This is a collection of legends about Mary's life, from her birth until King Herod ordered the killing of children in Bethlehem. The earliest known version is called the Book of the Nativity of Mary or the Gospel of James. This is because it claims that James, the half-brother of Jesus, wrote it. It was written before AD 150, since the early Christian writer Justin mentioned it in his Dialogues (165). Guillaume Postel rediscovered it for the West and translated it from Greek into Latin in 1552 under the title Protevangelium Jacobi.
Before it was lost, the work appeared in two major Latin versions: Pseudo-Matthew (around the sixth century) and the Gospel of the Nativity of Mary (around the ninth century). These versions added more imaginative stories to the original Book of the Nativity of Mary and became the foundation for the Golden Legend by Jacobus de Voragine (1230–1298). These legends helped promote the veneration of Mary within the church.
According to the Book of the Nativity of Mary, she was born to wealthy parents named Joachim and Anna. They were not able to have children. After an angel answered their prayers for a child, they dedicated Mary to God. When she was six months old, Mary took seven steps, which led Anna to make her daughter’s room a holy space where nothing ceremonially unclean could enter. Anna promised that Mary would not walk again until she entered the temple.
At age three, Mary was taken to the temple, where she was cared for and fed by an angel. When she turned twelve, the high priest prayed for guidance and was told that Mary should marry a widower. Joseph, an elderly carpenter, was chosen when a dove came out of his staff as a sign.
Months later, Mary gave birth to Jesus in a cave near Bethlehem. A bright light surrounded them so that no one could see. When the light faded, the baby Jesus was at Mary’s breast. The story ends with the visit of the magi and Herod’s order to kill the infants of Bethlehem. To protect Jesus, Mary wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger.
A small Greek fragment from another Gospel of Mary was recently found, but it is too damaged to reveal much about its content.