1. Medieval Women & the Cult of the Virgin Mary

2. I. Pairings of Opposites in the Middle Ages

3. Medieval Women & the Cult of the Virgin Mary I. Pairings of Opposites in the Middle Ages A. Eve vs. Mary

4. “Between Adam and God in paradise there was but one woman, and she had no rest until she had succeeded in banishing her husband from the garden of delights and in condemning Christ to the torment of the Cross.” (1240)

5. Medieval Women & the Cult of the Virgin Mary I. Pairings of Opposites in the Middle Ages A. Eve vs. Mary B. Related Issues: Imago Dei & Procreation

6. Medieval Women & the Cult of the Virgin Mary I. Pairings of Opposites in the Middle Ages A. Eve vs. Mary B. Related Issues C. Popular Literature & Song: Fabliaux vs. Courtly Love

7. Medieval Women & the Cult of the Virgin Mary I. Pairings of Opposites in the Middle Ages A. Eve vs. Mary B. Related Issues C. Popular Literature & Song: Fabliaux vs. Courtly Love II. Medieval Spirituality & the Virgin Mary

8. Medieval Women & the Cult of the Virgin Mary I. Pairings of Opposites in the Middle Ages A. Eve vs. Mary B. Related Issues C. Popular Literature & Song: Fabliaux vs. Courtly Love II. Medieval Spirituality & the Virgin Mary A. Developments

9. Medieval Women & the Cult of the Virgin Mary I. Pairings of Opposites in the Middle Ages A. Eve vs. Mary B. Related Issues C. Popular Literature & Song: Fabliaux vs. Courtly Love II. Medieval Spirituality & the Virgin Mary A. Developments B. Contribution of Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)

10. Medieval Women & the Cult of the Virgin Mary I. Pairings of Opposites in the Middle Ages A. Eve vs. Mary B. Related Issues C. Popular Literature & Song: Fabliaux vs. Courtly Love II. Medieval Spirituality & the Cult of the Virgin Mary A. Developments B. Contribution of Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) 1. Mystical Union

11. Medieval Women & the Cult of the Virgin Mary I. Pairings of Opposites in the Middle Ages A. Eve vs. Mary B. Related Issues C. Popular Literature & Song: Fabliaux vs. Courtly Love II. Medieval Spirituality & the Virgin Mary A. Developments B. Contribution of Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) 1. Mystical Union 2. Humanity of Christ and Mary

12. Medieval Women & the Cult of the Virgin Mary I. Pairings of Opposites in the Middle Ages A. Eve vs. Mary B. Related Issues C. Popular Literature & Song: Fabliaux vs. Courtly Love II. Medieval Spirituality & the Virgin Mary A. Developments B. Contribution of Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) 1. Mystical Union 2. Humanity of Christ and Mary C. The Virgin Mary in Medieval Art

14. Icon with the Koimesis ("Falling Asleep") of the Virgin Mary, late 10th century Byzantine; probably made in Constantinople Inscribed in Greek: The Koimesis ; Ivory

15. Traditional Byzantine Hodegetria [=literally "she who shows the way"] Mosaic in apse of the Katholikon, one of the monastery churches of Hosios Lukas in central Greece, c.1020

16. Virgin and Child in Majesty, 1150–1200 French; Made in Auvergne

17. Detail of Virgin of Vladimir Painted in Constantinople, c.1125; subsequently brought to Russia

18. Enthroned Virgin and Child ca. 1260–1280; French; Paris

19. Madonna and Child, ca. 1300; Duccio di Buoninsegna (Italian, Sienese, active ca. 1278–1318; Tempera & gold on wood)

20. Shrine of the Virgin ca. 1300; German, Made in Rhine valley Rare devotional shrine designed to make manifest the miracle of the Incarnation, by which God became human. Closed, it is a statuette of the enthroned Virgin Mary nursing the Christ Child…

21. When opened, the shrine shows a sculptural representation of the Trinity (the figure of Christ and the dove of the Holy Spirit are lost), mystically revealing that salvation is achieved through Christ incarnate. On wings are scenes of Christ’s Nativity.

22. Virgin and Child, 1290–1300 English; perhaps made in London It was used as a personal devotional object. The statues were made at a time when the cult of the Virgin had reached its peak of popularity. The composition emphasizes the reciprocal tenderness between the mother and child: the Virgin turns slightly to her left to face the now-missing infant Christ.

23. III.Actual Medieval Women A. Some Common Features and Types B. Women Religious & Mystics – 3 Examples: 1. Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) 2. Christina of Markyate (10/96/98-c.1160) 3. Elisabeth of Schönau

24. When a woman is making love with a man, a sense of heat in her brain, which brings with it sensual delight, communicates the taste of that delight during the act and summons forth the emission of the man's seed. And when the seed has fallen into its place, that vehement heat descending from her brain draws the seed to itself and holds it, and soon the woman's sexual organs contract, and all the parts that are ready to open up during the time of menstruation now close, in the same way as a strong man can old something enclosed in his fist.

25. Hildegard’s Vision, from the Scivias Codex (1174)