Veneration of Mary, the Virgin mother of Christ, was not new in the late eleventh and twelfth centuries. But it became much more prominent during those years. Do you see any connection between the movement of church reform and the imagery of the Virgin - who was portrayed in art and literature both as the Mother and the Bride of Christ? What does the cult of the Virgin tell us about attitudes toward women? What does it tell us about the authority of the church and the priesthood? Was this use of gender imagery meant to apply to women?
A. Mater Ecclesia (Mother Church)
The church itself was often depicted using feminine imagery - in
fact, it, like the Virgin, was often called the bride of Christ.
Pope Gregory VII, one of the most strident of the papal reformers, seems
to have been especially fond of maternal imagery when discussing the church.
The following are taken from The Correspondence of Gregory VII: Selected
Letters from the Registrum, trans. Ephraim Emerton (New York: Columbia
University Press, 1932), 11-12, 30-31, 154-155, 166-170. Notes: ‘simony'
is the sin of buying or selling church office; the effort to end this practice
was one of the major planks of Gregory's reform.
1. Letter from Gregory VII to his friends in Lombardy warning them against Godfrey, simoniacal bishop of Milan (July 1, 1073)
Gregory, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to all faithful followers of St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles, especially to those dwelling in Lombardy, greeting and apostolic benediction.
I want you to know, beloved brethren, as many of you already know, that we are so placed that, whether we want to or not, we are bound to proclaim truth and righteousness to all peoples, especially to Christians, according to the word of the Lord: "Cry aloud; spare not, lift up your voice like a trumpet and declare to my people their transgressions!" And elsewhere, "If you will not declare his wickedness to the wicked, I will require his soul at your hand." The Prophet also said, "Cursed be he who keeps his sword from blood!" that is, he who keeps back the word of preaching from reproving those who are carnally minded. We make this prelude because, among the many ills which afflict the whole world, certain ministers of Satan and heralds of Antichrist in Lombardy are striving to overturn even the Christian faith and thus are bringing down the wrath of God upon themselves.
As you well know, during the life of Guido, called Archbishop of Milan, Godfrey had the nerve to purchase, like any vile wench, that church which once through the merits of Mary, most glorious Virgin and Mother of God, and through the fame of that most noted Church Father, St. Ambrose [bishop of Milan in the fourth century], shone forth among the churches of Lombardy by its piety, its freedom and its own peculiar glory - that is to say, he prostituted the bride of Christ to the Devil and befouled her with the criminal heresy of Simony by trying to separate her from the catholic faith.
Hearing of this, the Roman Church, mother of you and, as you know, mistress [magistra] of all Christendom, called together a council from several countries and, supported by the approval of many priests and members of diverse orders, through the authority of St. Peter, prince of the Apostles, pierced him with the lance of anathema as an enemy of the Catholic faith and of the canon law, together with all those who took his side. This right of excommunication, as even the enemies of the Church cannot deny, was approved of old by holy fathers and has been confirmed and is still confirmed by Catholics through all the holy churches.
Wherefore, beloved brethren, in the name of Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and of the blessed Peter and Paul, chiefs of the Apostles, we warn, exhort, and command you to have no dealings whatsoever with the aforesaid heretic Godfrey, since to side with him in this crime is to deny the faith of Christ.
2. Letter from Gregory the VII to King William the Conqueror of England, in reply to congratulations sent by William on the occasion of Gregory's election to the papacy (April 4, 1074)
Gregory ... to William, king of the English, greeting ...
Through your grief, my beloved son, at the decease of our predecessor,
Alexander of blessed memory, as well as your joy at our promotion, we are
assured beyond a doubt of your sincere loyalty to your mother, the Holy
Roman Church, and of your will to defend her with all your might. For,
when you heard of her widowhood, as it were, you were deeply saddened,
but were consoled and rejoiced by our election and begged us urgently and
humbly by letter to inform you as to our situation, showing the devotion
of a good son, a son who loves his mother with his whole heart. Fulfill,
then, by your actions, beloved son, the confession of your lips; make your
words effective in the spirit of Christ himself who said: "If a man loves
me, he will keep my words;" and elsewhere, "The proof of love is the display
of deeds." Cease not to labor for righteousness and have such zeal
in defense of the churches committed to your care that you may prepare
healing for your soul, may wipe out the stain of sin and make yourself
of such sweet odor that you may say with the Apostle "For we are a sweet
savor of Christ." We counsel you, warn and exhort you, to set the things
of God above all earthly interests. For this is the one thing the
neglect of which may bring ruin to your power and drag you down into the
depths.
