The Cult of the Virgin Mary in Early Modern Germany
Protestant and Catholic Piety, 1500–1648

An interdisciplinary study of the changing attitudes to Mary as a religious symbol in post-Reformation Germany.

Bridget Heal (Author)

9780521871037, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 22 November 2007

358 pages
23.5 x 16.2 x 2.6 cm, 0.7 kg

'Heal's work will be a valuable resource for scholars in art history, gender studies, the history and theology of the Reformation, and the intersection of politics and religion in Renaissance and Early Modern Europe.' German Quarterly

What happened to the fervent Marian piety of the late Middle Ages during Germany's Reformation and Counter-Reformation? It has been widely assumed that Mary disappeared from Protestant devotional life and subsequently became a figurehead for the Catholic Church's campaign of religious reconquest. This book presents a more finely nuanced account of the Virgin's significance. In many Lutheran territories Marian liturgy and images - from magnificent altarpieces to simple paintings and prints - survived, though their meaning was transformed. In Catholic areas baroque art and piety flourished, but the militant Virgin associated with the Counter-Reformation did not always dominate religious devotion. Traditional manifestations of Marian veneration persisted, despite the post-Tridentine Church's attempts to dictate a uniform style of religious life. This book demonstrates that local context played a key role in shaping Marian piety, and explores the significance of this diversity of Marian practice for women's and men's experiences of religious change.

Introduction
1. Transformations in Marian teaching
2. Marian piety in Lutheran Germany
3. Confessional frictions and the status of the Virgin
4. The Counter-Reformation cult
5. Catholic pluralism and Cologne
6. Marian devotion and gender
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Church history [HRCC2], European history [HBJD]