Juvenes - The Middle Ages seen by Young Researchers
| , , ,Building the Temple: Marian Imagery and Iconographic Influences in the Late Middle Ages
Résumé
The present chapter investigates the construction of Mary’s Presentation to the Temple as reflected in visual material pertaining mostly to thirteenth-sixteenth-century French1 illuminated manuscripts in relation to fresco representations2. Beginning with the analysis of Mary’s Presentation to the Temple in textual sources, the core of the article highlights the contribution and use of various iconographies in building relatively new Marian imagery. One of these influences is the iconography of Christ’s entrance to the Temple3, hence, the use of canonical iconography for non-canonical/apocryphal visual material. This section builds on the argument of Jacqueline Lafontaine-Dosogne that Mary’s Presentation is visually modeled on that of Christ’s, an assertion that needs further demonstration in order to determine the amount of such influence4. The present research also highlights the contribution of other iconographies, besides that of Christ’s, in the construction of Mary’s Presentation such as that of child oblation into monastic space. The research concludes by emphasizing the use of common iconographic patterns, placed in the context of specific hagiographic tendencies in the late middle ages, and the emergence of new religious feasts in relation to liturgical developments.
Entrées d'index
Note de l’auteur
The present paper is a section of the research project: M.A.R.I.A.-Marian Apocryphal Representations in Art: From Hagiographic Collections to Church Space and Liturgy in Fourteenth-to-Sixteenth-Century France." This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 793043. The information and views set out in this study reflects only the author's view and the Agency (REA) is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.
Texte intégral
Introduction
- 5 Gijsel, 1997.
- 6 This chapter deals with Western sources, the author is aware of the existence of earlier Eastern so (...)
- 7 Ferraro, 2012, 192.
- 8 For both East and West, see for instance, Epiphanius the Monk, Life of the Virgin, PG. 120.185-216; (...)
1As the narratives on the conception, birth, presentation, and life at the temple of the Virgin are not recorded in the New Testament Gospels, it was the function of apocryphal literature to supplement missing parts of Mary’s youth that are found in two narrative traditions. The first one, and earliest, is the second-century Protevangelium of James and its later incorporation into the Armenian Infancy Gospel; the second literary tradition, subject of this analysis, is that of the eight-century Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew5, incorporated into the Libellus de Nativitate Sanctae Mariae6, and, later, into the Legenda Aurea7. This Marian apocryphal material is (later) included in liturgical sources, sermons, hymns, and hagiographic compilations, hence the circulation and reuse of apocryphal material within church/religious space and private-devotional/secular space8.
2Although these sources present certain developments, a general outline of Mary’s life is still common to all of them: the Virgin Mary is born to a childless couple, Saints Anne and Joachim. After having his sacrifice refused at the temple, Joachim withdraws in the wilderness, while his wife, Anne, laments her bareness in the premises of her house. Both are announced, separately, by an angel, about the birth of a child whom Anne promises to offer to God. The couple meets at the Golden Gate to share their news to each other. Mary is born and, at the age of three, is offered to the temple to live a life dedicated to God in the care of the high priest as a fulfillment of a promised vow.
Architectural Setting(s)
3In the following sections, the research traces textual developments identified in the second narrative tradition with regard to architectural settings, characters, and the symbolism of Mary’s ascent. Chronologically, the textual sources display a gradual development of the architectural settings and their surroundings. In the second-century Protevangelium of James the spatial details are minimal, the temple is positioned on an elevated place without any other architectural elements except the existence of three steps that lead to an altar.
- 9 Ehrman et al., 2011, 44.
“When the child turned three, Joachim said, “We should call the undefiled daughters of the Hebrews and have each take a torch and set them up, blazing, that the child not turn back and her heart be taken captive away from the Temple of the Lord.” They did this, until they had gone up to the Lord’s Temple. And the priest of the Lord received her and gave her a kiss, blessing her and saying, “The Lord has made your name great among all generations. Through you will the Lord reveal his redemption to the sons of Israel at the end of time.” He set her on the third step of the altar, and the Lord God cast his grace down upon her. She danced on her feet, and the entire house of Israel loved her.”9
- 10 Ehrman et al., 2011, 67: “After these things, when her nine months were completed, Anna brought for (...)
- 11 Beyers, 1997, 298-300.
4The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew mentions the positioning of the temple and adds fifteen stairs to the altar. Hence, Mary is not placed anymore on the third step of the altar, but she ascends fifteen steps, located in front of the temple10. During the tenth-century, these architectural elements and topographic features start to develop as the Libellus de Nativitate Mariae indicates. Here, the altar is located outside the temple, on a hill/mountain, and, in order to reach it, one needs to ascend fifteen steps which Mary does all by herself while her parents change clothes11.
- 12 Ryan, 2012, 538: “Around the Temple there were fifteen steps, corresponding to the fifteen Gradual (...)
- 13 Speculum historiale, Francais 50, folio 193v, France, Paris, 1463, 15th century, Paris, National Li (...)
5Not only does the Legenda Aurea mention the existence of the temple on a hill but that there are fifteen steps displayed circularly around it. It also mentions the existence of an altar located outside12. A similar pattern of the temple positioned on a mountain to be reached by stairs is found in the Speculum historiale13. Additionally to the apocryphal narrative, the Speculum historiale offers an explanation for the presence of these stairs by connecting them to the Psalms. This is a direct reference to Old-Testament material and its exegesis.
- 14 Kishpaugh,1941, 69 quoting Vincent de Beauvais, Speculum historiale, Strasburg, by Metelin 1473, Li (...)
- 15 Senn, 2012. Ferraro, 2012, 191.
- 16 Ferraro, 2012, 191.
6Furthermore, there is no clear indication on which of the stairs Mary is placed; the Speculum historiale states that she was placed on one of them14. The fifteen stairs of these sources refer to Psalms 120 and 134 also called Gradual psalms or Songs of Ascents sung by the people of Israel on their pilgrimage towards the temple15. Previous research states that the references on the elevated space found in the Libellus might indicate knowledge of the Protevangelium of James and are not a topographic feature16. The present research considers it a development that has been in circulation already by the composition of the Libellus as is also found in the Gospel of Pseudo –Matthew, and later in the Speculum historiale, Speculum humanae salvationis, and the Legenda Aurea, not to speak of the less wide circulation of the Proevangelium of James in the West.
- 17 Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Francais 6275, Speculum humanae salvationis, Belgium, Bruges (...)
- 18 The present chapter excludes the typological analysis. For an overview on this, see, Znorovszky, 20 (...)
- 19 Perdrizet, 1908, 6. See also, Schmitt, 2014, 227 or see, Cardon, 1996, 37.
- 20 Znorovszky, 2019, 289.
7The symbolical and allegorical interpretation with regard to Mary’s function and the architectural representations are further developed in the Speculum humanae salvationis17 which emphasizes Mary’s status as an oblate and offers typological connections for her sacrifice18. This compilation concentrates on the redemptive function of Christ and Mary19. Its main source is the Legenda Aurea but it also drew on lives of saints, apocrypha, and other non-religious authors20. Hence, the circulation of various hagiographic material in the construction of the narrative.