B. Mary, Incarnator of Christ, Bearer of the Bread
of Life
The following two passages are from the devotional writings of two
twelfth-century Cistercian (reformed) monks and mystics. The Cistercians
emphasized in their spirituality both love and the mercy and sweetness
of the Virgin.
1. Bernard of Clairvaux, from Five Books on Consideration
[trans. John Anderson and Elizabeth Kennan (Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian
Publications, 1976), 166-167]
Three Measures of Leavened Flour in a Loaf
It would not seem incongruous to me if someone were to say that the
three measures of flour in the Gospel, which when mixed and leavened form
one loaf of bread, have some relevance to these three essences in Christ.
The Woman leavened them so well that not even with the division of body
and soul was the Word separated form the body or soul! The inseparable
unity remained even in the separation. For, the partial separation which
occurred could not alter the unity in all three. Whether the two were joined
or separated, nonetheless, the unity of the person endured in the three.
The Word, the soul and the body even after death remained one and the same
Christ, one and the same person. I feel that this mixture and leavening
was brought about in the womb of the Virgin and this Woman herself did
the mixing and leavening; for I may say, perhaps not without reason, that
the leaven was Mary's faith. She is truly blessed who believed, because
what was spoken to her by the lord was accomplished in her. But these
things would not have been accomplished unless, as the Lord said, all were
leavened and leavened perpetually, maintaining for us as much in death
as in life the one, perfect mediator of God and men with his divinity,
the man Christ Jesus.
2. Amadeus of Lausanne, Homily No.1
Taken from Magnificat, trans. M.-B. Said and G. Perigo (Kalamazoo,
MI: Cistercian Publications, 1979), 66-67.
As the palm is assessed according to the sweetness of its dates, the olive tree by the richness of the olives, the wine by the juice of the grape, so the praise of the Son enriches the Mother and the divine birth heaps honor on she who bore Him. It is pleasing, beloved, to repeat with another meaning what has already been set forth and to confirm it by a fresh statement, so that blind unbelief may be refused by the light, and faith in Christ reveal itself clearly and without hindrance.
Let us therefore enter the Holy of Holies and gaze upon the mercy seat, which has above it two cherubim gazing upon it and overshadowing it as they face each other with wings outstretched [Ex. 25:17-20]. There among other things shines the golden urn enclosing hidden manna. There is Aaron's rod which budded [Hebrews, 9:4]. Understand that this is the mercy seat of which the Apostle says that he is the propitiation for our sins [1 John 2:2]. The two cherubim mean the two Testaments, for ‘cherubim' means the fulness of knowledge, and the fulness of knowledge is the Testaments. Rightly do the cherubim cover the mercy seat which they gaze upon as they face each other, for they conceal under figures and riddles the Christ whom the Testaments agree in proclaiming.
The golden urn is Blessed Mary, golden by reason of the excellence of her life, golden through the fulness of grace. This urn held the hidden manna [cf. Revelations 2:17], she who in her sacred womb bore the bread of angels which comes down from heaven [cf. John 6:30, Psalm 78:24] and gives life to the world.
Further, the priestly rod signifies that same glorious one [ie., Mary] who, descended from a priestly and royal stock, gave birth to the King of saints, who is a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek [an Old Testament figure who was both king and priest]. Truly is she called a rod for she is gracious and upright, sensitive and straight. Gracious through her modesty and beauty, upright through her justice and rectitude, sensitive through her capacity for contemplation, straight through the merits of her life. She blossomed by the power of the Holy Spirit as Aaron's rod blossomed by miracle [Numbers 17:8]. That rod put forth the fruit of the almond, she gave forth the finest almond, that has kernel and shell: kernel to restore, shell to protect. Kernel in His divinity, shell in His humanity.
Do you wish to know the kernel? Hear that ‘in the beginning was the Word." Do you desire to know the shell? Hear: ‘The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.' You see therefore that the kernel in the shell is the Incarnate Word. And since the shell has a rind, interpret the shell as the bitter woe of the flesh, the shell as the resurrection, the kernel as the divinity. By the rind Christ heals us, but the shell strengthens us and by the kernel ministers to us eternal life.
Let this kernel, this Word, again and again shed light upon us and bring us to his mother's chamber. He who lives and reigns with God the Father in the Unity of the Holy Spirit, God through all ages. Amen.
