalene as a redeemed sinner comes from [[Ephrem the Syrian]] ({{circa}} 306 – 373).{{sfn|Hooper|2005|p=81}}{{sfn|Althaus-Reid|2009|p=86}} Part of the reason for the identification of Mary Magdalene as a sinner may derive from the reputation of her birthplace, Magdala,{{sfn|Haskins|2005|page=15}} which, by the late first century, was infamous for its inhabitants' alleged vice and licentiousness.{{sfn|Haskins|2005|page=15}}

In one of his preserved sayings, [[Gregory of Nyssa]] ({{circa}} 330 – 395) identifies Mary Magdalene as "the first witness to the resurrection, that she might set straight again by her faith in the resurrection, what was turned over in her transgression".{{sfn|Schaberg|2004|pages=86–87}} [[Ambrose]] ({{circa}} 340 – 397), by contrast, not only rejected the conflation of Mary Magdalene, Mary of Bethany, and the anointing sinner,{{sfn|Maisch|1998|page=44}} but even proposed that the authentic Mary Magdalene was, in fact, two separate people:{{sfn|Maisch|1998|page=44}}{{sfn|Haskins|2005|page=93}} one woman named Mary Magdalene who discovered the empty tomb and a different Mary Magdalene who saw the risen Christ.{{sfn|Maisch|1998|page=44}} [[Augustine of Hippo]] (354–430) entertained the possibility that Mary of Bethany and the unnamed sinner from Luke might be the same person,{{sfn|Haskins|2005|pages=93–94}} but did not associate Mary Magdalene with either of them.{{sfn|Haskins|2005|page=94}} Instead, Augustine praised Mary Magdalene as "unquestionably... surpassingly more ardent in her love than these other women who had administered to the Lord".{{sfn|Haskins|2005|page=94}}

===Portrayal as a prostitute===
The portrayal of Mary Magdalene as a [[prostitute]] began in 591, when [[Pope Gregory I]] identified Mary Magdalene, who was introduced in Luke 8:2, with [[Mary of Bethany]] (Luke 10:39) and the unnamed "sinful woman" who [[Anointing of Jesus|anointed Jesus's feet]] in Luke 7:36–50.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schenk |first=Christine |title=Crispina and her sisters: women and authority in early Christianity |date=2017 |publisher=Fortress press |isbn=978-1-5064-1188-0 |location=Minneapolis (Minn.) |pages=11}}</ref> Pope Gregory's Easter sermon resulted in a widespread belief that Mary Magdalene was a repentant prostitute or promiscuous woman.<ref name="BBC"/>{{sfn|Meyers|2000|p=122|loc=Named Women: Mary 3 (Magdalene)}}

Her reputation in [[Western Christianity]] as being a repentant prostitute or loose woman are not supported by the canonical gospels, which at no point imply that she had ever been a prostitute or in any way notable for a sinful way of life.<ref name="BBC" />{{sfn|Doyle|2011}}{{sfn|Ehrman|2006|pages=189–190}} The misconception probably arose due to a conflation between Mary Magdalene, [[Mary of Bethany]] (who [[Anointing of Jesus|anoints Jesus's feet]] in {{bibleverse||John|11:1–12|9}}), and the unnamed "sinful woman" who anoints Jesus's feet in {{bibleverse||Luke|7:36–50|9}}.<ref name="BBC" />{{sfn|Doyle|2011}}{{sfn|Morrow|1999}} As early as the third century, the Church Father [[Tertullian]] ({{circa}} 160 – 225) references the touch of "the woman which was a sinner" in effort to prove that Jesus "was not a phantom, but really a solid body".{{sfn|Schaberg|2004|page=85}} This may indicate that Mary Magdalene was already being conflated with the "sinful woman" in {{bibleverse||Luke|7:36–50|9}}, though Tertullian never clearly identifies the woman of whom he speaks as Mary Magdalene.{{sfn|Schaberg|2004|page=85}}
 
Elaborate medieval legends from Western Europe then emerged, which told exaggerated tales of Mary Magdalene's wealth and beauty, as well as of her alleged journey to southern [[Gaul]] (modern-day [[France]]). The identification of Mary Magdalene with Mary of Bethany and the unnamed "sinful woman" was still a major controversy in the years leading up to the [[Reformation]], and some Protestant leaders rejected it. During the [[Counter-Reformation]], the [[Catholic Church]] emphasized Mary Magdalene as a symbol of [[penance]]. In 1969, [[Pope Paul VI]] removed the identification of Mary Magdalene with Mary of Bethany and the "sinful woman" from the [[General Roman Calendar]], but the view of her as a former prostitute has persisted in popular culture.

===Early Middle Ages===
{{multiple image
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| caption1          = ''Ascension of Mary Magdalene'' by [[Tilman Riemenschneider]] (1490–1492).<br />A depiction of Mary Magdalene with [[Feather tights#Mary Magdalene's hair suit|thick body hair]].
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| caption2          = ''Mary Magdalene'' ({{circa}} 1480–1487), altarpiece in [[International Gothic]] style by [[Carlo Crivelli]] showing her with long, blonde hair
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The unnamed "sinful woman" in {{bibleverse||Luke|7:36–50|9}} is never identified as a prostitute{{sfn|Ehrman|2006|page=189}} and, in Jewish society at the time the gospel was written, "sinful" could have simply meant that she "did not assiduously observe the [[law of Moses]]".{{sfn|Ehrman|2006|page=189}} The notion of Mary Magdalene specifically being a former prostitute or loose woman dates to a narrative in an influential [[homily]] by [[Pope Gregory I]] ("Gregory the Great") in around 591,{{sfn|Hooper|2005|p=81}}{{sfn|Carroll|2006}}{{sfn|Ehrman|2006|pages=189–190}} in which he not only identifies Magdalene with the anonymous sinner with the perfume in Luke's gospel and with Mary of Bethany, the sister of Martha and [[Lazarus of Bethany|Lazarus]],{{sfn|Ehrman|2006|pages=189–190}} but also, for the first time, explicitly identifies her sins as ones of a sexual nature:{{sfn|Ehrman|2006|pages=189–190}}

