What Would Jesus Wear? Dress in the Synoptic Gospels

For early followers of Jesus, the body was not a "fixed" entity, yet bodily fixity was a constant concern. The primary way to "fix" the body, or to negotiate and locate identity, was through dress. Dress in the ancient Mediterranean context enabled a different kind of embodied knowledge than contemporary conventions of dress, and in order to understand passages in the synoptic gospels that use items of dress in the flow of their narrative, these garments must be examined in context. The first chapter of this dissertation outlines a methodology of dressed bodies that integrates bodily experience with social practice. This methodology provides the framework for subsequent discussion. The second chapter examines the preponderance of cloaks in the gospels, particularly the gospel of Mark, from a material perspective, arguing that cloaks are not symbolic of inner or other meanings, but are constitutive of meaning in and of themselves. The third chapter focuses on absent clothes and naked bodies, specifically the absent clothes of the disciples according to Jesus' instructions for their travel and work. Jesus commands the disciples to go naked in a dressed society, to identify with a typically rejected state. Finally, chapter four focuses on Mark 14:51-52 and the mysterious flight of the naked man into the night, arguing that it not so mysterious after all: the young man, losing his cloak at the violent scene of Jesus' arrest, leaves it behind in order to flee, joining many other ancient men and women who lost their cloaks in similar situations. When the realities of ancient dress are taken into account, occurrences of dress in the gospels make new sense. The gospel writers use dress as the material means to concretize the identity and qualities of Jesus and his followers.Ph.D