C. Mary - Symbol of God's Mercy
One aspect of the religious and cultural revival of the twelfth
century was a new interest in God's mercy – which was linked, in many discussions,
to the idea of interior contrition (sorrow) for one's sins. This
new theme linked up with the cult of the Virgin as well; in numerous ‘popular'
stories, as well as in devotional literature, Mary was represented as the
forgiving mediator who intervened on behalf of the sinner before the just
God.
1. Amadeus of Lausanne, Homily No. 2
Taken from Magnificat, trans. M.-B. Said and G. Perigo (Kalamazoo,
MI: Cistercian Publications, 1979), pp. 30-31.
This verse ends, "And the Virgin's name was Mary" [Luke 1:27]. Let us now say a few words about this name, which means ‘star of the sea' and is so becoming to the Virgin Mother. Surely she is very fittingly likened to a star. The star sends out its ray without harm to itself. In the same way the Virgin brought forth her son with no injury to herself [ie., a virgin birth]. The ray no more diminishes the star's brightness than does the Son his mother's integrity. She is indeed that noble star risen out of Jacob [Numbers 24:17] whose beam enlightens this earthly globe. She it is whose brightness both twinkles in the highest heaven and pierces the pit of hell, and is shed upon earth, warming our hearts far more than our bodies, fostering virtue and cauterizing vice. She, I tell you, is that splendid and wondrous star suspended as by necessity over this great wide sea, radiant with merit and brilliant in example. O you, whoever you are, who feel that in the tidal wave of this world you are nearer to being tossed about among the squalls and gales than treading on dry land, if you do not want to founder in the tempest, do not avert your eyes from the brightness of this star. When the wind of temptation blows up within you, when you strike upon the rock of tribulation, gaze up at this star, call out to Mary. Whether you are being tossed about by the waves of pride or ambition or slander or jealousy, gaze up at this star, call out to Mary. When rage or greed or fleshly desires are battering the skiff of your soul, gaze up at Mary. When the immensity of your sins weighs you down and you are bewildered by the loathsomeness of your conscience, when the terrifying thought of judgment appalls you and you begin to founder in the gulf of sadness and despair, think of Mary. In dangers, in hardships, in every doubt, think of Mary, call out to Mary. Keep her in your mouth, keep her in your heart. Follow the example of her life and you will obtain the favor of her prayer. Following her, you will never go astray. Asking her help, you will never despair. Keeping her in your thoughts, you will never wander away. With your hand in hers, you will never stumble. With her protecting you, you will not be afraid. With her leading you, you will never tire. Her kindness will see you through to the end. Then you will know by your own experience how true it is that ‘the Virgin's name was Mary.'
2. Johannes Herolt, Miracles of the Blessed Virgin (15th Century)
Herolt collected a series of stories about the Virgin that had occurred
and/or been written down in the previous millennium. The original
authors of the following stories were, therefore, Peter Damian (a papal
reformer of the 11th century), a thirteenth-century author, and a 6th century
Greek. Taken from the translation by C.C. Swinton Bland (1928).
a. A certain religious in a monastery of St. Peter lived a bad life. A time came when with some of the brothers he took medicine for the health of his body, and immediately afterwards died without confession or holy sacrament. His soul was conducted by devils to the prisons below. St. Peter, whose monk he was, perceiving this, went to the Lord Jesus Christ and begged deliverance for the soul of the monk. To whom the Lord said, "Do you not know what the prophet said under my inspiration, ‘O Lord, who shall dwell in Your Tabernacle, etc.? He who enters without stain and has done righteousness.' How can this man be saved when he has neither entered in without stain nor done anything righteous?" Hearing this, St Peter went to the Blessed Virgin Mary, begging her to intercede with him for that soul. And the holy Mother of God rose and with her holy maidens stood before her Son, and her Son said to her: "What do you, my mother, and you, my beloved sisters, ask of me?" And when the holy Mother replied that she was begging for the soul of a monk, Christ said to her: "Because it is your wish that he should obtain pardon by reason of your prayers, I grant that the soul of the monk will return to his body so that after repentance for his wickedness he may enjoy everlasting rest."
When the holy Mary had made this known to St Peter, in haste St Peter drove off the devils with the key which he held, and rescued the soul of the monk from their power, and ordered two angels to lead that soul back to its body. Moreover, the monk, returning from death, told what had happened to him and what he had seen and how he had been rescued from the power of devils by the supplications of St Mary and St Peter.
b. A certain man lived carnally with another woman, while his wife was
aware of this affair. His wife found it hard to endure this situation,
and so she made complaint in the church of St. Mary, praying to be avenged
on the woman who had stolen her husband. St Mary appeared to her,
and said, "How can I bring harm upon this other woman, since each day she
bends her knee a hundred times to me?" But the woman angrily said "Why
won't you avenge me? I will make my complaint to your son."