{{Blockquote|She whom Luke calls the sinful woman, whom John calls Mary, we believe to be the Mary from whom seven devils were ejected according to Mark. What did these seven devils signify, if not all the vices? It is clear, that the woman previously used the unguent to perfume her flesh in forbidden acts. What she therefore displayed more scandalously, she was now offering to God in a more praiseworthy manner. She had coveted with earthly eyes, but now through penitence these are consumed with tears. She displayed her hair to set off her face, but now her hair dries her tears. She had spoken proud things with her mouth, but in kissing the Lord's feet, she now planted her mouth on the Redeemer's feet. For every delight, therefore, she had had in herself, she now immolated herself. She turned the mass of her crimes to virtues, in order to serve God entirely in penance.|Pope Gregory I (''homily XXXIII'')|source={{harvnb|Carroll|2006}}}}

In Pope Gregory's interpretation, the seven demons expelled from Mary Magdalene by Jesus are transformed into the [[seven deadly sins]] of medieval Catholicism,{{sfn|Morrow|1999}}{{sfn|Haskins|2005|page=14}} leading Mary "to be condemned not only for lust, but for pride and covetousness as well".{{sfn|Morrow|1999}} The aspect of the repentant sinner became almost equally significant as the disciple in her ''persona'' as depicted in Western art and religious literature, fitting well with the great importance of [[penitence]] in medieval theology. In subsequent religious legend, Mary's story became conflated with that of [[Mary of Egypt]], a repentant prostitute who then lived as a hermit. With that, Mary's image was, according to Susan Haskins, author of ''Mary Magdalene: Myth and Metaphor'', "finally settled...for nearly fourteen hundred years",{{sfn|Haskins|2005|page=95}} although in fact the most important late medieval popular accounts of her life describe her as a rich woman whose life of sexual freedom is purely for pleasure.<ref>Johnston, 64; the accounts are the Life in the ''Golden Legend'', French [[Passion Play]]s, and her main subject, the ''Vie de La Magdaleine'' by François Demoulins de Rochefort, written 1516–17 (see p. 11)</ref> This composite depiction of Mary Magdalene was carried into the Mass texts for her feast day: in the [[Tridentine Mass]], the [[collect]] explicitly identifies her as Mary of Bethany by describing Lazarus as her brother, and the Gospel is the story of the penitent woman anointing Jesus's feet.<ref>{{cite book|title=Missale Romanum|date=1962|publisher=Benzinger Brothers|location=New York}}</ref>

The "composite Magdalene" was never accepted by the [[Eastern Orthodox]] churches, who saw only Mary the disciple, and believed that after the Resurrection she lived as a companion to Mary the mother of Jesus, and not even in the West was it universally accepted. The [[Benedictine]] Order always celebrated Mary of Bethany together with Martha and Lazarus of Bethany on July 29, while Mary Magdalene was celebrated on July 22.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ibenedictines.org/2011/07/29/ss-mary-martha-and-lazarus/ |title=SS Mary, Martha and Lazarus |publisher=Ibenedictines.org |access-date=August 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140729132606/http://www.ibenedictines.org/2011/07/29/ss-mary-martha-and-lazarus/ |archive-date=July 29, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> Not only John Chrysostom in the East (''Matthew, Homily 88''), but also Ambrose (''De virginitate'' 3,14; 4,15) in the West, when speaking of Mary Magdalene after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, far from calling her a harlot, suggest she was a virgin.<ref name="Hufstader"/> Starting in around the eighth century, Christian sources record mention of a church in Magdala purported to have been built on the site of Mary Magdalene's house, where Jesus exorcized her of the seven demons.{{sfn|Pringle|1998|page=28}}

In an eastern tradition supported by the western bishop and historian [[Gregory of Tours]] ({{circa}} 538 – 594), Mary Magdalene is said to have retired to [[Ephesus]] in [[Asia Minor]] with Mary the mother of Jesus, where they both lived out the rest of their lives.<ref>Gregory of Tours, ''De miraculis'', I, xxx.</ref>{{sfn|Foss|1979|page=33}} Gregory states that Mary Magdalene was buried in the city of Ephesus.{{sfn|Foss|1979|page=33}} [[Modestus of Jerusalem|Modestus]], the [[Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem|Patriarch of Jerusalem]] from 630 until 634, describes a slightly different tradition that Mary Magdalene had come to Ephesus to live with the apostle John following the death of Mary the mother of Jesus.{{sfn|Foss|1979|page=33}}

===High Middle Ages===

====Fictional biographies====
Starting in early [[High Middle Ages]], writers in western Europe began developing elaborate fictional biographies of Mary Magdalene's life, in which they heavily embellished upon the vague details given in the gospels.{{sfn|Maisch|1998|page=46}}{{sfn|Ehrman|2006|pages=183–184}} Stories about [[nobility|noble]] saints were popular during this time period;{{sfn|Maisch|1998|page=46}} accordingly, tales of Mary Magdalene's wealth and social status became heavily exaggerated.{{sfn|Maisch|1998|pages=46–47}}{{sfn|Ehrman|2006|pages=183–184}} In the tenth century, [[Odo of Cluny]] ({{circa}} 880 – 942) wrote a sermon in which he described Mary as an extraordinarily wealthy noblewoman of royal descent.{{sfn|Maisch|1998|pages=46–49}} Some manuscripts of the sermon record that Mary's parents were named Syrus and Eucharia{{sfn|Maisch|1998|page=47}} and one manuscript goes into great detail describing her family's purported land holdings in Bethany, Jerusalem, and Magdala.{{sfn|Maisch|1998|page=47}}

