Mary's Lament

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The Lamentation of Mary has been a frequent component of mystery plays since the 13th century, initially in Latin verse, and increasingly also in vernacular versions. Either the Mother of God or Mary Magdalene complain about the loss of Jesus after the deposition from the cross or during the crucifixion . Lamentations from Mary were performed in a seasonal context, but no longer as part of the service. The lamentation of Mary is sometimes also called the pictorial motif of the Pietà .

Historical meaning

The Lamentation of Mary is delicate from a medieval point of view in two respects:

  • The Christian religion was in the ancient spread, leading to excesses probably lament hostile to, but could not prevent them.
  • The Lamentation of Mary, written in the first person singular, does not tell Mary's grief ( Diegesis ), but experiences it in that the reciting or singing person puts himself in the position of Mary who complains ( Mimesis ). An identification with people of salvation contradicted the Christian narrative culture. However, it was evidently a need in the Gothic 13th century and could no longer be prevented by the church. Theologically this was justified with the concept of “compassio”.

The careful emancipation of dramatic imitation already had a long tradition at that time: The quem quaeritis trope from the 10th century, from which the medieval Easter Games emerged, allows the Marys to speak for the first time at the empty tomb of Christ without quoting the Bible, which was groundbreaking in the context of the liturgy . The Lamentations of Mary are sometimes seen as the nucleus of the medieval Passion Play .

Such representations always have to justify themselves by pointing out their own nullity and impermanence: the plaintive voice will soon fade away. Like the earthly Christ, Mary, and even more so the person she embodies, is perishable. This admission of their own impermanence makes their self-presentation increasingly possible. Like the ointment shop scene in the Osterspiel (in which women are sold cosmetics), the Marienklage is an early example of a scenic vanitas performance.

The sequence Stabat mater , on the other hand, only tells Maria's grief without identifying the narrator with her. Therefore, in contrast to the dramatic Lamentations of Mary, it could also be used in the liturgical context.

Examples

There are no biblical models for the Lamentations of Mary, but they appear in late antiquity . They have been used as seals in the Western Church since the 11th century. From the 12th century, there are isolated Lamentations of Mary in the first person like a Planctus ante nescia . The Passion Play by Montecassino , also from the 12th century, also contains a short dramatic Lamentation of Mary. From the 13th century onwards, the Lamentations of Mary became more and more common.

The Bordesholmer Marie action from the 15th century is a complete set to music spiritual game. Until the lament of the 17th century (e.g. Claudio Monteverdi's Pianto della madonna as a Latinized spiritual version of the ancient material in the Lamento d'Arianna , 1623, see counterfactor , parody ) there was a somewhat continuous tradition of the Lamentation of Mary.

literature