She went out of the church muttering those words. But the
adulteress met her and when she inquired what the wife was saying, the
other replied, "I was complaining about you to the Virgin Mary, and she
replied that she would do you no harm because every day you made a hundred
genuflexions to her, and it is for you, because you are her handmaid, and
she promised to make peace between me and you."
And at once the other felt remorse and said, "Since the sweet Mother of God has deigned to call me her handmaid, behold I promise you that she shall make a real peace between you and me, for I will never do you any further injury, but will henceforth through love of our Lady go away." And at once leaving the diocese, she went to a monastery of good repute in the diocese of Cambrai and there served God and the Blessed Mary until her death.
c. There was a certain noble named Theophilus, who became impoverished and was at a loss what to do. At last he thought of going to the crossroads and talking to the Devil, to get him to aid him in his worldly affairs. This he did, but when Theophilus beseeched the Devil to restore him to wealth, the Devil first asked him if he would and could do what the Devil proposed. Theophilus agreed, and swore an oath. Going there three nights in succession, on the first night Theophilus renounced his baptism, on the second he renounced his Creator, and on the third he renounced the Mother of Mercy.
But the Devil, observing Theophilus' love for the latter, said: "If you will confirm this oath in an indenture written in your blood, then all will be complete." This was accordingly done, the indenture written in the blood of Theophilus was confirmed by the Devil's seal.
It happened that one day Theophilus, stung with remorse, began to weep,
and as he wept, to prostrate himself before the image of the Blessed Virgin,
calling on the Blessed Virgin earnestly. But the Blessed Virgin was
ever merciful, and in her kindly pity for him she pardoned what he had
done. And when Theophilus, prostrate before the altar, was weeping
bitterly and praying to the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the image
of God, as if in anger, would not listen to him and turned his face away.
Seeing this the Blessed Virgin placed her son's image on the
altar and with Theophilus went to the Devil. Thus was he brought
back by the grace of God and thus was the Devil ordered by her to return
the indenture of renunciation which Theophilus had given to him, and thus
was Theophilus converted and at last entered into the joys of heaven.
D. Mary - Alone of All Her Sex?
What association did male venerators of the Virgin make between
Mary and other women?
1. Peter Abelard, Sermon on the Annunciation of the Virgin
(12th c.)
Taken from Penny Gold, The Lady and the Virgin (Chicago, 1985),
59.
Let women consider carefully with how much glory the Lord elevated their inferior sex and how natural it must seem that both the heavenly and the earthly paradise pertain to them. Indeed, although in the earthly paradise the female sex was first created in body and soul, to the heavenly paradise she is on this day [the feast day of the Virgin's Annunciation] raised in soul as well as in body. Eve was created out of the Old Adam, but the New Adam, Redeemer of the Old, was produced out of Mary. The former [Eve] expelled him who was at once her husband and father [Adam] from paradise. Today, he who is at once her bridegroom and son [Christ] lifts the latter [Mary] to a more happy paradise.
2. An Eleventh-Century Prayer
From Gold, The Lady and the Virgin, p. 69.
Virgin Mary, holy and immaculate bearer of God, most kind, most merciful and most holy, glorious mother of my Lord and illustrious beyond the stars, you who alone without equal have been a woman pleasing to Christ, you alone with your aid have brought health to a desperate world, pure and most worthy virgin of virgins and most powerful of all women, lord [domina] of all women, for whom nothing is difficult in the presence of God, come to the aid of a miserable sinner, an unjust man, a person full of sin
3. Letter of Pope Gregory VII to Matilda, Countess of Tuscany (between
1073 and 1085)
Matilda of Tuscany was one of the most powerful nobles in Italy
during the Investiture Controversy; she was also a staunch papal ally.
Taken from Gold, p. 70.
May you believe beyond all doubt that, just as Mary is higher and better and more holy than all human mothers, so too she is more gracious and tender towards every sinner who turns to her. Cease, therefore, every sinful desire and, prostrate before her, pour out your tears from a humble and contrite heart. You will find her, I surely promise you, more ready than any earthly mother and more lenient in her love for you.
4. St Bernard of Clairvaux, Homilies, from Magnificat (12th
c.)