The theologian [[Honorius Augustodunensis]] ({{circa}} 1080 – {{circa}} 1151) embellished this tale even further, reporting that Mary was a wealthy noblewoman who was married in "Magdalum",{{sfn|Maisch|1998|page=47}} but that she committed adultery, so she fled to Jerusalem and became a "public sinner" (''vulgaris meretrix'').{{sfn|Maisch|1998|page=47}} Honorius mentions that, out of love for Jesus, Mary repented and withdrew into a life of quiet isolation.{{sfn|Maisch|1998|page=47}} Under the influence of stories about other female saints, such as [[Mary of Egypt]] and [[Pelagia]],{{sfn|Maisch|1998|page=47}} painters in Italy during the ninth and tenth centuries gradually began to develop the image of Mary Magdalene living alone in the desert as a penitent [[Asceticism|ascetic]].{{sfn|Maisch|1998|page=47}}{{sfn|Mormando|1999|p=257–274}} This portrayal became so popular that it quickly spread to Germany and England.{{sfn|Maisch|1998|page=47}} From the twelfth century, Abbot Hugh of Semur (died 1109), Peter Abelard (died 1142), and Geoffrey of Vendôme (died 1132) all referred to Mary Magdalene as the sinner who merited the title ''apostolorum apostola'' (Apostle to the Apostles), with the title becoming commonplace during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.{{sfn|Schaberg|2004|p=88}}

====Alleged burial in France====
In western Europe, elaborate and conflicting legends began to develop, which said that Mary Magdalene had travelled to southern France and died there.{{sfn|Witcombe|2002|page=279}} Starting in around 1050, the monks of the [[Vézelay Abbey]] of la Madaleine in Burgundy said they discovered Mary Magdalene's actual skeleton.<ref>See Johnston, 111–115 on the rise and fall of Vézelay as a cult centre</ref>{{sfn|Maisch|1998|page=48}} At first, the existence of the skeleton was merely asserted,{{sfn|Maisch|1998|page=48}} but, in 1265, the monks made a spectacular, public show of "discovering" it{{sfn|Maisch|1998|page=48}} and, in 1267, the bones were brought before the king of France, who venerated them.{{sfn|Maisch|1998|page=48}} On December 9, 1279, an excavation ordered by [[Charles II of Naples|Charles II, King of Naples]] at [[Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume]], Provence, led to the discovery of another purported burial of Mary Magdalene.{{sfn|McCarthy|2010|p=50}}{{sfn|Maisch|1998|page=48}} The shrine was purportedly found intact, with an explanatory inscription stating why the relics had been hidden.{{sfn|Haskins|2005|pages=129–132}} Charles II commissioned the building of a new [[Gothic architecture|gothic]] [[basilica]] on the site and, in return for providing accommodation for [[pilgrim]]s, the town's residents were exempt from taxes.{{sfn|Davidson|Gitlitz|2002|p=562}} Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume gradually displaced [[Vézelay]] in popularity and acceptance.{{sfn|Haskins|2005|pages=129–132}}

[[File:Copiebasiliquereliquaire.jpg|thumb|upright|In 1279, the monks of [[Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume]] said they discovered Mary Magdalene's skeleton.{{sfn|McCarthy|2010|p=50}}{{sfn|Maisch|1998|page=48}} The [[reliquary]] at St. Maximin, created in the nineteenth century, contains her purported skull.]]

====''The Golden Legend''====
[[File:Torun SS Johns Mary Magdalene.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[International Gothic]] ''Elevation of Mary Magdalene'' with angels raising her in [[Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist, Toruń|SS. Johns' Cathedral]] in [[Toruń]]]]

The most famous account of Mary Magdalene's legendary life comes from ''[[Golden Legend|The Golden Legend]]'', a collection of medieval saints' stories compiled circa 1260 by the Italian writer and [[Dominican Order|Dominican friar]] [[Jacobus de Voragine]] ({{circa}} 1230 – 1298).{{sfn|Ehrman|2006|page=184}}{{sfn|Maisch|1998|page=48}}{{sfn|Erhardt|Morris|2012|page=7}} In this account, Mary Magdalene is, in Ehrman's words, "fabulously rich, insanely beautiful, and outrageously sensual",{{sfn|Ehrman|2006|page=184}} but she gives up her life of wealth and sin to become a devoted follower of Jesus.{{sfn|Ehrman|2006|page=184}}{{sfn|Erhardt|Morris|2012|pages=7–8}} Fourteen years after Jesus's crucifixion, some pagans throw Mary, Martha, [[Lazarus of Bethany|Lazarus]] (who, in this account, is their brother due to a conflation with Mary of Bethany), and two other Christians named [[Maximinus of Aix|Maximin]] and Cedonius onto a rudderless boat in the Mediterranean to die.{{sfn|Ehrman|2006|page=184}}{{sfn|Erhardt|Morris|2012|page=7}} Miraculously, however, the boat washes ashore at [[Marseille]] in southern France.{{sfn|Ehrman|2006|page=184}}{{sfn|Erhardt|Morris|2012|page=7}} Mary persuades the governor of the city not to offer sacrifices to a pagan god{{sfn|Ehrman|2006|page=184}} and later persuades him to convert to Christianity after she proves the Christian God's power by successfully praying to Him to make the governor's wife pregnant.{{sfn|Ehrman|2006|page=184}}{{sfn|Erhardt|Morris|2012|page=7}} The governor and his wife sail for Rome to meet the apostle Peter in person,{{sfn|Ehrman|2006|page=184}} but their ship is struck by a storm, which causes the wife to go into labor.{{sfn|Ehrman|2006|page=184}} The wife dies in childbirth and the governor leaves her on an island with the still-living infant at her breast.{{sfn|Ehrman|2006|page=184}} The governor spends two years with Peter in Rome{{sfn|Ehrman|2006|page=184}} and, on his way home, he stops at the same island to discover that, due to Mary Magdalene's miraculous long-distance intercession, his child has survived for two years on his dead mother's breast milk.{{sfn|Ehrman|2006|pages=184–185}} Then the governor's wife rises from the dead and tells him that Mary Magdalene has brought her back.{{sfn|Ehrman|2006|page=185}} The whole family returns to Marseille, where they meet Mary again in person.{{sfn|Ehrman|2006|page=185}} Mary herself spends the last thirty years of her life alone as a penitent ascetic in a cave in a desert in the French region of [[Provence]].{{sfn|Erhardt|Morris|2012|page=7}}{{sfn|Head|2001|p=659}}{{sfn|Saxer|1959|p=}}<ref>Ecole française de Rome, (1992).</ref>{{sfn|Jansen|2001|page=172}} At every [[canonical hours|canonical hour]], the angels come and lift her up to hear their songs in Heaven.{{sfn|Erhardt|Morris|2012|page=7}} On the last day of her life, Maximin, now the bishop of [[Aix-en-Provence|Aix]], comes to her and gives her the Eucharist.{{sfn|Erhardt|Morris|2012|page=7}} Mary cries tears of joy{{sfn|Erhardt|Morris|2012|page=7}} and, after taking it, she lies down and dies.{{sfn|Erhardt|Morris|2012|page=7}} De Voragine gives the common account of the transfer of Mary Magdalene's relics from her sepulchre in the [[Oratory (worship)|oratory]] of Saint Maximin at [[Aix-en-Provence]] to the newly founded [[Vézelay]];<ref>"the Abbey of Vesoul" in [[William Caxton]]'s translation.</ref> the transportation of the relics is entered as undertaken in 771 by the founder of the abbey, identified as Gerard, [[Duke of Burgundy]].<ref name="GoldenLegend">''Golden Legend''</ref>

