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      THIS BOOK IS MADE POSSIBLE BY A COLLABORATIVE GRANT FROM THE ANDREW W. MELLON FOUNDATION.

      Copyright © 2017 University of Pennsylvania Press

      All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations used for purposes of review or scholarly citation, none of this book may be reproduced in any form by any means without written permission from the publisher.

      Published by

      University of Pennsylvania Press

      Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-4112

       www.upenn.edu/pennpress

      Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper

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      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Name: Arentzen, Thomas, 1976– author.

      Title: The Virgin in song : Mary and the poetry of Romanos the Melodist / Thomas Arentzen.

      Other titles: Divinations.

      Description: 1st edition. | Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, [2017] | Series: Divinations: rereading late ancient religion | Includes bibliographical references and index.

      Identifiers: LCCN 2016045439 | ISBN 9780812249071 (hardcover : alk. paper)

      Subjects: LCSH: Romanus, Melodus, Saint, active 6th century. | Mary, Blessed Virgin, Saint—In literature. | Christian poetry, Byzantine—History and criticism. | Mary, Blessed Virgin, Saint—Poetry—History and criticism. | Hymns, Greek—History and criticism.

      Classification: LCC BV467.5.R63 A74 2017 | DDC 264.2/3—dc23

      LC record available at

       https://lccn.loc.gov/2016045439

       for Benedicte

      CONTENTS

       A Note on Editions and Translations

       List of Abbreviations

       1. The Song and the City

       2. On the Verge of Virginity

       3. The Mother and Nurse of Our Life

       4. A Voice of Rebirth

       Conclusion. Virginity Recast

       Appendix 1. On the Annunciation

       Appendix 2. Catalogue of Hymns Referred to in the Study

       Notes

       Bibliography

       Index

       Acknowledgments