Mother of God: A History of the Virgin MaryA sweeping, ambitious study of the Virgin Mary’s emergence and role throughout Western historyHow did the Virgin Mary, about whom very little is said in the Gospels, become one of the most powerful and complex religious figures in the world? To arrive at the answers to this far-reaching question, one of our foremost medieval historians, Miri Rubin, investigates the ideas, practices, and images that have developed around the figure of Mary from the earliest decades of Christianity to around the year 1600. Drawing on an extraordinarily wide range of sources—including music, poetry, theology, art, scripture, and miracle tales—Rubin reveals how Mary became so embedded in our culture that it is impossible to conceive of Western history without her.In her rise to global prominence, Mary was continually remade and reimagined by wave after wave of devotees. Rubin shows how early Christians endowed Mary with a fine ancestry; why in early medieval Europe her roles as mother, bride, and companion came to the fore; and how the focus later shifted to her humanity and unparalleled purity. She also explores how indigenous people in Central America, Africa, and Asia remade Mary and so fit her into their own cultures.Beautifully written and finely illustrated, this book is a triumph of sympathy and intelligence. It demonstrates Mary’s endless capacity to inspire and her profound presence in Christian cultures and beyond. |
Contents
From the Eastern Mediterranean to the Irish Sea To the Year 1000 | 51 |
The Emergence of Marys Hegemony 10001200 | 119 |
Mary Local and Familiar 12001400 | 189 |
Mary as Queen and Reformer 14001500 | 283 |
Mary Reformed Mary Global 1500 and Beyond | 353 |
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altarpiece angels Anne Annunciation artists Assumption became Bernard of Clairvaux biblical birth bishop blessed body Book of Hours Bridgettine Byzantine Cambridge cathedral Catholic celebrated century Christ Christian church Cistercian confraternity Constantinople cross crown Crucifixion cult Culture Culture of Wales decorated depicted devotional divine early Emperor enthroned Europe European feast figure of Mary Franciscan gospel heaven Hildegard of Bingen hymns Ibid icon image of Mary imagery Immaculate Conception imperial Incarnation inspired Jean Gerson Jesus Jewish Jews John Joseph Lady Latin liturgy London Madonna Marian Mary and Child Mary’s miracles monastery monastic monks motet mother Muslims narrative Nativity offered Oxford painted panel Paris parish Passion pilgrims poetry polemical praise prayer priests Psalter Reformation religious Rocamadour Rome rosary saints scene sermon shrine Siena Song of Songs story Syriac Syriac Christianity Theotokos tradition trans Turnhout Virgin Mary vision woman womb women