8To sum up, the architectural elements evolve around the presence of the stairs whose number, as indicated by the consulted sources, is fifteen. Chronologically speaking, there is no development with regard to the number of these stairs. Developments occur concerning the stairs’ placement, either round the temple or leading up to the temple, and the placement of the temple, initially, situated on an elevated space which, then, becomes a hill and/or a mountain. This topographic feature, of the temple on a mountain top, allows iconographic developments concerning vegetation: trees, bushes, and animals, are sometimes added in the scene.
Mary
9In all the instances, the characters engage with the architecture and topography, particularly Mary. It is she who is placed either on the third step of the altar, or before the temple, or on one of the stairs which, starting with the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew, become a constant in the narrative discourse and reach exegetical interpretations in the fourteenth-fifteenth century.
- 21 A parallel between these textual sources with the religious/liturgical use of the Gradual Psalms is (...)
10If the Proetvengelium of James and the Legenda Aurea do not offer any explanation for the number of stairs, the Speculum historiale refers to the Gradual Psalms contributing to the development of the apocryphal material with religious and devotional elements, hence, the fusion of religious, canonical material with the apocryphal source21. This ascension is not a means by itself, Mary ascends and enters the Temple and becomes a sacrifice. The continuous sacrificial aspect of Mary’s entrance into the temple is highlighted by direct reference in the textual material either by presenting her as a sacrifice in the womb of her mother (Speculum Historiale), being an offering (oblatio) to the temple (Speculum Humanae Salvationis) or by reaching the altar of the burnt-offering (Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew) as a reflection of the redemptive undertone specific for these hagiographic compilations.
The characters
11As for the other characters, Mary is accompanied by her parents, Saints Joachim and Anne, and is welcomed either by a priest or a group of priests and stays in the temple in the company of virgins. It is only in the Protevangelium of James that Mary is accompanied by a larger group, besides her parents. This textual tradition has disappeared in Western sources; yet, certain visual representations of Mary’s presentation do show her amidst of crowds which resemble processional representations.
12Textual sources do not mention anything concerning the placement of Mary’s parents, whether they enter with her in the temple or not, whether they interact with the architecture or not. The lack of such details permitted the visual representations to come up with innovations and developments. As for the high priest or the group of priest, the sources mention no one to welcome Mary at the door/ entrance of the temple; hence the source for such representations should be identified elsewhere.
Iconography
The early iconographies of Mary’s presentation and Christ’s entrance to the Temple
- 22 Znorovszky, 2019, 287- 295.
13Concerning representational art, Mary’s Presentation to the Temple starts to gain frequency in manuscript illuminations around mid-fourteenth-fifteenth century which coincides with an intensive period of promoting both her cult and several of her feats (the Immaculate Conception and Presentation to the Temple)22.
- 23 Cartlidge et al., 2001, 38.
- 24 The friezes are in a damaged condition making it difficult to discern, with precision, the plot of (...)
- 25 Lafontaine-Dosogne, 1964, 22-41, 120-122. Frescos of Mary’s Presentation to the Temple: Vieux-Pouza (...)
14There are some instances, which depict Mary’s presentation into the temple prior to the fourteenth century. The earliest representations of Mary in the temple is a sixth-century engraved marble slab, from the Church of St. Maximin, Provence, which shows Mary veiled and orans, with the inscription: ‘Maria Virgo Minester de Tempulo Gerosale’23. In this case, the theme is apocryphal, but the iconography is not. This is followed by two later instances, one in the eleventh century, with a representation of Mary in the Temple, in a manuscript located at Munich, Staatsbibliothek, Clm. 15713, Pericope (1040), folio 4; respectively, for the twelfth century, with a representation of Mary’s entrance at Notre Dame, Chartres, on the capital frieze of the Royal Portal. In this early sculptural representation she is depicted walking the stairs24. Her depiction does not resemble at all that of Christ’s entrance to the Temple found on the Royal Portal which shows him standing on an altar. From the thirteenth century on, there are instances which illustrate Mary’s Presentation to the Temple in frescoes, stained glass windows, or statues25.
- 26 Luke 2:22-39.
- 27 Basically, Luke describes two ceremonies which do not correspond with the Mosaic Law. A mother coul (...)
15Christ’s entrance to the Temple is narrated in the Gospel according to Luke which tells that Christ Child has been brought to Jerusalem, by his parents, to be presented to God, after the accomplishment of Mary’s days of purification26. Here, the Child meets Simeon, a man from Jerusalem, to whom the Holy Ghost has revealed that he should not die until he had seen Christ27.
16The entrance of Christ to the Temple has been depicted with frequency starting with the eleventh century as a reflection of its late acceptance into liturgy and of the gradual raise in the importance of the feast, particularly in the Greek Church. The iconographic tradition of Christ’s entrance has not been established early, as the feast has been introduced to Rome in the fifth century, and it does not appear in Early Christian catacomb art. The inconsistency in the iconography is also traced to the coexistence, both in liturgy and art, of the Eastern (Hypapante) representation of Christ at the door of the Temple and the Western Presentation at the altar.
- 28 The iconographic tradition of the Hypapante was still alive at the end of the fourteenth century.
- 29 Shorr, 1946, 21.
17The Hypapante is represented in the fifth-century mosaics at Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome, or in the eleventh-century Prüm Antiphonary. In these cases emphasis is placed on the meeting between Simeon and the Christ Child/the Holy Family while the altar is secondary in importance28. There is also a variation of the Hypapante in which Christ Child is walking, but these representations are rare as attested by the existence of few occurrences. In these scenes, the action takes place outside the Temple, Mary guides the walking Child towards Simeon who greets them at the entrance29. The following section analyses the circumstances and the integration of the Hypapante iconography into visual depictions of Mary’s Presentation.
Miniatures and fresco representations
- 30 Lafontaine-Dosogne, 1964. Ferraro, 2012.
- 31 The ascension of Mary towards the altar is found in French versions of the Speculum historiale, but (...)
- 32 See: Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Latin 512, Speculum humanae salvationis, Basel, fifteen (...)
18The iconography of Mary’s presentation, generally, concentrates either on Mary’s ascension of the stairs towards the Temple/altar, hence acting as a willing sacrifice, or on her presence on/near the altar. Mary’s ascension is constructed on the iconography of Christ’s entrance30 and on iconographic models of child oblation. This representation is more specific for illuminated French Speculum historiale manuscripts, Legenda Aurea, Book of Hours or liturgical manuscripts31. These visual sources depict the Virgin either together with her parents or leaving them behind while walking the stairs. The second group focuses on Mary standing on/near an altar32, between Saint Anne and a religious figure, having a church interior as background, and is more predominant in illuminated versions of the Speculum humanae salvationis.
Setting
19As stated earlier, the architectural elements indicated by the textual sources concentrate on several components such as the stairs, the altar, and the temple situated on an elevated space either a hill or a mountain. All these topographic features and architectural elements are incorporated and further developed in visual representations showing considerable variety.
