Offering a creative and convincing new picture of Christianity in Egypt in
late antiquity, this book will appeal to a wide range of scholars in religion,
anthropology, and sociology. Every page testifies to David Frankfurter's deep
knowledge of an exceptionally wide range of ancient texts and artifacts. And
his writing is so engaging and vivid that he makes the religious practices
come alive. This will be a very influential book.--AnneMarie Luijendijk,
Princeton University
David Frankfurter richtete die Waffe zu einem Zeitpunkt gegen den Nationalsozialismus, als dieser von den Regierungen vieler Länder weder als Kriegsgefahr noch als genozidale Gewaltherrschaft betrachtet wurde. Am 4. Februar 1936 erschoss er in Davos den NSDAP-Landesgruppenleiter der Schweiz, Wilhelm Gustloff. Damit war Frankfurter einer der ersten Juden, die sich dem nationalsozialistischen Unrechtsregime mit der Waffe entgegenstellten. Unmittelbar nach seiner Entlassung aus der Haft hielt er 1946 gemeinsam mit dem deutsch-jüdischen Dichter, Journalisten und Religionsphilosophen Schalom Ben-Chorin seine Lebensgeschichte fest. Zwei Jahre später erschienen seine Memoiren in hebräischer Sprache unter dem Titel Nakam, dem biblischen Wort für »Rache«. Mit dem vorliegenden Buch wird Frankfurters Selbstzeugnis erstmals ungekürzt in deutscher Sprache veröffentlicht. Die Memoiren werden in kommentierter Lesefassung von Sabina Bossert und Janis Lutz herausgegeben und mit einem Nachwort von Micha Brumlik kommentiert. -- Page 4 of cover
Focusing on the endurance of classical Egyptian religion, this exploration traces its evolution from the emergence of Christianity to its dominance in Egypt. David Frankfurter utilizes a variety of sources, including papyri, saints' lives, and archaeological findings, to demonstrate that Pharaonic beliefs persisted longer than previously thought. Rather than vanishing, these traditions shifted from political centers to local settings, maintaining a vibrant presence in village and domestic life for centuries.
Hours after Franz Schubert and Johann Michael Vogel perform a commissioned song for a notorious countess, she ends up dead, and the two musicians become the prime suspects.Franz Schubert is convinced by his friend and musical partner, Johann Michael Vogl, to set aside preparations for his new opera Alfonso Und Estrella to accept a commission from the notorious Countess Eugénie von Neulinger. Schubert agrees to set an anonymous poem to music and present it with Vogl at one of the countess’s famous soirées. Within hours of the performance, Countess Eugénie, the secret author of the poem, is murdered. Both Schubert and Vogl, an old paramour of Eugénie, become suspects.Authorities assigned to the case care more about providing a quick, politically expedient solution to the crime than catching the right criminal, and begin to delve into Schubert’s and Vogl’s private lives. When one of the detectives assigned to follow Schubert also ends up dead, Vogl sees a noose tightening around his composer friend. Convinced that the commissioned song must be the key, Vogl acts desperately but decisively to stop the murderer as well as to preserve the source of much immortal music.
The book explores the phenomenon of Satanic panic in 1980s America, drawing parallels to historical fears in early Christianity, early modern Europe, and postcolonial Africa. Historian David Frankfurter investigates the social and psychological factors that fuel these conspiracy theories, which involve accusations of child abuse and sinister control by cults. Through this analysis, the author delves into the enduring mythology of evil and its impact on society, offering insights into the nature of fear and belief in conspiracies.
This volume deals with the origins and rise of Christian pilgrimage cults in late antique Egypt. Part One covers the major theoretical issues in the study of Coptic pilgrimage, such as sacred landscape and shrines' catchment areas, while Part Two examines native Egyptian and Egyptian Jewish pilgrimage practices. Part Three investigates six major shrines, from Philae's diverse non-Christian devotees to the great pilgrim center of Abu Mina and a Thecla shrine on its route. Part Four looks at such diverse pilgrims' rites as oracles, chant, and stational liturgy, while Part Five brings in Athanasius's and an anonymous hagiographer's perspectives on pilgrimage in Egypt. The volume includes illustrations of the Abu Mina site, pilgrims' ampules from the Thecla shrine, as well as several maps.
