Tělesnost nerostů a země v pozdně antickém a raně islámském Egyptě

Abstract

Corporeality permeates the concept of something as seemingly disembodied as minerals or the earth, as we naturally perceive our surroundings through the prism of our own bodily experience. Using the examples of two objects from late antique and early Islamic Egypt, traditionally categorized as “magical” objects, it is illustrated here how corporeality permeates the perception of earth and stones in a particular historical context. The first object examined is a black hematite stone, which most likely served to protect against or stop excessive (typically gynecological) bleeding. The second is a papyrus with a so-called judicial curse, according to which those who transgressed against the inflictor of this curse were to be swallowed by the throat of the earth.

Keywords

• christianity
• minerals
• papyrology
• bible
• healing rituals
• gemstones