Mother of God: A History of the Virgin Mary

577 Pages·2009·2.14 MB·English

by  Miri Rubin

Mother of God
This page intentionally left blank
M I R I RU B I N
Mother of God
A History of the Virgin Mary
Yale University Press
New Haven & London
Disclaimer: Some images in the printed version of this book are not available for
inclusion in the eBook.
Published 2009 in the United States by Yale University Press
Published 2009 in the United Kingdom by Allen Lane, an imprint of
PenguinBooks
Copyright © 2009 by Miri Rubin.
All rights reserved.
This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including
illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107
and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public
press), without written permission from the publishers.
Set in PostScript Adobe Sabon
Typeset by Rowland Phototypesetting Ltd, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Printed in the United States.
Library of Congress Catalog Number: 2008939283
ISBN 978-0-300-10500-1 (hardcover : alk. paper)
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992
(Permanence of Paper).
It contains 30 percent postconsumer waste (PCW) and is certified by the
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
ListofIllustrations viii
ListofMaps xi
Acknowledgements xviii
WritingaboutMary:AnIntroduction xxi
part i
From Temple Maiden to the Bearer of God:
To the Year 431
1 TheEarliestGlimpsesofMary 3
2 MaryinaChristianEmpire 17
3 VersionsofMary 34
4 MaryoftheImperialState 43
part ii
From the Eastern Mediterranean to the Irish Sea:
To the Year 1000
5 MaryoftheChristianEmpire 53
6 BeyondtheGreekWorld 83
7 TheEmergenceofEuropeanMary 100
v
contents
part iii
The Emergence of Mary’s Hegemony: 1000–1200
8 MaryoftheCloister 121
9 MaryofPolemicandEncounter 158
10 AbundanceandUbiquity 177
part iv
Mary, Local and Familiar: 1200–1400
11 MaryinLiturgy,SongandPrayer 191
12 Mary,theFriars,andtheMotherTongue 197
13 TeachingMaryinParishandHome 217
14 Mary’sMiraclesasRewardandasPunishment 228
15 MaryattheFootoftheCross 243
16 MaryandWomen,MaryandMen 256
part v
Mary as Queen and Reformer: 1400–1500
17 MarytheSublime 285
18 Mary:UnlikeAnyOther 303
19 MaryofParishPracticeandFamilyLife 313
20 Mary:AWorldofDevotionalPossibilities 332
part vi
Mary Reformed, Mary Global: 1500 and Beyond
21 MaryofReformandReformation 355
22 FromEuropetotheRestoftheWorld 379
23 MaryinaWorldofNeighbouringDiversity 400
vi
contents
AfterMary:AConclusion 413
AFewCommentsonScholarshipandReading 425
Notes 428
Index 511
vii
List of Illustrations
1 TheRoyalMail’s2005ChristmasstampsfeaturingimagesofMary
fromEurope,Africa,AsiaandtheAmericas.(©RoyalMailGroup
Ltd,2008)
2 StatueofMarybyDavidWynneintheLadyChapelatElycathedral.
(©Elycathedral,Cambridgeshire)
3 Imageofabreastfeedingwomanhersoninthepresenceofaprophet
onthewalloftheCatacombofPriscilla.(CatacombofPriscilla,Via
Salaria,Rome;©PhotoScala,Florence)
4 Sixth–seventh-century painting of Mary and her son enclosed in a
mandorla. (Private collection, wax encaustic painting on linen,
placed upon a panel measuring 53.5 x 29.5 cm; photo: Temple
Gallery)
5 EgyptianrepresentationofMaryasamotherfeedinghersonatthe
breast, in a manner reminiscent of statues of the goddess Isis.
(Antinoe Papyrus, PSI XV 1574; 10 x 10.5 cm © Istituto Papiro-
logico G.Vitelli, Universita` degli Studidi Firenze,Italy, Trisnegistis
no.68875)
6 Seventh-century niche decoration from the Egyptian monastery of
Bawit.(TheArtArchive/CopticMuseum,Cairo/GianniDagliOrti)
7 TheimageofMaryintheGelloneSacramentary,c.790–804.(Paris,
Bibliothe`queNationaledeFrance,msLat.12048,fol.1verso)
8 Mosaic decoration in the church of Hagia Sofia c.843–67. (Hagia
Sofia,Istanbul;©akg-images/ErichLessing)
9 GoldenMadonnamadeforthearistocraticwomenattachedtoEssen
cathedralaroundtheyear1000.(Essen,Domstift;74cmhigh,ona
pedestal27cmhigh©Ullsteinbild/Topfoto)
10 Collectary made at Reichenau abbey, c.1010–30. (Hildesheim,
Dombibliothek688,fol.77;22x16.5cm)
viii
list of illustrations
11 StatueoftheVirginMaryatRocamadourshrine,eleventh–twelfth
century. (Sanctuary ofthe Blessed Virgin Mary,Rocamadour, Lot;
©RogerMechan/fots)
12 StatueofMaryseatedwiththesoninherlap.(MaredeDe´udeGer;
52.5 cm high, 20.5cm wide and 14.5 cm deep © MNAC–Museu
Nacianal d’Art de Catalunya, Barcelona; photographers: Calveras/
Merida/Sagrista)
13 Carvingaddedtothefac¸adeofPoitierscathedralc.1250.(Cathedral
of Saint-Pierre, Poitiers, Vienne; © akg-images/Jean-Paul
Dumontier)
14 Brass canteen inlaid with silver made in Syria or northern Iraq
c.1250.(FreerGalleryofArt,SmithsonianInstitution,Washington,
DC;45.2x36.7cm)
15 ImagefromtheLambethApocalypseofc.1260ofamonkatwork,
making a statue of Mary and her son. (Lambeth Palace, ms 209,
fol. 2v; painted vellum 20 x 27.2 cm; © Lambeth Palace Library,
London/TheBridgemanArtLibrary)
16 Altar decoration, the church of Santa Maria de Cardet. (Cardet
Frontal;96x160cm;©MNAC–MuseuNacionald’ArtdeCatalu-
nya,Barcelona;photographers:Calveras/Merida/Sagrista)
17 Mary’s funeral depicted on the south wall of Chalgrove parish
church, before 1329. (Parish church of St Mary, Chalgrove,
Oxfordshire)
18 Image of Mary in the current east window of the parish church of
EatonBishop,c.1320.(ParishchurchofStMichaelandAllAngels,
EatonBishop,Herefordshire;photoDavidRoss)
19 Illumination of the German mystic Henry Suso (c.1300–1366).
(Bibliothe`que Nationale et Universitaire de Strasbourg, ms 2929,
fol.8v;21.4x14.2cm)
20 Mary as Mother of Mercy (mater misericordia) painted in the
interior of a statue of Mary and her son, c.1400. (Germanisches
Museum,Nuremberg/TheBridgemanArtLibrary)
21 Ethiopian painting representing Mary and her son and Christ’s
Passion.(Museumfu¨rVo¨lkerkunde,Munich,18x20cm)
22 Altarpiece depicting the meeting of Mary and Elizabeth from the
villageofCsego¨ldinSzatma´rCounty,easternHungary.(Kereszteny
Muzeum,Esztergom,86x72cm;photoAttilaMudrale)
23 Panel of c.1500 depicting Mary feeding her son by David Gerard
ix