====Spouse of John the Evangelist====
The monk and historian [[Domenico Cavalca]] ({{circa}} 1270 – 1342), citing [[Jerome]], suggested that Mary Magdalene was [[Engagement|betrothed]] to [[John the Evangelist]]: "I like to think that the Magdalene was the spouse of John, not affirming it... I am glad and blythe that St Jerome should say so."{{sfn|Jansen|2001|page= 151, footnote 20 citing Cavalca, ''Vita'', 329; ''Life'', 2–3.}} They were sometimes thought to be the couple at the [[Wedding at Cana]], though the Gospel accounts say nothing of the ceremony being abandoned. In the ''Golden Legend'', De Voragine dismisses talk of John and Mary being betrothed and John leaving his bride at the altar to follow Jesus as nonsense.<ref name="GoldenLegend" />

===Late Middle Ages and Renaissance===
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| caption1          = ''[[Penitent Magdalene (Donatello)|Penitent Magdalene]]'' ({{circa}} 1454) by [[Donatello]], showing her as "an old, emaciated and toothless woman... worn down by years of hard solitude in her cave".{{sfn|Haag|2016|page=231}} The sculpture is an "extreme" example of Mary Magdalene's usual portrayal as a penitent ascetic.{{sfn|King|2012|page=188}}{{sfn|Haag|2016|page=231}}
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| caption2          = ''Mary Magdalene'' ({{circa}} 1515), traditionally attributed to [[Leonardo da Vinci]]'s student [[Giampietrino]].{{sfn|Haag|2016|pages=235–336}} This painting shows a very different image of Mary Magdalene as "a woman who repents of nothing, who feels no shame or guilt".{{sfn|Haag|2016|page=337}}
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The thirteenth-century [[Cistercian]] monk and chronicler [[Peter of Vaux de Cernay]] said it was part of [[Catharism|Catharist]] belief that the earthly Jesus Christ had a relationship with Mary Magdalene, described as his [[concubinage|concubine]]: "Further, in their secret meetings they said that the Christ who was born in the earthly and visible Bethlehem and crucified at Jerusalem was "evil", and that Mary Magdalene was his concubine – and that she was the woman taken in adultery who is referred to in the Scriptures."<ref>W. A. Sibly, M. D. Sibly, ''The History of the Albigensian Crusade: Peter of les Vaux-de-Cernay's "Historia Albigensis"'' (Boydell, 1998). {{ISBN|0-85115-658-4}}.</ref> A document, possibly written by Ermengaud of [[Béziers]], undated and anonymous and attached to his ''Treatise against Heretics'',<ref>{{cite web |author=Christian Churches of God |url=http://www.ccg.org/english/s/b8.html |title=The Treatise of Ermengaudus (No. B8) |publisher=Ccg.org |access-date=August 13, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120521061308/http://www.ccg.org/english/s/B8.html |archive-date=May 21, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> makes a similar statement:<ref>{{cite thesis |id={{ProQuest|304835631}} |last1=Townsend |first1=Anne Bradford |date=2008 |title=The Cathars of Languedoc as heretics: From the perspectives of five contemporary scholars |page=147 }}</ref>

{{blockquote|Also they [the Cathars] teach in their secret meetings that Mary Magdalene was the wife of Christ. She was the Samaritan woman to whom He said, "Call thy husband". She was the woman taken into adultery, whom Christ set free lest the Jews stone her, and she was with Him in three places, in the temple, at the well, and in the garden. After the Resurrection, He appeared first to her.<ref>Walter L. Wakefield, Austin P. Evans, ''Heresies of the High Middle Ages: Translated with Notes'', page 234 (New York: Columbia University Press, 1991). {{ISBN|0-231-02743-5}}. The authors speculate on page 230 that this could have been the source used by Peter of Vaux de Cernay.</ref>}}