- 33 Exceptions may occur; this is not an exhaustive study on all the existent manuscript illuminations.
- 34 Ferraro, 2012.
20One of the first developments with regard to the setting of Mary’s Presentation is the representation of the temple/church in conjunction with an urban space which contributes to the creation of new topographies. The image of a hill disappears gradually (fig. 1) and, in sources33 such as Speculum Historiale, Book of Hours, liturgical manuscripts, is substituted by representations of a town (fig. 2 and 3). This substitution with an urban landscape constructed by rooftops, buildings, windows, town fences, towers, is positioned in the background and frames the main event. The shift from a mountainous area to an urban settlement generates several possibilities of representations: only hills/mountains; an enclosed space with hills in the background; an enclosed space with no other topographic features; enclosed space/church space with town in the background; enclosed space/church space with recognizable town34 in the background in fresco representations. Hence, at Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption de Vieux-Pouzauges, thirteenth-century church, there is the architectural addition of a town, possibly Jerusalem.
- 35 Chanbon, 1995. See also: Lichtert, 2014.
21The predominance of the townscape indicates a much wider cultural and iconographic context specific for franco-flemish styles. The buildings are positioned on the right side while the characters enter from left to right. The place is not abstract or symbolic, but creates an effect of space with realistic details and decorative richness specific for fifteenth-sixteenth century miniatures and not only35.
22The second iconographic component refers to the substitution of a temple with a church. The textual sources refer to the existence of a temple while the visual material depicts either the entrance into a religious establishment or the establishment itself. In certain Italian manuscript representations, this sacred space is still depicted similarly to Byzantine style temples (fig. 4) In the French material not only the Byzantine style temple becomes a Westernized church but it also shows variations: the church is represented as a cross section so that one observes both its exterior and interior with the altar (fig. 2). Although the altar occupies a secondary position in these representations, it already alludes, visually, to the sacrificial function of Mary and to events that are about to occur inside the sacred space although missing in the textual sources. Therefore, the apocryphal story, both textual and visual, is enriched with further events which help visualize the narrative.
- 36 Ferraro, 2012, 198-199.
23In another variation it is only the church entrance which is depicted (fig. 5), more precisely the space of the portal and the church portal/door/niche which Mary enters. Here, one observes columns, church towers, roofs, niches, windows, or, in certain instances, church bells. In Notre-Dame-de-Boncoeur de Lucéram the entrance is represented as a portal with three stairs and a town’s wall in the background. At Notre-Dame de Kernascléden, fifteenth century, the religious architecture reminds of local churches made of granite, while at S. Martin du Monêtier reminds of a local community’s church36. Meaning that the local geography gained prominence in comparison to textual sources and it is more important to reflect one’s own place into which the holy event is integrated.
24The last development concerning the architectural elements refers to the stairs. There are, again, variations: stairs leading to an altar; stairs leading to the entrance of a religious building (fig. 3) or, in rare occasions, the lack of stairs (fig. 5).
- 37 Ferraro, 2012, 201-202.
25When speaking about the frescoes, in certain instances, the design of the episode(s) had to fit the given space as they are inserted in cycles on Mary’s life. Whether elongated (La Brigue), square shaped and small (Abondance, Chateaumeillant) or circular (Kernascléden, Le Monetier), the stair steps, either fifteen or less, occupy a central position. At Notre-Dame de Kernascléden, Mary nearly enters the Temple, as if praying, in the absence of the high priest; at Notre-Dame-des-Fontaines de La Brigue, Mary has already ascended a significant number of stairs, while in other instances she turns her head back facing her parents and the viewers37. At Notre-Dame de Châteaumeillant, Mary’s entrance is presented in two episodes: in a first instance, she ascends the stairs, wearing a white veil over her clothes, alone in front of the sanctuary, waving at her parents at the bottom of the stairs; then she is depicted in the company of her parents and the priest inside the temple.
Architectures in child oblation and Christ’s entrance
- 38 Saint Marina the Monk, referred from now on only as Saint Marina, is generally labeled by research (...)
26The construction of the Presentation of the Virgin to the Temple resembles the iconographies of oblation of other saints. In the episode of Saint Marina’s entrance to monastic space, focus is rendered on the entrance, the gate/door to monastic space/interiors and/or on the building itself. This is seen in depictions showing her entrance38 (fig. 6 and 7). These contexts situate the religious/monastic space, in certain instances, in an area with vegetation, yet, what stands out is the architectural setting: walls, entrance, towers, columns, etc, similar to representations of Mary’s entrance.
27As earlier mentioned, representations of Christ’s meeting with Simeon, that is the Hypapante or Meeting of the Lord, are rather rare in Western representational art, as early occurrences indicate, and it is less likely that these representations could have influenced Marian iconography. However, there is a small number of miniatures which do show Christ entering the Temple and the outside environment, but those representations are much likely to have been contaminated by Marian iconography. The architectural setting, especially the emphasis on the stairs and the entrance/portal suggests the possibility of iconographic contamination. In fig. 8 the stairs are designed in the same fashion as in Mary’s presentation (fig. 9), while fig. 10 is indicative of Marian iconography rather than any specificity of the Hypapante.
Mary
28In contrast to the textual sources which refer to Mary walking the stairs up to the temple, the visual material offers much greater variety. Mary is depicted either as a small three-to-four-year old girl, when represented holding her mother’s hands, or as a young woman, when ascending the stairs all by herself leaving her family behind. In these cases it is the presence of the stairs which allow a variety of options for depicting Mary: she either is about to ascend the stairs, stands on the first step, ascends a number of stair steps, kneels on one of them, or has already gone up the stairs and is about to enter. What all these representations share is the construction of an active Mary in contrast to a passive child when accompanied by Anne. Furthermore, her gestures recall the gestures represented in images of religious figures found in various iconographies indicating personal devotion.
29When depicted with her mother, one should observe that it is not Mary who enters the temple gate first, but Anne. But what is more important is that these representations lack the addition of the stairs. The two female protagonists, either in the company of others or not, are shown walking on a road.(see fig. 5). This representation of a child Mary being carried by her hands into the Temple, resembles the iconography of oblation: in a similar fashion Saint Marina the Monk either stands or kneels in the company of her father, emphasizing her passivity and dependence to the parental will, (fig. 6 and 7) and Samuel is brought by his mother to the temple. As for the representations of Christ Child, as already stated, depictions of the Hypapante type are quite rare and it is less possible that it has had any influence over Marian iconography. However, in certain instances, again, it is Marian iconography influencing that of Christ’s entrance into the Temple. In figures (fig. 8, 10) Mary, similarly to Saint Anne, accompanies Christ-Child to the temple with some notable differences: first, Christ-Child is represented as a baby carried in his mother’s arms, not walking in the company of his mother, second, Mary walks the stairs of the Temple/Church as in the representations of her entrance to the Temple.
- 39 Ferraro, 2012, 200.