Taken from Magnificat, trans. Said and Perigo (Cistercian Publications,
1979), 12-13, 16-17.
a. Homily no. 1
Blessed Mary! She lacks neither humility nor virginity. And what unique
virginity. Motherhood did not stain but honored it. What extraordinary
humility. Fruitful virginity did not tarnish but exalted it. And matchless
fruitfulness went hand-in-hand with both virginity and humility. Which
of them is not wonderful? Which is not incomparable? Which is not unique?
I should not be at all surprised if, having meditated upon them, you hesitated
to say which you find more praiseworthy, whether you think more amazing
the fruitfulness in the virgin or the integrity in the mother; nobility
in child-bearing or, in spite of such nobility, humility. Possibly
it is more excellent to have all three together than to have one of them
alone. For there is no doubt that she who was thus thrice blessed was more
blessed than if she had received only one of them. And yet, is it so extraordinary
that God whom we read and see to be wonderful in his saints should show
himself even more wonderful in his mother?
You who are married, then, reverence the integrity of her flesh amid frail flesh. And you, consecrated virgins, admire the Virgin's fruitfulness. Let all strive to imitate the humility of the Mother of God. Holy angels, revere the mother of your King, and you who worship our humble Virgin's Child, for his is your King and ours, the restorer of our race, the builder of your city. Angels, allow us men to join with you in singing worthy praise of his highness and his lowliness, he who with you is so sublime and yet with us so humble. To him be honor and glory for evermore. Amen.
b. Homily no. 2
So that she might conceive and give birth to the Holy of Holies, she
was made holy in her body by the gift of virginity and she accepted that
gift of humility to become holy in spirit too. This queenly maiden,
adorned with the jewels of these virtues, radiant with this perfect beauty
of spirit and body, renowned in the assembly of the Most High for her loveliness
and her beauty, so ravished the eyes of all the heavenly citizens that
the heart of the King himself desired her beauty and sent down to her from
on high a heavenly messenger. And this is what the Evangelist is
telling us here when he states that an angel was sent from God to a virgin.
He says ‘from God to a virgin;' from the highest to the humble; from the
Master to the handmaiden; from the Creator to the creature! How kind God
is! How matchless is the Virgin! Make haste, mothers and daughters, hasten
all you who after Eve and because of Eve were born and do yourselves give
birth in pain. Gather round this virginal chamber and, if you can, enter
your sister's chaste inner room. Behold, God has sent down for the Virgin.
Behold, Mary is being spoken for by the angel. Put your ear to the door,
strain to listen to the tidings he brings. Maybe you will hear soothing
words to comfort you.
Rejoice, Adam, our father, and you more especially, mother Eve,
exult. You were the parents of mankind and the destroyers of mankind and,
most wretchedly, our destroyers even before you were our parents.
Now let both of you, I say, take consolation in your daughter, and in so
great a daughter, especially you, woman, from whom evil had its beginning,
you whose reproach has been handed down to all womankind. The time has
now come for this reproach to be taken away. No longer will man have any
reason to accuse woman as he did long ago, when, attempting cravenly to
excuse himself, he did not hesitate cruelly to accuse her, saying, "the
woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me the fruit of the tree and
I ate it" [Genesis, 3:12]. Eve, run then to Mary, run to your daughter.
Let your daughter now plead for her mother and take away her mother's reproach.
Let her now reconcile her mother to the Father. For if man fell on account
of woman, surely he will rise only through another woman. What was it you
said, Adam? ‘The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me the fruit
of the tree, and I ate.' What evil words! Far from excusing you, they condemn
you. However, Wisdom prevails against evil. The occasion for
pardon which God endeavored to draw from you by his cross-examination,
but could not, he found instead in the treasure of his never-failing kindness.
Yes, he gave woman for woman; a wise one for a foolish one; a humble one
for an arrogant one. Instead of the tree of death, she offers you a taste
of life; in place of the poisonous fruit of bitterness she holds out to
you the sweetness of eternity's fruit. Change your words of evil
excuse into a song of thanksgiving then and say, ‘Lord, the woman whom
you gave to be with me, she gave me the fruit of the tree of life, and
I ate; and it was sweeter than honey to my mouth, for by it you have given
me life.' Behold, for this was the angel sent to a virgin. O Virgin maid,
admirable and worthy of all our honor. O uniquely venerable woman! O fairest
among all women! You have repaired your parents' weakness, and restored
life to all their offspring.