Our Lady of Montserrat
The Black Madonna Our Lady of Montserrat ( katal : Mare de Déu de Montserrat ), popularly known as La Moreneta ( The Little Brown One ), is the patron saint of Catalonia and is located in the Montserrat Monastery . The figure has become a symbol of Catalonia and has made the monastery a pilgrimage destination and a tourist attraction.
history
The Legend of the first Virgin Mary 880 was found by some shepherd boys in a cave. When the bishop found out, he intended to transfer the figure to Manresa . However, this proved impossible as the statue appeared to be too heavy. The bishop interpreted this as the Madonna's wish to remain at the place where it was found and ordered the construction of the Hermitage Santa Maria at the site of today's monastery.
The figure venerated today is a Romanesque statuette from the 12th century.
The figure is about 95 cm tall, carved from Poplar wood and up to the face and hands completely in gold taken . It corresponds to the Byzantine Madonna type of Nicopoia , a Madonna seated in a regal posture on a throne with a fully clothed seated or standing Jesus child who raised his hand in a gesture of blessing . Both are strictly frontal without looking at the viewer.
Mother and child both wear a crown. The Madonna carries a ball in her right hand, symbolizing the universe. Her large, delicate hands are striking. The baby Jesus with the facial features and posture of an adult holds a pine cone in his left hand . The pine cone rarely appears in Christian iconography in relation to a Madonna and Child. In ancient mythology, the cone was common as a symbol of fertility in the cults of Cybele and Dionysus . As a symbol of resurrection and immortality, the fruit of the pine tree is used in connection with the tree of life in paradise, but also in Christian art.
The Mother of God herself, however, is almost black, as it is called Hohenlied Salomonis , whose images and metaphors found their way into the iconography of Mary in the Middle Ages : "I am brown, but beautiful, you daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar ..." ( Hld 1, 5 EU ) The figure was popularly called "La Moreneta" - the little brown one or tanned one.
One suspects the reason for this blackening in the smoke of the many candles that have been lit for worship at the foot of the statue over the centuries. It is more likely, however, that it is a genuine Black Madonna , as it was created in the wake of the Crusades, especially in southern Europe.
On September 11, 1881 , the Catalan National Day, Pope Leo XIII declared. Our Lady of Montserrat, patron saint of Catalonia next to Saint George ( Sant Jordi in Catalan). He granted her the privilege to devote her own services . The anniversary is celebrated on April 27th .
literature
- Wolfgang Boller: The Black Madonna from Montserrat . In: Merian 6/1961, pp. 34-39.
- Tim Heilbronner: Iconography and contemporary function of wooden seated madonnas in Romanesque Catalonia, Hamburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-8300-6809-9 .