Primae Resurrectionis testes. Tracce della presenza delle mirofore nella liturgia occidentale

The study investigates the presence and liturgical treatment of the Myrrh-bearing Women in the Western tradition by exploring textual, ritual, and devotional traces of their cult, and contrasting them with their prominent role in Byzantine liturgy. In the Latin liturgy, references to these women are sparse and mostly indirect, largely confined to the Easter Vigil, whose ceremonies were enriched by early medieval liturgical drama, such as the Visitatio Sepulchri, where the Women play a central role. Particular attention is given to the medieval cult of the “Three Marys” and the development of proper liturgical texts in France and beyond, marking a significant transition of the cult into popular devotion. The comparative analysis, which highlights the diversity of liturgical languages in East and West, is accompanied by a critical edition of the texts for the Mass of the Three Marys, based on more than forty late medieval and early modern Missals.