Black madonna

Earlier it was suggested that the dark color of the face and hands in some medieval images of the Virgin Mary was caused by random reasons - for example, the age of statues and paintings or the prolonged exposure to a candlelight of burning candles. However, nowadays, art historians have the opinion that such a skin color of the Virgin was chosen by artists intentionally; this, in particular, is indicated by the fact that black color covers only patches of skin, but not clothes or objects of the second plan.

According to the allegorical reading of the Song of Songs , the prototype of the Mother of God can be considered the beloved of King Solomon , who says about herself: “Do not look at me, that I am swarthy, for the sun has scorched me; ...” ( Song 1: 5 ). In Vulgate, this place sounds like “ Nigra sum sed formosa ”. This quote is sometimes found in the images of the Black Madonna; however, it is not always clear whether it was added in later times. In the Greek Septuagint, the corresponding place sounds like " μέλαινά εἰμι ἐγὼ καὶ καλή ", which can be translated as "I am black and beautiful." The controversy of the theologians caused controversy in the last sentence, which was also translated as "I am black, but beautiful."

In the XX century, some researchers tried to find a connection between the Black Madonnas of Christianity and the black statues of ancient deities, which are quite common among religious cults of antiquity. In particular, the goddesses of the earth, fertility and motherhood in the Middle East triangle of Egypt - Asia Minor - Mesopotamia (the great goddesses Cybele , Ishtar and Isis ) often performed in such images for millennia. From here, this religious tradition developed both in the western, Greek-Italian direction (ancient Greek Artemis , Demeter , the ancient Roman Ceres ), and in the eastern (black Indian Kali ). Similar examples that subsequently influenced the emergence of the veneration of the Christian Black Madonna can be found in Germanic and Celtic religious cults (the goddess Freyja and others). Modern studies of the veneration of the Mother of God indicate the very ancient roots of this cult, going back to the depths of the tradition, which has a long history in the East.

The earliest images of the Black Madonna are sculptures made of wood (more rarely, made of stone), created during the Romanesque cultural period. Their appearance at a very specific time in a significant number in the most remote parts of Europe from each other has not yet found a scientific explanation. One of the hypotheses is the following: Black Madonnas appeared in Europe (in particular, in France) during the Crusades and were imported from the countries of the Middle East. The Knights Templar played a large role in this. All these statues were created before the XIII century and have a number of common external signs: a height of about 70 cm, sitting directly, a direct look of large eyes, fixed on the distance. Hands or fingers are excessively long. On their knees they also hold a baby looking into the distance. The baby blesses or holds a ball in it, implying an apple or the earthly world. The baby’s face is not childish, but an adult man’s.

In a later period ( baroque ), the Black Madonna is usually depicted standing. Many of the ancient images were destroyed during the religious wars that shook Europe and the revolutions that followed. Currently, the cult of the Black Madonna is very common in central and southern France (here they are most studied), in the west and southwest of Germany, in Spain and Italy.

• Czestochowa icon of the Mother of God
• Theodore Icon of the Mother of God
• Chimeevskaya Icon of the Mother of God
• Black Virgin of Montserrat
• Black Madonna Loretta
• Black Madonna Einsiedeln ( Einsiedel Abbey )
• Black Madonna Benrath
• Black Madonna Rocamadour

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  Greek Andronikov Icon of the Virgin (XIX century)

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  Black Madonna (XII century) in Rocamadour (France)

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  Prague , Stare Mesto , Black Madonna

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  Black Madonna Benrath

• Virgin Mary of Guadalupe
• Gypsy black sarah
• The House of the Black Mother of God in Prague

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• Małgorzata Oleszkiewicz-Peralba: The Black Madonna in Latin America and Europe. Tradition and Transformation. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque NM 2007, ISBN 978-0-8263-4102-0 .
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• Franz Siepe: Fragen der Marienverehrung. Anfänge, Frühmittelalter, Schwarze Madonnen. Mantis, Gräfelfing 2002, ISBN 3-928852-22-1 .
• Jean-Pierre Bayard: Déesses mères et vierges noires. Répertoire des Vierges noires par département. Éditions du Rocher, Monaco 2001, ISBN 2-268-04048-8 .
• Roland Bermann: Réalités et mystères des vierges noires. 2e éd. rev. et augmentée. Éditions Dervy, Paris 2000, ISBN 2-84454-066-X .
• Jacques Bonvin: Vierges noires. La réponse vient de la terre. Dervy, Paris 2000, ISBN 2-84454-057-0 .
• Sophie Cassagnes-Brouquet: Vierges noires. Éditions du Rouergue, Rodez 2000, ISBN 2-84156-223-9 .
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• Carl Sargent, Marc Gascoigne: Schwarze Madonna. Heyne, München 1996, ISBN 3-453-11880-4 ( Der Shadowrun-Zyklus 23), ( Heyne-Bücher 6, Heyne-Science-fiction & Fantasy 5539 - Science-fiction ).
• Jacques Huynen: L'énigme des vierges noires. 2e éd. Éditions Garnier, Chartres 1994, ISBN 2-908974-01-0 .
• Raymond W. LeMieux: The black madonnas of France. Carlton Press, New York NY 1991, ISBN 0-8062-4037-7 .
• Ean Begg: Die unheilige Jungfrau. Das Rätsel der Schwarzen Madonna. Ed. Tramontane, Bad Münstereifel 1989, ISBN 3-925828-10-9 .
• Émile Saillens: Nos vierges noires. Leurs origines. Les éditions universelles, Paris 1945 ( Connaissance de l'homme 1).
• Hans Weber-Lutkow: Die schwarze Madonna. Geschichten aus Kleinrussland. Österreichische Verlagsanstalt, Linz ua 1901.

• Margrit Rosa Schmid: Die Wallfahrt zur schwarzen Madonna. Dokumentarfilm, 30 Minuten. Film- und Videoproduktion Margrit R. Schmid, Zürich 2003.

• Black Madonna in Brno
• Chapel of the Loret Madonna on the Wörthersee