Epigraphy, Image, and Material: The Strategic Power of the Word "And" on Byzantine Uterine Amulets.

In the context of social taboos excluding bleeding women from church spaces, a Byzantine uterine amulet references the gospel story of the healing of the bleeding woman for those needing alternative means for aid. The word "and" begins its Greek inscription. This seemingly insignificant detail signals a resourceful and local application of authoritative tradition, rather than a rote or mistaken reproduction of the gospel text. The amulet's specific use of "and" contributes in multiple ways to the amulet's authority through its materiality, recitation, repetition, and embodiment. The amulet repackages the healing of the bleeding woman within its own text, images, and material, bringing new authority parallel to – and even in place of – church access. This essay explores the epigraphic grammatical peculiarity of beginning with "and" as an intentional, meaningful transformation of gospel rhetoric into power for the individual, with implications for a niche epigraphic tradition on this and other uterine amulets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]