The Digby Mary Magdalene Play

The Digby Mary Magdalene is named after the sixteenth-century manuscript containing the play’s only known copy. Along with “The Conversion of Saint Paul,” its companion in Bodleian Library MS Digby 133, it also provides exclusive access to the dramatic genre of the English saint play. This multifaceted portrait of Mary weaves together several distinct narrative traditions of Mary as a noblewoman, prostitute, redeemed sinner, and meditative desert saint, highlighting the paradoxes central to her broad appeal. The Digby Magdalene is striking for its simultaneously local and cosmopolitan character: it reflects the local priorities, religious devotion, and prolific tradition of English drama that characterize its home of East Anglia, yet incorporates elements from continental Europe’s wealth of texts, images, and performances dedicated to the Magdalene. By participating in this international tradition, the Digby Magdalene underscores Mary’s status as one of the most widely venerated saints of Western Europe.