30Although the textual sources mention only the age of Mary when presented to the temple, her gestures and postures indicated two iconographic schemes: the first, depicts Mary ascending the stairs and the second, refers to Mary submitting to the authority of the priest39 while on the stairs. In the frescos representations Mary is only on the stairs. The present research considers that this choice was possible because the episode of Mary’s presentation is inserted in complex Marian cycles that include representations of her in the company of Christ-Child among which his presentation, in the temple, on the altar, as the ultimate sacrifice.
The Characters
31Except the Protevangelium of James which mentions the existence of a group of virgins in the temple and a group that accompanies Mary, the textual sources specific for the Western narrative tradition record only saints Anne and Joachim to accompany the Virgin. This is in stark contrast to the visual representations which situate the event in a populated area.
32It is the stairs that separate two distinct categories of people: first, those accompanying Mary and, second, the religious figures welcoming her. Both groups being distributed each at one end of the stairs. Among the first, there are certain variations in the number of people accompanying Mary: only Saint Anne, Saints Anne and Joachim, the parents and other protagonists. What stands out in all these cases is the permanent presence of Saint Anne as a possible reflection of the development of her cult. The persistence on the presence of Anne indicates a conflation of textual episodes, namely her speak when offering Mary.
- 40 Mézières, 1971, 9-44, 22.
“Listen, sons of Israel, exulting with me, because a miracle of God I will tell: the sterile is made mother (pointing to herself with her hand), and exultation is born in Israel. Behold, I may offer a gift to the Lord, my enemies cannot prevent me. The Lord God has made the memory of his words into a deed, and he has visited his people with the visitation of his grace.”40
33The representation of Mary accompanied by other protagonists has also thematically contaminated the iconography of Christ’s Presentation as a small number of miniatures indicate. Figure 10 shows Mary ascending the stairs with Christ Child in her arms. In her ascent, she is accompanied by a number of people, in certain instances women or a crowd, hence the processional nature of the representations for which the present chapter argues.
34In the second group, at the upper end of the stairs is, generally, depicted a priest welcoming Mary, with rare occasions, there is no priest (see fig. 1). The representation of the priest in illuminations focusing on Mary’s ascension of the stairs with a cross-section of the church and indirect emphasis on the altar (Fig. 2), resemble the iconography of Christ’s entrance as in both cases the priest is stretching out his hands reaching for the child. Hence, here one can state a direct influence of the iconography of Christ’s presentation over Marian representations. In this sense, the contact between the priest and Mary is shown gradually and with variety: Mary standing in front of the stairs with folded hands, Mary being gently directed towards the stairs by Saint Anne, Mary ascending different levels of the stair steps, Mary kneeling on the stairs. In most of these instances a priest is depicted with his hands reached out to grab Mary.
35In certain representations it is a priest in the company of other religious members or a choir singing at a church window. This pattern is similar to those which focus on the presentation of an oblatio or in the contaminated cases of Christ’s entrance to the Temple (fig. 8).
- 41 Ferraro, 2012, 201-202, 207-209.
- 42 Ferraro, 2012, 201-202, 209.
- 43 Ferraro, 2012, 201-202, 214.
36There are instances when the high priest receives the Virgin by grabbing her hands upon entering the temple at Notre-Dame-des-Fontaines, La Brigue or S. Martin du Monêtier. An exception occurs in Abondance where the priest welcomes her with his arms open, while at Notre-Dame-du-Bourg, Rabastens, she crosses her hands in submission to the religious figure41. At Saint-Ybars the procession of the Virgin to the Temple is in the company of other Virgins as a reflection or possible knowledge of the Protevangelium of James42. It is also the only representation that depicts Mary sitting on the altar. Research links this representation to a Speculum Humanae Salvationis miniature preserved in Münich and states the rarity of such representations43.
37The textual sources on this episode do not record any particular details with regard to people accompanying Mary and her parents and/or other religious members welcoming the family, except a priest. Hence, the pilgrimage of the textual source is transformed into a form of religious pilgrimage but also religious procession in the visual sources of the Late Middle Ages. Therefore, the chapter emphasizes the need for searching a possible model in the visual representations of religious processions for further research.
38Up to this point one can state that the relation between manuscript illuminations and texts is rather complex. On the one hand, the apocryphal textual source develops and is enriched by further religious meaning by its connection and incorporation into canonical religious exegesis. On the other hand, the iconography of the Presentation to the Temple is influenced not only by the textual source, but seeks models in other iconographies such as Christ’s entrance to the Temple. In certain instances, Mary’s Presentation resembles that of Christ’s.
Contexts
- 44 Gaborit, 2002, 63.
- 45 Gaborit, 2002, 63.
- 46 Gaborit, 2002, 65-66.
39To further understand the complexity of these images, one needs to elaborate on the hagiographic context of fresco representations. The thirteenth-fourteenth centuries, in France, witness an increase in fresco representations of Christ’s Childhood and Passion, in hagiographic developments, and in the development of Marian iconography44. Initially Mary’s iconography is connected to the sedes sapientiae, however, by mid fourteenth century; there is an increase in the representations that concentrate on Marian life cycles45. This occurs in the context of hagiographic developments as is the case with other saints’ iconographies: the images of saints are accompanied by historical or legendary representations. Such is the representation of Saint Catherine whose iconography includes various details depending on the commissioners. This is also the period of hagiographic iconography that is mirroring daily life and incorporates profane episodes46.
- 47 Gaborit, 2002, 83.
- 48 Gaborit, 2002, 144 -151.
- 49 Gaborit, 2002, 152.
40Furthermore, in the mid fourteenth- century one can trace the influence of miniatures over fresco representations and programmes. This is the case of the Parisian style of Jean Pucelle’s miniatures whose influence is reflected in the frescoes in Cheylard chapel, de Sauveterre-la- Lémace. This chapel has cycles of the Life of Christ possibly in parallel with cycles from the life of the Virgin47. At Chaylard, besides a missing scene from the life of the Virgin, there is a marriage episode of Mary’s. It is highly probable that the missing episode is one of her life as the church is dedicated to Christ and the Virgin, besides Saint Catherine and Archangel Michael48. The artist from Chaylard is well aware of the fourteenth century Parisian manuscript styles as reflected by the architectural details and the positions of the bodies49.
- 50 Gaborit, 2002, 309 - 315.
41At Durance, de la Grange priory, episodes of Mary’s life (Annunciation to Anne and Joachim, Meeting at the Golden Gate, Presentation to the Temple, Miracle of the Rod and Marriage) are connected to episodes of Christ’s life50. The presentation of Mary to the Temple is inspired by the presentation of Christ to the Temple: the high priest is located behind the altar and has his arms stretched out to receive Mary, there is a servant with lamb, and Joachim with three doves.
- 51 Gaborit, 2002, 327.
- 52 Roques, 1961, 33.
42All these examples testify to the influence of the Legenda Aurea (and not only) over the iconography of fourteenth century France as reflected in the clothes or in the episodes adapted to certain requirements51. Besides these, the fifteenth century witnesses a devotional development with emphasis on pain and Redemption, hence representations of pain as specificity of the period52. The depictions of Mary’s Presentation in the discussed frescoes are all paired with cycles of Christ’s life, including his entrance to the Temple which is represented at the altar. The research suggests this explanation for the nearly complete lack of Mary standing on an altar in fresco representations. This pattern has already been dedicated to Christ as the ultimate sacrifice for humankind while that of Mary is anticipation.
