 By the medieval period , reading became synonymous with devotion , which involved withdrawal from public view . Van der Weyden 's placement of the Magdalen in an interior scene reflects the increasing literacy of domestic or laywomen in the mid @-@ 15th century . The increased production of devotional texts showed that noble women of the period routinely read texts such as a psalter or book of hours in the privacy of their homes . Whether the Magdalen herself was a reader , by the 17th century she was firmly established as such in the visual arts . Because the Magdalen was present at Christ 's death and subsequent resurrection , she was seen as the bearer of news — a witness — and hence directly associated with the text . 
 By the medieval period , reading became synonymous with devotion , which involved withdrawal from public view . Van der Weyden <a href='null_genetive' title='1'><mark>'s</mark></a>placement of the Magdalen in an interior scene <a href='uninflect' title='2'><mark>reflects</mark></a> the increasing literacy of domestic or laywomen in the mid @-@ 15th century . The increased production of devotional texts showed that noble women of the period routinely read texts such as a psalter or book of hours in the privacy of their homes . Whether the Magdalen herself was a reader , by the 17th century she was firmly established as such in the visual arts . Because the Magdalen was present at Christ <a href='null_genetive' title='3'><mark>'s</mark></a>death and subsequent resurrection , she was seen as the bearer of news — a witness — and hence directly associated with the text . 
By the medieval period , reading became synonymous with devotion , which involved withdrawal from public view . Van der Weyden  placement of the Magdalen in an interior scene reflect the increasing literacy of domestic or laywomen in the mid @-@ 15th century . The increased production of devotional texts showed dat noble women of the period routinely read texts such as a psalter or book of hours in da privacy of their homes . Whether tdaMagdalen herself was a reader , by the 17th century she was firmly established as such in the visual arts . Because thdaagdalen was present at Christ  death and subsequent resurrection , she was seen as thedaarer of news — a witness — and hence directly associated w/ the dat .