In the middle of the fourteenth century, a Dominican friar wrote a biography of Mary Magdalene in which he described her brutally mutilating herself after giving up prostitution,{{sfn|King|2012|page=188}} clawing at her legs until they bled, tearing out clumps of her hair, and beating her face with her fists and her breasts with stones.{{sfn|King|2012|page=188}} This portrayal of her inspired the sculptor [[Donatello]] ({{circa}} 1386 – 1466) to portray her as a gaunt and beaten ascetic in his wooden sculpture ''[[Penitent Magdalene (Donatello)|Penitent Magdalene]]'' ({{circa}} 1454) for the [[Florence Baptistery]].{{sfn|King|2012|page=188}} In 1449, [[René of Anjou|King René d'Anjou]] gave to [[Angers Cathedral]] the [[amphora]] from [[Cana]] in which Jesus changed water to wine, acquiring it from the nuns of Marseilles, who told him that Mary Magdalene had brought it with her from Judea, relating to the legend where she was the jilted bride at the wedding after which John the Evangelist received his calling from Jesus.{{efn|{{harvnb|Jansen|2001}} citing Jacques Levron, ''Le bon roi René'' (Paris: Arthaud, 1972).}}

===Reformation and Counter-Reformation===
[[File:RubensSimonCyreneCarriesCross.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|''[[Christ and the Penitent Sinners]]'' (1617) by [[Peter Paul Rubens]] is a typical example of how Mary Magdalene was portrayed during the [[Baroque]] era, emphasizing her erotic allure and blurring the lines between religious and [[erotic art]].{{sfn|Maisch|1998|pages=63–65}}]]

In 1517, on the brink of the [[Protestant Reformation]], the leading French [[Renaissance humanist]] [[Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples]] published his book ''De Maria Magdalena et triduo Christi disceptatio'' (''Disputation on Mary Magdalene and the Three Days of Christ''), in which he argued against the conflation of Mary Magdalene, Mary of Bethany, and the unnamed sinner in Luke.<ref name="Hufstader">Hufstader, 32–40, and throughout the rest of the article</ref>{{sfn|Haskins|2005|page=250}} Various authors published a flurry of books and pamphlets in response, the vast majority of which opposed Lefèvre d'Étaples.<ref name="Hufstader"/>{{sfn|Haskins|2005|pages=250–251}} In 1521, the theology faculty of the [[University of Paris|Sorbonne]] formally condemned the idea that the three women were separate people as heretical,<ref name="Hufstader"/>{{sfn|Haskins|2005|pages=250–251}} and debate died down, overtaken by the larger issues raised by [[Martin Luther]].<ref name="Hufstader"/>{{sfn|Haskins|2005|pages=250–251}} Luther and [[Huldrych Zwingli]] (1484–1531) both supported the composite Magdalene.<ref name="Henderson 2004, pp. 8–14">Henderson (2004), pp. 8–14</ref> Luther, whose views on sexuality were much more liberal than those of his fellow reformers,{{sfn|Roper|2016|pages=295–296}} reportedly once joked to a group of friends that "even pious Christ himself" had committed adultery three times: once with Mary Magdalene, once with the [[Samaritan woman at the well]], and once with [[Jesus and the woman taken in adultery|the adulteress he had let off so easily]].{{sfn|Roper|2016|page=295}} Because the cult of Mary Magdalene was inextricably associated with the Catholic teaching of the [[intercession of saints]],{{sfn|Haskins|2005|page=249}} it came under particularly harsh criticism by Protestant leaders.{{sfn|Haskins|2005|page=249}} Zwingli demanded for the cult of Mary Magdalene to be abolished and all images of her to be destroyed.{{sfn|Haskins|2005|page=249}} [[John Calvin]] (1509–1564) not only rejected the composite Magdalene,{{sfn|Haskins|2005|page=249}}<ref name="Henderson 2004, pp. 8–14" /> but criticized Catholics as ignorant for having ever believed in it.{{sfn|Haskins|2005|page=249}}

During the [[Counter-Reformation]], Roman Catholicism began to strongly emphasize Mary Magdalene's role as a penitent sinner.{{sfn|Maisch|1998|page=65}}{{sfn|Haskins|2005|pages=251–252}}{{sfn|Mormando|1999b|p=107–135}} Her medieval role as a patron and advocate became minimized{{sfn|Maisch|1998|page=65}} and her penitence became regarded as her most important aspect, especially in France and in the Catholic portions of southern Germany.{{sfn|Maisch|1998|page=65}} A massive number of [[Baroque]] paintings and sculptures depict the penitent Magdalene,{{sfn|Maisch|1998|page=65}}{{sfn|Haskins|2005|pages=251–253}} often showing her naked or partially naked, with a strong emphasis on her erotic beauty.{{sfn|Maisch|1998|pages=63–65}} Poems about Mary Magdalene's repentance were also popular.{{sfn|Maisch|1998|pages=65–66}} [[Anton Giulio Brignole-Sale]]'s ''Maria Maddalena peccatrice convertita'' (1636) is considered one of the masterpieces of the 17th-century religious novel, depicting the Magdalen's tormented journey to repentance convincingly and with psychological subtlety.<ref>{{cite book|last=Capucci|first=M.|year=2002|chapter=Brignole Sale, Anton Giulio|title=The Oxford Companion to Italian Literature|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-818332-7 |access-date=May 20, 2023|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198183327.001.0001/acref-9780198183327-e-506}}</ref> Estates of nobles and royalty in southern Germany were equipped with so-called "Magdalene cells", small, modest [[Hermitage (religious retreat)|hermitages]] that functioned as both chapels and dwellings, where the nobility could retreat to find religious solace.{{sfn|Maisch|1998|pages=67–70}} They were usually located in wild areas away from the rest of the property{{sfn|Maisch|1998|page=67}} and their exteriors were designed to suggest vulnerability.{{sfn|Maisch|1998|page=67}}

===Modern era===
{{rquote|right|Not she with [[Kiss of Judas|trait'rous kiss]] her Saviour stung,<br/>Not she [[Denial of Peter|denied Him with unholy tongue]];<br/>She, while apostles shrank, could danger brave,<br/>Last at His cross, and earliest at His grave.|[[Eaton Stannard Barrett]], ''Woman'' (1810), Part I, lines 141–145}}
[[File:Maria Maddalena, 1893.jpg|thumb|upright|''Penitent Magdalene'' (1893) by [[Adolfo Tommasi]]]]

