One legend said Mary was a harlot in Alexandria who became a Christian in Jerusalem after traveling there with some men. She then crossed the Jordan River and lived out her days as a solitary penitent. Another legend had her giving up cantor duties in a Jerusalem church to avoid temptation and do penance as a desert hermit, her long hair providing cover when her clothes rotted away. Mary’s story, which may have been conflated with that of Mary Magdalene, was widely known in the Middle Ages.
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