Making Amulets Christian: Artefacts, Scribes, and Contexts(Oxford Early Christian Studies)

Making Amulets Christian: Artefacts, Scribes, and Contexts examines Greek amulets with Christian elements from late antique Egypt in order to discern the processes whereby a customary practice--the writing of incantations on amulets--changed in an increasingly Christian context. It considers how the formulation of incantations and amulets changed as the Christian church became the prevailing religious institution in Egypt in the last centuries of the Roman empire. Theodore de Bruyn investigates what we can learn from incantations and amulets containing Christian elements about the cultural and social location of the people who wrote them. He shows how incantations and amulets were indebted to rituals or ritualizing behaviour of Christians. This study analyzes different types of amulets and the ways in which they incorporate Christian elements. By comparing the formulation and writing of individual amulets that are similar to one another, one can observe differences in the culture of the scribes of these materials. It argues for 'conditioned individuality' in the production of amulets. On the one hand, amulets manifest qualities that reflect the training and culture of the individual writer. On the other hand, amulets reveal that individual writers were shaped, whether consciously or inadvertently, by the resources they drew upon-by what is called 'tradition' in the field of religious studies.

Table of Contents:
List of Abbreviations A Note on References Introduction 1: Normative Christian Discourse 2: Materials, Format, and Writing 3: Manuals of Procedures and Incantations 4: Scribal Features of Customary Amulets 5: Scribal Features of Scriptural Amulets 6: Christian Ritual Contexts Conclusion Bibliography

About the Author :
Theodore de Bruyn is Associate Professor in the Department of Classics and Religious Studies at the University of Ottawa. He has studied aspects of Christianity from antiquity to the early modern period. He is the co-editor of Patristic Studies in the Twenty-First Century (Brepols, 2015).

Review :
Without a doubt, all further work on Christian amulets will have to be based and measured against DB's extensive study. The rich textual findings and analytical insights of the intersections between religion and material culture, doctrinal teachings, and faith practices should appeal to specialists and nonspecialists alike. De Bruyn's book is a substantial contribution to the study of Early Christianity and the formation of ritual practices not necessarily controlled by the institutional church...the impact of de Bruyn's book is expected toextend to disciplines beyond Papyrology and Early Christian Studies Making Amulets Christian is a valuable addition to this field that has something to offer everyone. Its introductory chapters, especially chapter two, would work well in a graduate level course on ancient magic. Moreover, with its numerous detailed analyses of specific amulets, the book can serve as a rich sourcebook of primary sources. Finally, de Bruyn's contributions to the question of classifying these rituals and his focus on 'lived ancient religion' and agency brings much to the table for future research. Making Amulets Christian: Artefacts, Scribes, and Contexts is an enjoyable book. Theodore de Bruyn sifts through a vast amount of material and curates a selection from which we can really get a sense of the rich cultural milieu that existed in Egypt in the Late Antique period. The book challenges us to move past envisioning Christianity and the earliest Christian practices in a monolithic manner and instead suggests an immense amount of nuance with variation by time, region, social positioning, and individual interpretation. This is a valuable and worthwhile read for anyone interested in the development of Christianity in Late Antiquity.