Liturgical developments and Marian feasts
- 53 Boyce et al., 2001. Znorovszky, 2019, 292.
43In contrast to (some of) the illuminated manuscripts, the frescoes display the action of the Presentation only outside the temple. Namely, Mary is depicted on the stairs. The present chapter attempts to connect the visual material to architectural references (the stairs and the temple) in the liturgical material of the office of Mary’s Presentation written by Philippe de Mézières53. The office of Mary’s Presentation comprises a dense theological and liturgical symbolism in which Philippe combines and entwines apocryphal material on Mary’s life until the episode of the Annunciation, parts from sermons of Fulbert of Chartres and Bernard of Clairvaux, and biblical material. The references to the stairs and the temple highlight both the parents’ state of childlessness and their vow of dedicating their child to God.
- 54 Boyce et al., 2001, 2, 3, 5, 7, 40.
- 55 On Marian devotion, generally, see: Rubin, 2009a; Rubin, 2009b; Waller, 2011.
44Besides this, the office emphasizes Mary’s ascendance of the stairs, at an early age, only by herself, and the number of stairs. In certain instances the topos is changed while the visual material is emphasizing the outside the liturgical the inside of the temple. The office offers an additional textual detail to the temple’s architecture, namely it speaks about the inner chambers where Mary was brought into54. Furthermore, Philippe mentions Mary’s age and refers to her as being small, bringing into attention the physical characteristics of Mary in connection with her elevated spiritual status55. Therefore, Mary is presented to the audience and constructed as a model of virtue specific of Marian devotion of the late middle ages when Mary becomes a model in devotional practices.
- 56 Boyce et al., 2001, 20, 27.
45A second reference is the Marian allegory of the temple56. In certain instances there is a triple allegorical reference to this: there is Mary’s body as a temple, the temple itself where the offering takes place, and the bodies of the devotees to become temples of the Holy Spirit. Hence the imitatio Madonnae and her function as a model of virtue. Both the stairs and the temple are interconnected symbols, if one considers that the stairs are a symbol of one’s spiritual ascent who receives perfection or culminates in becoming a temple, that is the ascent of the soul towards perfection ending with the reception of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. While the references to the stairs and to the temple are found in several cases, the sacrificial aspects of Mary’s presentation are not dominant.
Conclusion
46The images on Mary’s presentation rely on the textual sources as long as they represent at least one character entering enter a religious establishment. The textual sources display, chronologically, a gradual development reflected in the visual material and are connected to Mary’s sacrificial function. From this point on, they rely on iconographic influences or contaminate other iconographies specific for the Late Middle Ages proving that Lafontaine-Dosognes’s argument is partially valid for the consulted material.
47The architectural elements evolve around the presence of the stairs and are placed in new settings be that of a temple/church in conjunction with an urban space or the substitution of a temple with a church. All these lead to the depiction of new, urban topographies.
48The iconography of Mary’s presentation to the Temple turns out to be a composite representation based on the iconography of child oblation and the iconography of Christ’s presentation to the Temple. On the other hand, Marian iconography has contaminated representations of Christ presentation to the Temple which points to the fluidity and adaptability of the iconographic model.
49The analyzed iconographies are connected to the late acceptance of feasts into liturgy which determines a wider dissemination and need for representations not only in manuscripts, but also as church frescoes which also reflect certain hagiographic tendencies.
Figure 1 - Presentation of Mary to the Temple, Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Français 316, Speculum historiale, Paris, 1333, fol. 291v.

Figure 2 - Presentation of Mary to the Temple, Paris, Mazarine Library, Ms. 0412, Missal-Use of Paris, Northern France, Paris, 1492, fol. 357

Figure 3 - Presentation of Mary to the Temple, Tours, Municipal Library, Ms. 0218, Books of Hours-use of Rome, Belgium, Bruges, 1450, fol. 169v.

Figure 4 - Presentation of Mary to the Temple, Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Italian 115, Meditationes Vitae Christi, Italy, Sienna, 1330-1340, fol. 6

Figure 5 - Presentation of Mary to the Temple, Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Latin 18014, Books of Hours-Use of Paris, France, Bourges, 1385-1390, fol. 142v.

Figure 6 - Saint Marina the Monk episodes of her life, Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Nouvelle acquisition française 23686, Legendary, France, mid-thirteenth century, fol. 221v.

Figure 7 - Saint Marina the Monk entering the monastery, Paris, National Library of France, Ms. 241, Legenda Aurea, France, Paris, 1348, fol. 139v.

Figure 8 - Presentation of Christ to the Temple, Paris, Mazarine Library, Ms. 0976, Life of Jesus Christ, France, Tours or Bruges, 1470-1480, fol. 020v.

Figure 9 - Saint-Diè-des-Vosges, Municipal Library, Ms. 0074, Gradual for the Use of Saint- Diè, Eastern France, Lorraine, Saint-Diè, 1504-15014, fol. 347

Figure 10 - Presentation of Christ to the Temple, Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Latin 9473, Book of Hours Use of Rome, France, Savoy, 1445-1460, fol. 55

Figure 11A - Presentation of Mary to the Temple, Our Lady of the Fountain Church, Presentation of Mary to the Temple, La Brigue, France, Giovanni Canavesio, fifteenth century

Bibliographie
Primary sources
Manuscripts
Amiens, Municipal Library, Ms. 0139, Collection of Prayers for the Use of Saint-Pierre de Corbie Abbey, France, 1606, fol. 193v.
Angers, Université Catholique de l’Ouest Library, no shelf mark, Book of Hours (printed), South- Eastern France, Lyon, 1516, fol. 039.
Beaune, Municipal Library, Ms. 021, Rational des divins offices, Eastern France, Dijon, mid-fifteenth century, fol. 281.
Paris, Mazarine Library, Ms. 0390, Gradual, Belgium, Bruges, 15th-16th century, fol. 089v.
Paris, Mazarine Library, Ms. 0412, Missal-Use of Paris, Northern France, Paris, 1492, fol. 357.
Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Français 188, Speculum humanae salvationis, France, fifteenth-century, fol. 9v.
Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Français 316, Speculum historiale, Paris, 1333, fol. 291v.
Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Francais 50, Speculum historiale, France, Paris, 1463, 15th century, folio 193v.
Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Français 50, Speculum historiale, France, Paris, 1463, fol. 193v.
Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Italian 115, Meditationes Vitae Christi, Italy, Sienna, 1330-1340, fol. 6.
Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Latin 18014, Books of Hours-Use of Paris, France, Bourges, 1385-1390, fol. 142v.
Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Latin 512, Speculum humanae salvationis, Basel, fifteenth century, fol. 6v.
Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Latin 511, Speculum humanae salvationis, France, Alsace, 1370-1380, fol. 5v.
Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Latin 919, Book of Hours-Use of Paris, France, Paris, 1409, fol. 8.
Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Latin 9473, Book of Hours Use of Rome, France, Savoy, 1445-1460, fol. 55.
Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Nouvelle acquisition française 15940, Speculum histoirale, France, Paris, 1370-1380, fol. 18v.
Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Nouvelle acquisition française 23686, Legendary, France, mid-thirteenth century, fol. 221v.
Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Nouvelle acquisition latine 3143, Book of Hours-Use of Rouen, France, Rouen, 15th century, fol. 25.
Paris, National Library of France, Speculum humanae salvationis, Francais 6275, Belgium, Bruges, 1485, 15th century, folio 5v.
Paris, Mazarine Library, Life of Jesus Christ, Ms. 0976, France, Tours or Bruges, 1470-1480, fol. 020v.
Saint-Diè-des-Vosges, Municipal Library, Ms. 0074, Gradual for the Use of Saint- Diè, Eastern France, Lorraine, Saint-Diè, 1504-15014, fol. 347.
Tours, Municipal Library, Ms. 0218, Books of Hours-use of Rome, Belgium, Bruges, 1450, fol. 169v.
Frescoes
Our Lady of the Fountain Church, Presentation of Mary to the Temple, La Brigue, France, Giovanni Canavesio, fifteenth century.
Other primary sources
BEYERS, Rita. (ed.) (1997) - Libri de Nativitate Mariae. Libellus de Nativitate Sanctae Mariae. Turnhout : Brepols.
BOYCE, James, COLEMAN, William E. (eds./trans.) (2001) – Officium Presentationis Beate Virginis Marie in Templo. Office of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary which is Celebrated on the 21st Day of November. Ottawa, Canada: The Institute of Mediaeval Music
EHRMAN, Bart D., PLEŠE, Zlatko (2011) - The Apocryphal Gospels. Texts and Translations. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
EPIPHANIUS, the Monk, Life of the Virgin, PG. 120.185-216.
GIJSEL, Jan (ed.) (1997) - Libri de Nativitate Mariae. Pseudo-Matthaei Evanglium. Brepols: Turnhout.
Holy Bible (2009) - Douay-Rheims version. Charlotte, North Carolina: Saint Benedict Press.
MANGO, Cyril (trans.) (2017) – The Homilies of Photius Patriarch of Constantinople. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers.
OLKINUORA, Jaakko Henrik (2015) – Byzantine Hymnography for the Feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos. An Intermedial Approach. Helsinki: University of Helsinki. Doctoral Dissertation.
RYAN, William Granger (trans.) (2012) – The Golden Legend. Readings on the Saints. Princeton, Oxford: Princeton University Press.
WILSON, Katharina M.(trans.) (2000) – Hrotsvit of Gandersheim: a Florilegium of Her Works. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer.
Secondary literature
BOYCE, James, COLEMAN, William E. (eds./trans.) (2001) – Officium Presentationis Beate Virginis Marie in Templo. Office of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary which is Celebrated on the 21st Day of November. Ottawa, Canada: The Institute of Mediaeval Music.
BRADSHAW, F. Paul - The Eucharistic Liturgies. Their Evolution and Interpretation. Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press.
CARDON, Bert (1996) - Manuscripts of the Speculum Humanae Salvationis in the Southern Netherlands (c. 1410-c. 1470). Leuven: Peeters Publishers
CARTLIDGE, David R., ELLIOTT, J. Keith (2001) - Art and the Christian Apocrypha. London: Routledge.
CHAMBON, Gilles (1995) – Le paysage urbain dans la peinture au moyen-âge et à la Renaissance: l’emergence d’une esthetique fractale. Bordeaux: Centre de Recherche de l'Ecole d'Architecture et du Paysage de Bordeaux.
ENN, C. Frank (2012) – Introduction to Christian Liturgy. Minneapolis: Fortress Press.
FERRARO, Séverine (2012) – Les images de la vie terrestre de la Vierge dans l’art mural (peintures et mosaïques) en France et en Italie. Dijon: Université de Bourgogne. Thèse.
GABORIT, Michelle (2002) - Des Hystoires et des couleurs, peintures murales médiévales en Aquitaine (XIIIe et XIVe siècles). Bordeaux: Éditions Confluences.
KISHPAUGH, Mary Jerome, Sister (1941) - The Feast of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary in the Temple: An Historical and Literary Study. Washington D. C.: The Catholic University of America Press, Unpublished PhD Dissertation.
LAFONTAINE-DOSOGNE, Jacqueline (1964) - Iconographie de l’enfance de la Vierge dans l’Empire Byzantin et en Occident. vol. I . Brussels: Beaux Art.
LICHTERT, Katrien, DUMOLYN, Jan, MARTENS, Maximiliaan P.J. (2014) – Portraits of the City. Representing Urban Space in Later Medieval and Early Modern Europe. Turnhout: Brepols.
MÉZIÈRES, Phillipe de (1971) - Figurative Representation of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary in the Temple. HALLER, Robert S. (ed. Trans.). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
PERDRIZET, Paul (1908) - Étude sur le Speculum Humanae Salvationis. Paris: Honoré Champion, Éditeur.
RIEDER, Paula M. (2006) – Churching. In SCHAUS, Margaret (ed.) - Women and Gender in Medieval Europe: An Encyclopedia. London: Routledge.
RIEDER, Paula M. (2011) - On the Purification of Women. Churching in Northern France, 1100-1500. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
SHORR, Dorothy C. (1946) - The Iconographic Development of the Presentation in the Temple. The Art Bulletin, vol. 28, No. 1.
ROQUES, Marguerite (1961) - Les peintures murales du sud-est de la France, XIIIe au XIVe siècle. Paris: Éditions A. et J. Picard.
RUBIN, Miri (2009a) – Emotion and Devotion. The Meaning of Mary in Religious Cultures. Budapest, New York: Central European University Press.
RUBIN, Miri (2009b) – Mother of God. A History of the Virgin Mary. London: Penguin Books.
SCHMITT, Jean-Claude (2014) - Les images typologiques au Moyen Âge: À propos du speculum humanae salvationis. In KRETSCHMER, M.T. (ed.) - La typologie biblique comme forme de pensée dans l’historiographie medievale. Turnhout: Brepols.
SHORR, Dorothy C. (1946) - The Iconographic Development of the Presentation in the Temple. The Art Bulletin, vol. 28, No. 1.
WALLER, Gary (2011) – The Virgin Mary in Late Medieval and Early Modern English Literature and Popular Culture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
ZNOROVSZKY, Andrea-Bianka (2019) - Mary as an Altar and Sacrifice: the Presentation to the Temple in Fourteenth-to-Sixteenth-Century French Miniatures. In Conference Proceedings of the 5th Cycle of Medieval Studies, Florence, 3-4 June 2019. Lesmo: Edizioni EBS Print, pp. 287- 295.
Notes
1 The present chapter includes visual material pertaining mostly to French speaking territories, but also Flemish and German.
2 The present chapter focuses on Mary’s presentation at the door of the Temple. Her presentation inside the Temple is developed elsewhere. Therefore, certain aspects overlap with my previous research but the argumentation and the direction of research are different.
