Mary

doi:10.1017/CHOL9780521811064.020

18 - Mary

from PART IV - SHAPES OF A CHRISTIAN WORLD

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 March 2010

Rachel Fulton

Edited by

Miri Rubin and

Walter Simons

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Miri Rubin: Affiliation:
Queen Mary University of London
Walter Simons: Affiliation:
Dartmouth College, New Hampshire

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Summary

Our Lady, Mother of God, Virgin of Virgins, Star of the Sea, Mother of Mercy, Seat of Wisdom, Tower of Ivory, Terror of Demons, Daughter of Jerusalem, Couch of Solomon, Garden of Delights, Mystical Rose, Blessed among women, Bride of God, Handmaid of the Trinity, heavenly Queen: these are but a few of the titles with which Mary, mother of Jesus, was addressed in the litanies and other prayers of the medieval European West. They are remarkable as much for their abundance as their variety, apt witness, some might say, to the ‘excesses’ and ‘abuses’ to which the pre-Reformation Marian cult was regrettably, if not inevitably, all too prone. The earth and the heavens, the sun, moon and stars; the flowers of the garden and the fruits, spices and trees of the field; gold, silver, ivory, crystal, precious woods, gems and pearls; fountains and fortresses, temples and arks; gates, ladders, libraries and treasure-chests; mirrors and aqueducts; towers, armies and doves; the mountains and the sea: all were invoked in the art, literature and liturgies of the later Middle Ages as symbols for or attributes of the Virgin Mother of God. As the Benedictine archbishop Anselm of Canterbury (d. 1109) exclaimed in the third of his three great prayers to Mary,

Heaven, stars, earth, waters, day and night, and whatever was in the power of use of men was guilty; they rejoice now, Lady, that they lost that glory, for a new and ineffable grace has been given them through you. They are brought back to life and give thanks…[for] by you the elements are renewed.

Keywords

God liturgical prayers antiphons psalms Throne of Wisdom Virgin Mary pilgrimage churches medieval European Christian devotions Marian offices

Type: Chapter
Information: The Cambridge History of Christianity , pp. 283 - 296

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CHOL9780521811064.020 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2009

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18 - Mary

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