“Marianum”, c.1500, Petrus Banden Kerk, Vanray, Netherlands.
This sculpture of Our Lady, standing on the crescent moon with the child Jesus in her arms was known in the Low Countries as a Marianum. It is based on Revelation 12:1, “A great sign appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under feet and on her head a crown of twelve stars.” Here rays of golden light form a circle behind Our Lady edged in a circle of roses. Five of the roses are larger and may represent the five wounds of Christ, or perhaps, the five joyful mysteries of the Rosary, because the Marianum was particularly associated with the preaching of the Rosary by Dominicans in the late 15th and 16th Centuries in that region. In the Marianum Our Lady is always shown crowned as Queen of Heaven. Notice that she holds her child in her left arm, and so closest to her heart. In turn, the Christ child holds a small bird in his left hand, closest to his heart. The bird is thought to symbolise the human soul redeemed by the suffering of Christ. But it may also represent our hope of resurrection because in a popular story from one of the non-canonical gospels, the child Jesus brings a dead bird back to life, so the bird in his hand may symbolise the hope of Christians. This figure was first carved from a piece of oak and then gessoed and painted. The radial pattern of sun beams forming the disc edged with roses was attached and the whole ensemble was suspended high above the central nave of a church so that Our Lady was seen in the midst of the people of God as they prayed. The Madonna and Child here in our Chapel is thought to have once been part of such an ensemble dating from 1520-1550. If you look you will notice the similarities. Our Lady stands on the moon holding her child in her left hand and with her right she holds a bunch of grapes, no doubt to symbolise the Eucharist. She is crowned, but you can see that her crown was once much taller. Also the child Jesus clutches a bird in his left hand. If you look behind you can see the marks where the radial beams were attached and the metal loop which might have been used to suspend it all above a church nave. So to really “see” what we have in our Chapel, you need to imagine this sculpture painted and suspended high above your head. As an object of devotion, the Marianum was very common in the Dioceses of Utrecht and Liège. After the reformation the English Dominican Province had a Priory and a school a bit to the south at Bornhem near Antwerp (1647 -1794). It is likely that this statue of Our Lady and child came from there and was taken back to England when the friars returned. At some point it found its way to us in Edinburgh. It was the architect’s idea to place this statue at the entrance to the chapel. I don’t think he realised that this was where she should be: with the people of God in prayer. The Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary is celebrated on this coming Tuesday. And, as is our Dominican tradition, roses will be blessed and distributed today Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us and, especially just now, pray for Gaza.
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