Joseph the Smith and the Salvational Transformation of Matter in Early Medieval Europe
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7654078 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Mary W Helms (University of North Carolina at Greensboro, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2006 |
| Volume | 101 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 451-472 |
| Publication date | 2006-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Anthropos (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0257-9774 |
| Publisher | Nomos Verlag (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.5771/0257-9774-2006-2-451 |
| OpenAlex | W1550563886 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 30 |
In early medieval Western Europe, Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, was identified occupationally not only as a domestic woodworker but also as a blacksmith, the most mysterious, powerful, and sacrosanct category of supernaturally endowed skilled crafting known to traditional nonindustrial societies. After reviewing skilled crafting and especially smithing as ritual processes, this essay considers typological identification of Joseph the smith as earthly parallel of the Deus artifex and as symbolic of the purifying (salvational) transformation of earthly matter (humanity) into a more rarefied (spiritual) state by fire as represented metaphorically by metallurgical processes. Aspects of the ideological climate of opinion encouraging such an identification in the early Middle Ages are also discussed. [St. Joseph, transformation of matter, smithing, early medieval cosmology, metaphors of salvation]
Ancient history · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Chemistry · Classics · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History · Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices
Rural Economy and Country Life in the Medieval West
Genesis as myth
Trees and timber in the ancient Mediterranean world
European Literature and the Latin Middle Ages
The Apocryphal New Testament
Living Letters of the Law
The Rise of Magic in Early Medieval Europe
Alone of all her sex
Alchemy, Child of Greek Philosophy.
The Goths in the Fourth Century
The Church in Anglo-Saxon England
Paganism to Christianity in Anglo-Saxon England
The Study of the Bible in the Middle Ages
A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature
Indigenous African Metallurgy
Outcasts
The Germanization of Early Medieval Christianity
St. Joseph in the English Mystery Plays
Natural Science and Naturalistic Art in the Middle Ages
How the Ancients Viewed Deforestation
Vivum saxum, vivi lapides
Early Greek Myth
Psychology and Alchemy
The Attitude Towards Labor in Early Christianity and Ancient Culture
Craftsmen in Greek and Roman Society
Hermes, the Thief
The Kalevala, or Poems of the Kaleva District
Hebrew Myths
Time, Work, and Culture in the Middle Ages
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,2 |
| Citation span | 2021 - 2021 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |