The Magical Body

The lived experience of individuals from Late Antique and Early Islamic Egypt is the subject of this study. By focusing on Christian ritual texts for private use written in Coptic, this book gives voice to those whose lives the ancient manuscripts reflect, revealing how they used ritual practices and amulets to navigate fear, health, and social conflicts. Reconstructing various "bodies"-from the social, female to the divine-the book explores the intersection of ritual action and bodily metaphor. This volume offers a unique, intimate glimpse into the lived religion and private lives of a long-lost world.