The purpose of this thesis is to re-evaluate the evidence of Marian images in Rome in late antiquity. It argues that centuries of misreading the iconography of Paleo-Christian art has produced unreliable evidence of an early Marian cult in the Roman Church. Surviving examples of images previously identified as Mary are compared with other forms of representation and personification alongside goddess images from around the Roman world. The conflicts present within the emergent Roman Church and the influence they may have had on the developing artistic traditions are re-considered, with particular emphasis on the iconography of the ‘Adoration of the Magi’. Powerful female figures such as martyr saints and widows are presented as more popular models of early Christian womanhood. In particular virgin martyrs, the eroticisation of whose cult with its sado-masochistic tendencies, catered for a Roman society still deeply influenced by its appetite for violent games and sports. The thesis also examines images identified as Mary, but much more probably originally intended as ecclesia and explores the role of Christ as the bridegroom to ecclesia, the martyrs and the consecrated virgins. It goes on to argue that the growing issue of anti-Judaism in the emergent Roman Church had a particular effect on how Mary was perceived by church leaders.

<p>The Virgin Mary reportedly began to appear at Greensides Farm, just outside the village of Marmora, Ontario, Canada, in 1992. She continues to appear to three central visionaries at the pilgrimage shrine. Catholic pilgrims come from around the world to pray, many of them with the hope of seeing Mary or experiencing a miracle. Countless pilgrims claim to have received spiritual, emotional, or physical healing through their miraculous experiences, events which they attribute to the power of the Holy Spirit. I argue that contestation is present at the Marmora pilgrimage shrine and occurs over symbols embedded in the activities of individuals and different Catholic groups. Communitas also exists at Marmora through the shrine's liminality, but it is normative communitas, and not spontaneous communitas, because the pilgrimage is structured by outside social, political, and religious influences. Further to this point, most pilgrims retain their status in everyday life at the shrine, and some pilgrims (namely the visionaries) obtain a heightened status that transfers into their mundane lives. My research indicates that contestation and communitas among both pilgrims and Catholic groups affect each individual's interpretation of their pilgrimage experience at Marmora, just as individuals' interpretations of their own background and knowledge inform their experiences of contestation and communitas. An analysis of pilgrims' miracle and healing narratives demonstrates that it is important to explore individuals' interpretations of their pilgrimage experience, as the journey can have tangible effects on a pilgrim's mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical well-being </p> / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

Jenny Lind was an opera singer in the years 1838–49. During this time she was given the status f an icon mainly due to her image. She was almost sanctified by the press. Her “private personality” was assigned a saintly purity, and she became a stereotype symbol of femininity. This dissertation investigates what factors interacted that made this possible, and highlight the importance of Lind’s voice for her image. Jenny Lind’s voice was a high soprano, but not very powerful. By positioning herself in a singing tradition that corresponded to her voice’s advantages, she managed to develop an equilibrium, which she used well. Lind’s voice was often perceived as unusual; she had a particular voice timbre. She also had a vocal defect. Her tones from f’–a’ are described as “husky”, and sometimes hoarse. This means that her voice let through more air than her vocal cords could use. My argument is that it was the voice damage that created unique timbre that the contemporary critics perceived as particularly “feminine”. Lind’s weak and damaged voice corresponds to the nineteenth century’s female ideal: fragile and weak. Moreover, Lind needed to adept her roles to her damage voice and the consequence was that also her interpretations were perceived “feminine”. In other words, Lind exerted a gender performative voice processing. All of Jenny Lind’s roles became representatives of femininity, regardless of whether it was the role’s purpose or not. Lind adapted all her interpretations to her weak voce, it's strength being high notes, pianissimo dynamics and equilibrism, and gave all her roles a genderstereotyped voice.

Charles de Valois (1446-1472) was a prince in fifteenth-century France. During his short lifetime, Charles endeavored to gain more authority while in conflict with his brother Louis XI, who was king. Although a minor political character in French history, Charles did demonstrate his power in several artistic ways. One commission by the young royal was a manuscript now known as the Hours of Charles of France. Two pages of this text, the Annunciation to the Virgin, are decorated with rich imagery and iconography used to exhibit Charles' desire for greater authority. The manuscript has only been discussed stylistically, and therefore this thesis examines the content of these pages in terms of secular imagery, religious symbolism, and the prince's connection to the priestly Virgin Mary. These aspects all relate to Charles' display of authority. To fully understand Charles' propaganda, this thesis first examines secular imagery within the manuscript pages. The analysis of worldly symbols of power, such as knighthood, fashion, ornamentation, and architecture, present Charles' desire for greater wealth and power. In addition, this thesis discusses the Virgin Mary in connection with the prince's political imaging. By looking at religious imagery that supports Mary in her role as priestess, this thesis considers how Charles attaches himself to her heightened power. Through both secular and spiritual characteristics, Charles' authority was elevated during a period of political uncertainty and monarchical unrest.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Catholic University of America, 1941. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 137-154).

