Great article, Shroudie!
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That is interesting to read, but I would say that the gnostic text could have several interpretations.
Wearing a shroud on significant days is an ancient Middle Eastern custom. By co-incidence, at this time, the eve of the Persian new year, some Iranian children parade around in shrouds to commemorate the death of the old year, and also the visits from the spirits of the dead which are thought to occur at this time. (I am pinging Freedom44 to this thread, he will be able to inform us about this.)
Shrouds have also been worn by Sufis, Islamic martyrs, etc. in order to symbolise their death to the world. They are said to "see themselves" in these symbols of death. Sometimes there are folkloric stories about images and words appearing on the linen shrouds as miraculous portents. I wonder if the Edessa text does not refer to religious customs of this sort.
GGG material?
Not to be the party pooper, and admittedly I don't know the context of this statement in the Acts of Thomas, but knowning that it comes from a Gnostic text, it sounds an aweful lot like a Gnostic metaphor, possibly for the moment of realization of the great knowledge of Gnostism. It seems like something that might refer to the moment in time where a person with the spark of knowledge realizes the evil and vapidness of the natural world.
Just a thought.