Because of the legends saying that Mary Magdalene had been a prostitute, she became the patroness of "wayward women", and, in the eighteenth century, moral reformers established [[Magdalene asylum]]s to help save women from prostitution.<ref>John Trigilio Jr., Kenneth Brighenti, ''Saints For Dummies'', pages 52–53 (Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2010). {{ISBN|978-0-470-53358-1}}</ref> [[Edgar Saltus]]'s historical fiction novel ''Mary Magdalene: A Chronicle'' (1891) depicts her as a heroine living in a castle at Magdala, who moves to Rome becoming the "toast of the tetrarchy", telling [[John the Baptist]] she will "drink pearls... sup on peacock's tongues". St Peter Julian Eymard calls her "the patroness and model of a life spent in the adoration and service of Jesus in the sacrament of His Love".<ref>Robert Kiefer Webb, Richard J. Helmstadter (editors), ''Religion and Irreligion in Victorian Society: Essays in Honor of R.K. Webb'', p. 119 (London: Routledge, 1991). {{ISBN|0-415-07625-0}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Saltus |first=Edgar |url=https://openlibrary.org/books/OL6738080M/Mary_Magdalen |title=Mary Magdalen: a chronicle |date=1891 |publisher=Belford company |location=New York |ol=6738080M |via=Open Library}}</ref>

The common identification of Mary Magdalene with other New Testament figures was omitted in the [[Mysterii Paschalis|1969 revision]] of the [[General Roman Calendar]], with the comment regarding her [[Catholic liturgy|liturgical]] celebration on July 22: "No change has been made in the title of today's [[memorial (liturgy)|memorial]], but it concerns only Saint Mary Magdalene, to whom Christ appeared after his resurrection. It is not about the sister of Saint Martha, nor about the sinful woman whose sins the Lord forgave."<ref>{{bibleverse||Luke|7:36–50|9}}</ref><ref>''Calendarium Romanum'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1969), p. 131</ref> Elsewhere it said of the Roman liturgy of July 22 that "it will make mention neither of Mary of Bethany nor of the sinful woman of Luke 7:36–50, but only of Mary Magdalene, the first person to whom Christ appeared after his resurrection".<ref>''Calendarium Romanum'' (1969), p. 98</ref> According to historian Michael Haag, these changes were a quiet admission from the Vatican that the Church's previous teaching of Mary Magdalene as a repentant whore had been wrong.{{sfn|Haag|2016|pages=1–2}} Mary of Bethany's feast day and that of her brother Lazarus is now on July 29, the memorial of their sister Martha.<ref>''Martyrologium Romanum'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2001, {{ISBN|978-88-209-7210-3}}), p. 398</ref>

Nonetheless, despite the Vatican's rejection of it, the view of Mary as a repentant prostitute only grew more prevalent in popular culture.{{sfn|Haag|2016|page=2}}{{sfn|Ehrman|2006|pages=181–182}}{{sfn|Lang|2003|pages=33–34}} She is portrayed as one in [[Nikos Kazantzakis]]'s 1955 novel ''[[The Last Temptation of Christ (novel)|The Last Temptation of Christ]]'' and [[Martin Scorsese]]'s [[The Last Temptation of Christ (film)|1988 film adaptation]] of it,{{sfn|Ehrman|2006|pages=181–182}} in which Jesus, as he is dying on the cross, has a vision from [[Satan]] of what it would be like if he married Mary Magdalene and raised a family with her instead of dying for humanity's sins.{{sfn|Ehrman|2006|pages=181–182}} Mary is likewise portrayed as a reformed prostitute in [[Andrew Lloyd Webber]] and [[Tim Rice]]'s 1971 [[rock opera]] ''[[Jesus Christ Superstar]]''.{{sfn|Ehrman|2006|pages=179–180}}{{sfn|Haag|2016|page=2}}{{sfn|Lang|2003|page=34}} In ''Superstar'', Mary describes her sexual attraction to Jesus in the song "[[I Don't Know How to Love Him]]", which shocked many of the play's original viewers.{{sfn|Ehrman|2006|pages=180–181}}{{sfn|Haag|2016|page=2}} [[Ki Longfellow]]'s novel ''[[The Secret Magdalene]]'' (2005) draws on the [[Gnostic]] gospels and other sources to portray Mary as a brilliant and dynamic woman who studies at the fabled [[library of Alexandria]], and shares her knowledge with Jesus.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thesecretmagdalene.com/index.html |title=The Secret Magdalene |publisher=The Secret Magdalene |access-date=May 7, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928120849/http://www.thesecretmagdalene.com/index.html |archive-date=September 28, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Lady Gaga]]'s song "[[Judas (Lady Gaga song)|Judas]]" (2011) is sung from Mary's perspective, portraying her as a prostitute who is "beyond repentance".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/05/lady-gaga-judas-video_n_858153.html|title=Lady Gaga 'Judas' Video Leaked|work=[[HuffPost]]|date=May 5, 2011|access-date=April 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131108092526/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/05/lady-gaga-judas-video_n_858153.html|archive-date=November 8, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

