The Magical Body: Embodiment in Coptic Magical Papyri (Religions in the Graeco-Roman World, 202)

Preininger, Markéta (Author)

ISBN 10: 9004768661 / ISBN 13: 9789004768666

Published by Brill, 2026

About this Item

246 pages. 6.10x2.00x9.25 inches. In Stock. This item is printed on demand.

Seller Inventory # __9004768661

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Magical Body: Embodiment in Coptic Magical Papyri (Religions in the Graeco-Roman World, 202)
• Publisher: Brill
• Publication Date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 9004768661
• ISBN 13: 9789004768666
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Brand New
• Weight: 1.36 kilograms

About this title

Synopsis

The lived experience of individuals from Late Antique and Early Islamic Egypt is the subject of this study. By focusing on Christian ritual texts for private use written in Coptic, this book gives voice to those whose lives the ancient manuscripts reflect, revealing how they used ritual practices and amulets to navigate fear, health, and social conflicts. Reconstructing various "bodies"―from the social, female to the divine―the book explores the intersection of ritual action and bodily metaphor. This volume offers a unique, intimate glimpse into the lived religion and private lives of a long-lost world.

About the Author

Markéta Preininger is a researcher at the University of Würzburg. She specializes in vernacular religion and medicine in Late Antique Egypt, with a particular focus on the intersections of ritual practice, bodily conceptions, and the history of emotions.