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Abstract
This dissertation examines the religious practices and manifestations of maternal imitatio Mariae from its Blutezeit in the fourteenth century to its attenuation in the first quarter of the sixteenth century. It focuses on textual and visual evidence from late medieval Germany where the sources are especially rich and uniquely coherent. Maternal imitatio Mariae is understood to be the imitation of characteristics and qualities reflective of Mary's relationship to her son. The thesis explores how Mary's role as mother of the infant, the child, and the adult Christ was mirrored in the experiences and visions of religious virtuosi and how it helped to shape religious practices for ordinary worshippers in late medieval Germany.
After an introduction which includes a translation of Margaretha Ebner's narration of miraculous lactation, presented as a model episode along with a brief commentary, the second chapter outlines certain methodological considerations necessary for writing a "thick description" (Geertz) of a medieval religious practice. The chapter comprises a cross-cultural discussion of the religious practice of imitatio, remarks on the value of contemporary performance theory for an examination of medieval imitatio Mariae, and a survey of relevant scholarship (Bynum, Klapisch-Zuber, etc.). Chapter Three surveys images of imitatio Mariae that preceded the fourteenth-century Blutezeit, examining evidence from Saint Augustine to Saint Francis. The analysis of maternal imitatio Mariae as "mother mysticism" is treated in Chapter Four along with a discussion of the role played by the cura monialium. Using evidence from representational art and religious drama, Chapter Five attempts to reconstruct the practice of imitatio Mariae for ordinary worshippers. Together Chapters Four and Five explore the similarities and distinctions between imitatio Mariae experienced by cloistered women privately seeking unio mystica and public performances of cradle-rocking and Marian laments. Throughout the thesis evidence is assembled to demonstrate the nature and extent of imitatio Mariae in late medieval Germany.
