Chapter 3 - Invoking the Name of Mary

Summary

Chapter 3, “Invoking the Name of Mary,” reconstructs the resonance of Marian invocation for charm participants of the late-Saxon period. While the elaborate monastic cult of the Virgin had not yet spread into popular devotion at this time, the Church urged Christians to trust Mary with their needs. It taught the people that she would advocate for them in response to their prayers. Church festivals, liturgy, homily, and poetry expose laity to narratives about Mary’s intervention on behalf of the faithful. The Mother of Christ could intercede with her son; the Queen of Heaven and Hell could command saints and overcome the devil. Charms that invoke Mary call on her by name, relate stories about the Virgin’s miraculous bearing of Christ, and prescribe her Magnificat or Masses said in her honor. Through the operation of charms’ semiotic systems, the Virgin known from vernacular and ecclesiastical traditions becomes immanent for the charm audience. By identifying the ways in which Mary is invoked, this chapter demonstrates Mary’s contributions to remedies for acute physical and spiritual conditions.