By the tenth century, the three Marys could have two meanings in the
West. The first was Mary Magdalene and her two companions, Mary
Cleophas (the mother of James the lesser) and Mary Salome, who came to the
tomb on Easter morning. The second was the three daughters of St. Anne, the
Virgin Mary, Mary Cleophas, and Mary Salome. This extended Holy Kinship
was explicated in Haimo of Auxerre's 9th century commentary on Paul's
Epistle to the Galatians. A good introduction to the cult of the Kinship
is provided by Kathleen Ashley and Pamela Sheingorn in their collection
of essays on the cult of St. Anne.
At present, I am studying the cult of Mary Salome, the third member of
either collection of Marys. Throughout the twelfth century, Mary
Salome's branch of the Holy Kinship received criticism because of doubts
about the existence of her supposed father Salome, Anne's third husband.
In the thirteenth century, she recovered her standing by an association
with the rising cult of Mary Magdalene in Provence and by the inclusion
of the Holy Kinship in Jacobus de Voraigne's Golden Legend. At the same
time, she developed a separate following in Veroli, Italy.
Althought most of what I am working with is later than the tenth century, I
hope that this is helpful, or at least interesting.
Thomas Swaner
Loyola University Chicago
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