The 2018 film ''[[Mary Magdalene (2018 film)|Mary Magdalene]]'', starring [[Rooney Mara]] as the eponymous character, sought to reverse the centuries-old portrayal of Mary Magdalene as a repentant prostitute, while also combating the conspiracy statements of her being Jesus's wife or sexual partner.{{sfn|Bradshaw|2018}}{{sfn|Hailes|2018}}{{sfn|Carr|2018}} Instead, the film portrays her as Jesus's closest disciple{{sfn|Bradshaw|2018}}{{sfn|Hailes|2018}}{{sfn|Carr|2018}} and the only one who truly understands his teachings.{{sfn|Bradshaw|2018}}{{sfn|Hailes|2018}}{{sfn|Carr|2018}} This portrayal is partially based on the Gnostic ''Gospel of Mary Magdalene''.{{sfn|Carr|2018}} The film, which has been described as having a "strongly feminist bent",{{sfn|Hailes|2018}} was praised for its music score and cinematography,{{sfn|Dalton|2018}} its surprising faithfulness to the Biblical narrative,{{sfn|Hailes|2018}} and its acting,{{sfn|Hailes|2018}}{{sfn|Bradshaw|2018}} but was criticized as slow-moving,{{sfn|Bradshaw|2018}}{{sfn|Hailes|2018}}{{sfn|Dalton|2018}} overwritten,{{sfn|Dalton|2018}} and too solemn to be believable.{{sfn|Bradshaw|2018}}{{sfn|Dalton|2018}} It was also criticized by many Christians, who were offended by the film's use of extracanonical source material.{{sfn|Carr|2018}}

===In Western art===
[[File:Guido Reni - The Penitent Magdalene - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright|''Penitent Magdalene'' ({{circa}} 1635) by [[Guido Reni]], showing her as a penitent<ref>{{cite web|publisher= The Walters Art Museum|url= http://art.thewalters.org/detail/40183|title= The Penitent Magdalene|access-date= September 18, 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130517050215/http://art.thewalters.org/detail/40183|archive-date= May 17, 2013|url-status= live}}</ref>]]

The early notion of Mary Magdalene as a sinner and adulteress was reflected in Western medieval Christian art, where she was the most commonly depicted female figure after the [[Virgin Mary]]. She may be shown either as very extravagantly and fashionably dressed, unlike other female figures wearing contemporary styles of clothes, or alternatively as completely naked but covered by very long blonde or reddish-blonde hair. The latter depictions represent the ''[[Penitent Magdalene (disambiguation)|Penitent Magdalene]]''<!--intentional link to DAB page-->, according to the medieval legend that she had spent a period of repentance as a desert hermit after leaving her life as a follower of Jesus.{{sfn|Witcombe|2002|page=279}}{{sfn|Ferguson|1976|pages=134–135}} Her story became conflated in the West with that of [[Mary of Egypt]], a fourth-century prostitute turned hermit, whose clothes wore out and fell off in the desert.{{sfn|Witcombe|2002|page=279}} The widespread artistic representations of Mary Magdalene in tears are the source of the modern English word ''maudlin'',{{sfn|Lang|2003|page=33}}{{sfn|Kugelmann|1983|page=151}}{{sfn|Haskins|2005|page=xi}} meaning 'sickeningly sentimental or emotional'.{{sfn|Lang|2003|page=33}}

In medieval depictions Mary's long hair entirely covers her body and preserves her modesty (supplemented in some German versions such as one by [[Tilman Riemenschneider]] by [[Feather tights#Mary Magdalene's hair suit|thick body hair]]),{{sfn|Witcombe|2002|page=282}}{{sfn|Ferguson|1976|page=135}} but, from the sixteenth century, some depictions, like those by [[Titian]], show part of her naked body, the amount of nudity tending to increase in successive periods. Even if covered, she often wears only a drape pulled around her, or an undergarment. In particular, Mary is often shown naked in the legendary scene of her "Elevation", where she is sustained in the desert by angels who raise her up and feed her heavenly manna, as recounted in the ''[[Golden Legend]]''.{{sfn|Witcombe|2002|page=282}}

Mary Magdalene at the foot of the cross during the Crucifixion appears in an eleventh-century English manuscript "as an expressional device rather than a historical motif", intended as "the expression of an emotional assimilation of the event, that leads the spectator to identify himself with the mourners".<ref>Schiller, II, 116</ref> Other isolated depictions occur, but, from the thirteenth century, additions to the Virgin Mary and [[John the Apostle|John]] as the spectators at the Crucifixion become more common, with Mary Magdalene as the most frequently found, either kneeling at the foot of the cross clutching the shaft, sometimes kissing Christ's feet, or standing, usually at the left and behind Mary and John, with her arms stretched upwards towards Christ in a gesture of grief, as in a damaged painting by [[Cimabue]] in the [[Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi|upper church at Assisi]] of {{circa}} 1290. A kneeling Magdalene by [[Giotto]] in the [[Scrovegni Chapel]] ({{circa}} 1305) was especially influential.<ref>Schiller, II, 152–154</ref> As Gothic painted crucifixions became crowded compositions, the Magdalene became a prominent figure, with a halo and identifiable by her long unbound blonde hair, and usually a bright red dress. As the [[swooning Virgin Mary]] became more common, generally occupying the attention of John, the unrestrained gestures of Magdalene increasingly represented the main display of the grief of the spectators.<ref>Schiller, II, 154–158</ref>

According to Robert Kiely, "No figure in the Christian Pantheon except Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and John the Baptist has inspired, provoked, or confounded the imagination of painters more than the Magdalene."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/picturing-magdalene|title=Picturing the Magdalene: How Artists Imagine the Apostle to the Apostles|last=Kiely|first=Robert|date=September 6, 2010|publisher=[[Commonweal (magazine)|Commonweal]]|access-date=November 29, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161130035242/https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/picturing-magdalene|archive-date=November 30, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Apart from the Crucifixion, Mary was often shown in scenes of the [[Passion of Jesus]], when mentioned in the Gospels, such as the Crucifixion, [[Christ Carrying the Cross]] and [[Noli me Tangere]], but usually omitted in other scenes showing the [[Twelve Apostles]], such as the [[Last Supper]]. As Mary of Bethany, she is shown as present at the [[Resurrection of Lazarus]], her brother, and in the [[Jesus at the home of Martha and Mary|scene with Jesus]] and her sister [[Martha]], which began to be depicted often in the seventeenth century, as in ''[[Christ in the House of Martha and Mary (Velázquez)|Christ in the House of Martha and Mary]]'' by [[Velázquez]].<ref>Schiller, Gertud, ''Iconography of Christian Art, Vol. I'', pp. 158–159, 1971 (English trans from German), Lund Humphries, London, {{ISBN|0-85331-270-2}}</ref>

