The Medieval History Journal, Volume 26, Issue 2, Page 273-292, November 2023.
Roman sarcophagi are some of the most frequently reused objects from the Roman world: whether as spolia for new architectural projects or reused as tombs, as altars or even as flower pots. During the Middle Ages, however, a curious phenomenon emerged, that of the ‘reinvention’ of sarcophagi as tombs of saints. Starting in the eleventh century, a great number of sarcophagi were thought to have been the tombs of saints who had died in Provence during antiquity. The most interesting case in point is the tomb that became associated with Mary Magdalene. In 1279, a late antique tomb with Christian iconography representing New Testament scenes was thought to have been her original tomb. This belief found its origins in an eleventh-century hagiographical life, or vita, that claimed that Mary Magdalene, along with her sister Martha, drifted to Provence after being expelled from the Holy Land and died in the town of Saint-Maximin after having evangelised the region. This essay examines how a tangible thing is reinvented through the lens of a well-disseminated narrative legend.