3 In order to avoid confusion, to facilitate reading, and comprehension, as both Christ and Mary are presented to the Temple, this chapter uses different terminology: presentation, in Mary’s case, and entrance, in Christ’s.
4 Lafontaine-Dosogne, 1964, 106, 124. Dosogne also states that a model for the Presentation could have been the Byzantine theme of the Benediction of priests.
5 Gijsel, 1997.
6 This chapter deals with Western sources, the author is aware of the existence of earlier Eastern sources, not subject of investigation.
7 Ferraro, 2012, 192.
8 For both East and West, see for instance, Epiphanius the Monk, Life of the Virgin, PG. 120.185-216; Mango, 2017; Olkinuora, 2015; Boyce et al., 2001; Wilson, 2000.
9 Ehrman et al., 2011, 44.
10 Ehrman et al., 2011, 67: “After these things, when her nine months were completed, Anna brought forth a daughter and named her Mary. When Anna finished nursing her in her third year, Joachim and Anna his wife went up together to the Temple of the Lord. They offered sacrificial victims to the Lord and handed over their little girl Mary to the company of virgins, who continuously praised God, day and night. When she was placed before the Temple, she ascended the fifteen steps of the Temple so quickly that she did not look back at all or seek after her parents, as infants customarily do. When this happened everyone was struck with wonder, so that the priests of the Temple themselves were amazed.”
11 Beyers, 1997, 298-300.
12 Ryan, 2012, 538: “Around the Temple there were fifteen steps, corresponding to the fifteen Gradual Psalms, and because the Temple was built on a hill, there was no way to go to the altar of holocaust, which stood in the open, except by climbing the steps. The virgin child was set down at the lowest step and mounted to the top without help from anyone, as if she were already fully grown up.”
13 Speculum historiale, Francais 50, folio 193v, France, Paris, 1463, 15th century, Paris, National Library of France.
14 Kishpaugh,1941, 69 quoting Vincent de Beauvais, Speculum historiale, Strasburg, by Metelin 1473, Liber VII: cap. LXV.
15 Senn, 2012. Ferraro, 2012, 191.
16 Ferraro, 2012, 191.
17 Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Francais 6275, Speculum humanae salvationis, Belgium, Bruges, 1485, 15th century, folio 5v.
18 The present chapter excludes the typological analysis. For an overview on this, see, Znorovszky, 2019, 287- 295.
19 Perdrizet, 1908, 6. See also, Schmitt, 2014, 227 or see, Cardon, 1996, 37.
20 Znorovszky, 2019, 289.
21 A parallel between these textual sources with the religious/liturgical use of the Gradual Psalms is essential to understand the incorporation of such references into the apocryphal material.
22 Znorovszky, 2019, 287- 295.
23 Cartlidge et al., 2001, 38.
24 The friezes are in a damaged condition making it difficult to discern, with precision, the plot of the events. Lafontaine-Dosogne, 1964, 107, 120. The representations of Saint Anne and the Virgin, at Chartres, attest to a special cult dedicated not only to the Virgin, but also to Anne.
25 Lafontaine-Dosogne, 1964, 22-41, 120-122. Frescos of Mary’s Presentation to the Temple: Vieux-Pouzauges, Vendee, Church of the Virgin, frescoes, c. 1200- Western wall-narrative cycle; Chartres, Notre Dame, stained glass window, choir, c. 1215- narrative cycle; Paris, Notre-Dame, Portal of Saint Anne, sculptures on the tympanum and architraves, narrative cycle; Laon, Notre Dame Cathedral, stained glass window of the choir, Presentation of the Virgin to the Temple; Le Mans, Saint-Julien Cathedral, Chapel of Notre-Dame, stained glass window, c.1240, cycle with typological depictions; Reims, Notre-Dame, lintel of the central portal, cycle; Saint Maximin du Var, cycle; Toulouse, Presentation to the Temple on the altar; in the 14th century: Favières, Saint-Sulpice, stained glass window, Chapel of Blanche of Castille, 1300- narrative cycle- very detailed emphasis on the Presentation to the Temple; Châteaumeillant, Cher, Church of Notre-Dame choir, frescoes, detailed narrative representation of the Presentation to the Temple; Auxerre, Saint Étienne Cathedral, left portal of the façade, architraves, detailed Marian cycle; Thann, Alsacia, Saint Thibault, portal, Presentation-detailed cycle; Rouen, Saint-Ouen, Chapel of the Virgin, stained glass window, 1325-1339, episodes; Strasbourg, Notre-Dame Cathedral, c. 1345, Presentation; Toulouse, ivory casket, Museum of Paul-Dupuy, detailed Presentation- connected to the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew.
26 Luke 2:22-39.
27 Basically, Luke describes two ceremonies which do not correspond with the Mosaic Law. A mother could enter the temple after forty days have passed from childbirth in order to undergo the rites of Purification, while the ceremony of the Presentation takes place thirty days after the child’s birth. It is the father who presents the first born son to the priest and redeems him for five shekels in accordance with God’s commandment to Moses. The rite of Purification presupposed that women bring a lamb as a burnt offering and turtle doves for a sin offering, to the door of the tabernacle, to the priest who is offering it to God. Rieder, 2006, 140-141. Rieder, 2011, 28-29. Shorr, 1946, 17.
28 The iconographic tradition of the Hypapante was still alive at the end of the fourteenth century.
29 Shorr, 1946, 21.
30 Lafontaine-Dosogne, 1964. Ferraro, 2012.
31 The ascension of Mary towards the altar is found in French versions of the Speculum historiale, but also in French versions of Vies de la Vierge et du Christ and Books of Hours. The illuminations subject to the present analysis are found in: Amiens, Municipal Library, Ms. 0139, Collection of Prayers for the Use of Saint-Pierre de Corbie Abbey, France, 1606, fol. 193v; Angers, Université Catholique de l’Ouest Library, no shelf mark, Book of Hours, South- Eastern France, Lyon, 1516, fol. 039; Beaune, Municipal Library, Ms. 021, Rational des divins offices, Eastern France, Dijon, mid-fifteenth century, fol. 281; Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Français 50, Speculum historiale, France, Paris, 1463, fol. 193v; Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Français 316, Speculum historiale, Paris, 1333, fol. 291v; Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Latin 919, Book of Hours-Use of Paris, France, Paris, 1409, fol. 31; Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Latin 9473, Book of Hours Use of Rome, France, Savoy, 1445-1460, fol. 55; Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Latin 18014, Books of Hours-Use of Paris, France, Bourges, 1385-1390, fol. 142v; Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Nouvelle acquisition française 15940, Speculum historiale, France, Paris, 1370-1380, fol. 18v; Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Nouvelle acquisition française 23686, Legendary, France, mid-thirteenth century, fol. 221v; Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Nouvelle acquisition latine 3134, Book of Hours-Use of Rouen, France, Rouen, 15th century, fol. 25; Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Italien 115, Meditationes Vitae Christi, Italy, Sienna, 1330-1340, fol. 6; Paris, Mazarine Library, Ms. 0390, Gradual, Belgium, Bruges, 15th-16th century, fol. 089v; Paris, Mazarine Library, Ms. 0412, Missal-Use of Paris, Northern France, Paris, 1492, fol. 357; Paris, Mazarine Library, Life of Jesus Christ, France, Tours or Bruges, 1470-1480, fol. 020v; Saint-Diè-des-Vosges, Municipal Library, Ms. 0074, Gradual for the Use of Saint- Diè, Eastern France, Lorraine, Saint-Diè, 1504-15014, fol. 347; Tours, Municipal Library, Ms. 0218, Books of Hours-use of Rome, Belgium, Bruges, 1450, fol. 169v.