'''Gallery'''
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Angelico, noli me tangere.jpg|''[[Noli me tangere]]'' ({{circa}} 1440 – 1442), fresco by [[Fra Angelico]]
File:María Magdalena leyendo, por Piero di Cosimo.jpg|''Mary Magdalene Reading'' ({{circa}} 1500 – 1510) by [[Piero di Cosimo]]
File:Tizian 050.jpg|''[[Noli me tangere (Titian)|Noli me tangere]]'' ({{circa}} 1512) by [[Titian]]
File:Ambrosius Benson - Mary Magdalene - WGA1890.jpg|''Mary Magdalene'' (early 1500s) by [[Ambrosius Benson]]
File:Giampietrino Magdalena penitente Hermitage.jpg|''Magdalena Penitente'' (early 1500s) by [[Giampietrino]]
File:Maino Magdalena penitente 1615 col par Ginebra.jpg|''Mary Magdalene'' (1615) by [[Juan Bautista Maíno]]
File:El Greco - The Penitent Magdalene - Google Art Project.jpg|''[[Penitent Magdalene (El Greco)|Penitent Magdalene]]'' ({{circa}} 1576 – 1578) by [[El Greco]]
File:Artemisia Gentileschi Mary Magdalene Pitti.jpg|''Mary Magdalene'' (1615–1616 or 1620–1625) by [[Artemisia Gentileschi]]
File:Lille Pdba rubens marie madeleine.JPG|''[[St Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy]]'' ({{circa}} 1619 – 1620) by [[Peter Paul Rubens]]
File:José de Ribera 024.jpg|''Mary Magdalene'' (1641) by [[José de Ribera]]
File:Georges de La Tour - Magdalen of Night Light - WGA12337.jpg|''[[Magdalene with the Smoking Flame]]'' ({{circa}} 1640) by [[Georges de La Tour]]
File:Pietro da Cortona - Cristo appare a Maria Maddalena.jpg|''Christ Appearing to Mary Magdalene'' (between 1640 and 1650) by [[Pietro da Cortona]]
File:George Romney - Lady Hamilton as The Magdalene.jpg|''The Magdalene'' (before 1792) by [[George Romney (painter)|George Romney]]
File:Mariya Magdalena.jpg|''[[Mary Magdalene (Sandys)|Mary Magdalene]]'' (1858–1860) by [[Frederick Sandys]]
File:Alfred Stevens (1823–1906) - Maria Magdalena - 1887 - MSK Gent 17-03-2009 12-18-27.JPG|[[Sarah Bernhardt]] as ''[[Maria Magdalena (Stevens)|Maria Magdalena]]'' (1887) by [[Alfred Stevens (painter)|Alfred Stevens]]
File:Albert Edelfelt - Christ and Mary Magdalene, a Finnish Legend - Google Art Project.jpg|''Christ and Mary Magdalene'' (1890) by [[Albert Edelfelt]] in a Finnish locale
File:Carlo Marochetti, La Madeleine du groupe sculptural le Ravissement de sainte Marie-Madeleine. 1843. Marbre. Maître-autel de l'église de la Madeleine de Paris. Photo, Jamie Mulherron.jpg|''The Ecstasay of Mary Magdalene'' (1843) by [[Carlo Marochetti]], located in [[La Madeleine, Paris|La Madeleine]] 
</gallery>

===In music===
* The Byzantine composer [[Kassia]] wrote the only penitential hymn for Mary Magdalene, ''Kyrie hē en pollais''.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Touliatos |first=Diane |year=2001 |encyclopedia=[[Grove Music Online]] |title=Kassia |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxford |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.40895 |isbn=978-1-56159-263-0 |url-access=subscription |url=https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000040895 }} {{Grove Music subscription}}</ref>
*[[Marc-Antoine Charpentier]]:<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |year=2022 |title=Charpentier, Marc-Antoine |encyclopedia=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxford |url=https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000005471 |last=Hitchcock |first=H. Wiley |author-link=H. Wiley Hitchcock |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.05471 |isbn=978-1-56159-263-0 |url-access=subscription}} {{Grove Music subscription}}</ref>
**''Magdalena lugens voce sola cum symphonia'', H.343 & H.343 a, motet for 1 voice, 2 treble instruments and continuo (1686–1687).
**''For Mary Magdalene'', H.373, motet for 2 voices, 2 flutes and continuo (date unknown).
**''Magdalena lugens'', H.388, motet for 3 voices and continuo (date unknown).
**''Dialogus inter Magdalena et Jesum 2 vocibus Canto e Alto cum organo'', H.423, for 2 voices and continuo (date unknown).
*American recording artist [[Lady Gaga]] assumes the role of Mary Magdalene, whom she found a "feminine force", in her 2011 song "[[Bloody Mary (song)|Bloody Mary]]".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dresdale |first=Andrea |date=January 27, 2022 |title=Lady Gaga says she 'always wanted to play' Mary Magdalene from the Bible |publisher=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/lady-gaga-wanted-play-mary-magdalene-bible/story?id=82508835 |access-date=December 25, 2022}}</ref>
*English singer-songwriter [[FKA Twigs]] released album ''[[Magdalene (album)|Magdalene]]'' in 2019, saying that she related to the way Mary Magdalene's narrative was revised.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dazed |date=December 23, 2022 |title=FKA twigs' new fragrance fuses the virgin and the whore |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/beauty/article/57841/1/fka-twigs-fragrance-mary-magdalene-virgin-and-the-whore |access-date=March 2, 2023 |website=Dazed }}</ref>