Thesis (M.A.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 2005. / Vita. "May 2005." Includes bibliographical references (leaves [213]-221).

Thesis (M.A.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 2005. / Vita. "May 2005." Includes bibliographical references (leaves [213]-221).

abstract: Eighteen late medieval central Italian paintings featuring the figure of Eve reclining on the ground beneath the enthroned Virgin have been the center of a decades-long debate among scholars. The dispute centers on whether the imagery depicts Mary as Eve's counterpart in the role of virgin mother or intercessor as the Second Eve. I argue that these two possibilities are not mutually exclusive and instead support one another. I maintain that Eve and Mary appear as opposites according to their contrasting sexual statuses because their antithesis lies at the center of the theology of the Second Eve and the heart of the signification of these paintings. Though frequently overlooked, my exploration of this imagery begins with the attributes used to identify Eve: the woman-headed serpent, the fig, and clothing. Specifically, I analyze the relationship between the particular attributes employed and the theological interpretation of the Fall as a result of concupiscent sexual intercourse. My study then turns to the individual imagery of the central figure of Mary and its reference to church teachings. Appearing amidst allusions to the Annunciation and with emblems of her roles as mother and queen, the Marian imagery in these eighteen paintings specifically reiterates the dogma of her perpetual virginity. I conclude my investigation with a discussion of how the attributes and imagery examined in the first two chapters relate to the theology of the Second Eve and provide a fundamental meaning for all medieval audiences. In light of the references to these women's sexual statuses, the imagery of the Second Eve suggests that Mary is the special advocate of men and women, religious and lay. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Art History 2015

Divided into two parts, this dissertation aims to be a reflection on the creative process in visual arts, based on the testimony of the creator/artist. The image of the Virgin Mary as a source of plastic work and theoretical research is seen here from the perspective of miscegenation in the search for understanding the source imagery. The first part, "Birth of the Virgin Mary" is the establishment of the work process and construction of the Virgin Mary and, of personal memory as the trigger that motivated the development of the works. The second part, "Memory of the Virgin Mary" meets the concept of mestizaje, and lies in the use of the Virgin Mary as the appearance of erratic memory that constantly is regarded to the social. There is a meeting of mestizo ways of doing works that is always immersed in an "intertwining" of countless possible interpretations. / Dividida em duas partes, a presente dissertação se propõe a ser uma reflexão sobre o processo criativo em artes visuais, partindo do testemunho do criador/ artista. A imagem da Virgem Maria, como fonte de trabalho plástico e pesquisa teórica, é encarada aqui pelo viés da mestiçagem, na busca por entender essa fonte imagética. A primeira parte Nascimento da Virgem Maria trata da instauração e do processo de trabalho e construção dessa Virgem Maria bem como da memória pessoal como o gatilho que dispara as motivações da elaboração das obras. A segunda Memória da Virgem Maria vai ao encontro do conceito de mestiçagem e recai no uso da imagem da Virgem Maria, como aspecto de memória errática que regressa constantemente ao social. Um encontro mestiço de um fazer/ obra que sempre está imerso entre entres , incontáveis, de possibilidades interpretativas.

This thesis examines the place of the Virgin Mary in the intellectual culture of Benedictine and Cistercian monasticism in medieval England, between c. 1050 and c. 1200. Drawing high profile thinkers, including Anselm of Canterbury (d. 1109), into dialogue with lesser known figures, it reveals the richness of monastic contributions to Marian doctrine and devotion, in many cases for the first time. The shape of the analysis is provided by five key 'moments' from Mary's life, unfolded consecutively across six chapters. Chapters 1 and 2, on Mary's conception, reveal a confident and pioneering monastic culture which drove the evolution of an obscure Anglo-Saxon feast into a theological doctrine, despite fierce opposition at home and abroad. Chapter 3 explains how Mary's virginity was adopted as a blueprint for the monastic life by Ælred of Rievaulx (d. 1167) and Baldwin of Forde (d. 1190), both of whom were inspired by its fruitfulness in the Incarnation of Christ. Chapter 4 brings to light the contributions made to exegesis of the Song of Songs as a poem about Mary's humility by the mysterious Honorius Augustodunensis (d. 1140) and John of Forde (d. 1214). Chapter 5, on the divine maternity, demonstrates how English monastic theologians gave new life to understanding of Mary as Theotokos ('God-bearer') by drawing out its significance for their own spiritual maternity as leaders of religious communities. Chapter 6 shows how Mary was believed to have entered into the pain of the Crucifixion through her own spiritual martyrdom, and how monks sought to share the experience with her by a communion of charity. These and other insights offer a compelling glimpse into the culture of English monasticism between the demise of the Anglo-Saxons and the advent of the friars. Inspired by a desire to understand and ultimately to know Mary, Benedictine and Cistercian monks produced theological and spiritual works which were imaginative, often intimate and occasionally pioneering. Most of all, they were profoundly pastoral, composed in the belief that Mary could inspire and support those who had embarked upon the monastic via perfectionis.