32 See: Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Latin 512, Speculum humanae salvationis, Basel, fifteenth century, fol. 6v; Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Latin 511, Speculum humanae salvationis, France, Alsace, 1370-1380, fol. 5v; Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Français 188, Speculum humanae salvationis, France, fifteenth-century, fol. 9v.
33 Exceptions may occur; this is not an exhaustive study on all the existent manuscript illuminations.
34 Ferraro, 2012.
35 Chanbon, 1995. See also: Lichtert, 2014.
36 Ferraro, 2012, 198-199.
37 Ferraro, 2012, 201-202.
38 Saint Marina the Monk, referred from now on only as Saint Marina, is generally labeled by research a cross-dressed saint. The lives of cross-dressed saints are stories of holy women who flee their homes and an unwanted suitor, withdraw in monasteries dressed up as monks, and have their identities revealed after their death when preparing the body for burial. In Marina’s case it is her father who brings her to the monastery and dresses her up as a boy. There are other cases of holy women entering monastic space represented at the door of the establishment, although not as oblatio. One such case is that of Saint Euphrosyne, another cross-dressed saint.
39 Ferraro, 2012, 200.
40 Mézières, 1971, 9-44, 22.
41 Ferraro, 2012, 201-202, 207-209.
42 Ferraro, 2012, 201-202, 209.
43 Ferraro, 2012, 201-202, 214.
44 Gaborit, 2002, 63.
45 Gaborit, 2002, 63.
46 Gaborit, 2002, 65-66.
47 Gaborit, 2002, 83.
48 Gaborit, 2002, 144 -151.
49 Gaborit, 2002, 152.
50 Gaborit, 2002, 309 - 315.
51 Gaborit, 2002, 327.
52 Roques, 1961, 33.
53 Boyce et al., 2001. Znorovszky, 2019, 292.
Philippe de Mézières, a political figure of the fourteenth century, developed a great devotion to the Virgin Mary while in Cyprus. During his time he managed to have the feast and his office of the Presentation approved by Pope Gregory XI and liturgically celebrated in Avignon, in the Church of the Friars Minor, November 21st, 1372. He got familiarized with the feast during his stay in Cyprus and he also has introduced it in Venice where it was accompanied by a dramatic representation presumably around 1370. De Mézières influenced King Charles V to introduce the feast into France, hence, it was celebrated one year later in the royal chapel on November 21st, 1373.
54 Boyce et al., 2001, 2, 3, 5, 7, 40.
55 On Marian devotion, generally, see: Rubin, 2009a; Rubin, 2009b; Waller, 2011.
56 Boyce et al., 2001, 20, 27.
Table des illustrations
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Titre | Figure 1 - Presentation of Mary to the Temple, Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Français 316, Speculum historiale, Paris, 1333, fol. 291v. |
URL | http://books.openedition.org/cidehus/docannexe/image/19749/img-1.jpg |
Fichier | image/jpeg, 53k |
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Titre | Figure 2 - Presentation of Mary to the Temple, Paris, Mazarine Library, Ms. 0412, Missal-Use of Paris, Northern France, Paris, 1492, fol. 357 |
URL | http://books.openedition.org/cidehus/docannexe/image/19749/img-2.jpg |
Fichier | image/jpeg, 1,2M |
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Titre | Figure 3 - Presentation of Mary to the Temple, Tours, Municipal Library, Ms. 0218, Books of Hours-use of Rome, Belgium, Bruges, 1450, fol. 169v. |
URL | http://books.openedition.org/cidehus/docannexe/image/19749/img-3.png |
Fichier | image/png, 1,3M |
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Titre | Figure 4 - Presentation of Mary to the Temple, Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Italian 115, Meditationes Vitae Christi, Italy, Sienna, 1330-1340, fol. 6 |
URL | http://books.openedition.org/cidehus/docannexe/image/19749/img-4.jpg |
Fichier | image/jpeg, 54k |
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Titre | Figure 5 - Presentation of Mary to the Temple, Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Latin 18014, Books of Hours-Use of Paris, France, Bourges, 1385-1390, fol. 142v. |
URL | http://books.openedition.org/cidehus/docannexe/image/19749/img-5.jpg |
Fichier | image/jpeg, 121k |
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Titre | Figure 6 - Saint Marina the Monk episodes of her life, Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Nouvelle acquisition française 23686, Legendary, France, mid-thirteenth century, fol. 221v. |
URL | http://books.openedition.org/cidehus/docannexe/image/19749/img-6.jpg |
Fichier | image/jpeg, 105k |
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Titre | Figure 7 - Saint Marina the Monk entering the monastery, Paris, National Library of France, Ms. 241, Legenda Aurea, France, Paris, 1348, fol. 139v. |
URL | http://books.openedition.org/cidehus/docannexe/image/19749/img-7.jpg |
Fichier | image/jpeg, 94k |
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Titre | Figure 8 - Presentation of Christ to the Temple, Paris, Mazarine Library, Ms. 0976, Life of Jesus Christ, France, Tours or Bruges, 1470-1480, fol. 020v. |
URL | http://books.openedition.org/cidehus/docannexe/image/19749/img-8.jpg |
Fichier | image/jpeg, 829k |
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Titre | Figure 9 - Saint-Diè-des-Vosges, Municipal Library, Ms. 0074, Gradual for the Use of Saint- Diè, Eastern France, Lorraine, Saint-Diè, 1504-15014, fol. 347 |
URL | http://books.openedition.org/cidehus/docannexe/image/19749/img-9.jpg |
Fichier | image/jpeg, 115k |
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Titre | Figure 10 - Presentation of Christ to the Temple, Paris, National Library of France, Ms. Latin 9473, Book of Hours Use of Rome, France, Savoy, 1445-1460, fol. 55 |
URL | http://books.openedition.org/cidehus/docannexe/image/19749/img-10.jpg |
Fichier | image/jpeg, 72k |
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Titre | Figure 11A - Presentation of Mary to the Temple, Our Lady of the Fountain Church, Presentation of Mary to the Temple, La Brigue, France, Giovanni Canavesio, fifteenth century |
URL | http://books.openedition.org/cidehus/docannexe/image/19749/img-11.jpg |
Fichier | image/jpeg, 1,1M |
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Titre | Figure 11B - Presentation of Mary to the Temple, Our Lady of the Fountain Church, Presentation of Mary to the Temple, La Brigue, France, Giovanni Canavesio, fifteenth century |
URL | http://books.openedition.org/cidehus/docannexe/image/19749/img-12.jpg |
Fichier | image/jpeg, 807k |
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