“Inn besti hlutr”? Martha of Bethany and Women’s Roles in Medieval Iceland

Abstract

This article examines the composite Old Norse-Icelandic legend of Mary Magdalen and Martha, the so-called M0rtu saga ok Maríu Magðalenu, in light of its unusual focus on Martha. Most medieval legends of the “sister saints,” both in Latin and in the vernacular, focus almost exclusively on Mary Magdalen, the model of the contemplative life (vita contemplativa). However, the Old Norse-Icelandic compilation, which draws from a number of Latin sources, gives Martha, the model of the active life (vita activa), a primary role in the saga and condenses key aspects of the legend pertaining to Mary Magdalen. It is argued that the concentration on Martha can be seen within the context of how saints’ lives oftentimes functioned in medieval Christendom, namely to both prescribe and describe societal expectations. Women in Iceland, both lay and religious, were by necessity active in the domestic sphere. Martha, as the model of the vita activa and of hospitality, would have been a much more practical saintly model for Icelandic women than Mary Magdalen, whose vita contemplativa would have had little practical application in medieval Iceland’s agrarian society,
where domestic work and hospitality were of fundamental importance, both on the farm and in the convents.