The Annunciation to Mary: A Christian Echo in the Qurʾān
The Annunciation to Mary as presented in the Protevangelium of James is an early account of Mary’s childhood and the Virgin Birth that flourished in both Western and Eastern Churches. This Annunciation account, distinct from versions found in the canonical gospels of the New Testament, successfully migrated beyond its Christian milieu, where it had traversed primarily by textual means in late-antiquity. The account’s widespread influence is attested to by its entry into the oral milieu of Arabia, the account being the basis by which the Qurʾān vindicates Mary and corrects Christological error amid a seemingly polemical environment. This article will evaluate qualities of the selected passage Q. 3:42-7 that elucidate the Annunciation’s gain of a new identity as it became adopted into the Qurʾānic corpus while considering how the Annunciation as presented in the passage provides further clarity as to the polemical and political circumstances surrounding the proto-Muslim community.
The Angelic Salutation in Early Byzantine and Medieval Annunciation Imagery
Best known as the opening phrase of a familiar Latin prayer, the angelic salutation (Luke 1:28) frequently appears in medieval images of the Annunciation. However, the history of these images begins in the Greek-speaking world, as does the tradition of using the same words as a prayer for Mary's protection and mediation. Arguing that the inscribed images were intended to serve as catalysts to prayer, this article examines their appearance on some early Byzantine pilgrimage objects, in the oratory of Pope John VII, in a pair of late medieval Books of Hours, and in Simone Martini's St. Ansano Altarpiece.
The structure of Ibibio death prevention names
This paper examines death prevention names among the Ibibio in South-eastern Nigeria, from their structural perspectives. Ibibio death prevention names can generate and maintain some level of assurance and security that is vital for a child’s survival, given the implicit assumption that spiritual forces of some kind are at work. These names are believed to link their bearers to their past, ancestors and spirituality. This paper argues that these names represent enriching morphosyntactic properties that provide a window to the grammatical description of the Ibibio language. Their syntax is not constrained to a limited set of structures, thus they are structurally versatile and open ended, representing the various types and functions of sentences in the Ibibio language. The paper concludes with the claim that, in addition to the referential contents and metaphysical presuppositions of these names, they have other formal structural properties that distinguish them from ordinary Ibibio names.