1. Introduction
Among the numerous encomiastic titles of the Litany of Loreto—a suite of devotional invocations and supplications to the Virgin Mary, consolidated and expanded since the twelfth century—we are interested in highlighting Foederis Arca (Ark of the Covenant).1 At first glance, the symbolic designation of Mary through this essential sacred object, which has the most significant religious value for the ancient Hebrews, might be surprising. However, as we will see throughout this article, this Loreto singular acclamation is based and reinforced on an enormous sum of testimonies from Fathers, theologians, and hymnographers of Eastern and Western Churches, who insisted for more than a millennium on designating metaphorically Mary as the new Ark of the Covenant due to her status as God the Son’s mother. We will dedicate Section 2 and Section 3 to demonstrate the truth of such assertions. However, first, it is necessary to highlight some historical data about the Hebrew Ark of the Covenant, as the Old Testament documents it.
2. The Ark of the Covenant (or Testimony) in the Bible
Belazel made the Hebrew Ark of the Covenant, helped by Aholiab, following the instructions given by God to Moses (Ex. 19:20.). Made of acacia wood from Setim and covered with pure gold inside and outside, the Ark measured two and a half cubits in length, one and a half in width, and one and a half in height (Ex. 25:10–11).2 It was covered by a lid of solid gold two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide, called the mercy seat cover (propitiatorium), which was crowned and protected by two golden cherubs, with their faces facing each other and their wings spread upwards, topping the cover (Ex. 25:10–11)3. It was precisely from the mercy seat of the Ark that God spoke to Moses to convey his commands to the Jewish people (Ex. 25:22).4
By God’s command, the Ark contained the Tables of the Law (Ex. 25:16),5 and it is generally assumed that it also contained an urn or vase full of manna. However, the biblical text specifies that God ordered this urn to be preserved and placed before Him so the Jewish people always remember that God fed them with manna from heaven during the long years of their journey across the desert. Therefore, Aaron, instructed by Moses, placed the urn of manna in the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Ex. 16:32–34).6 On the other hand, St. Paul affirms in the Epistle to the Hebrews that in the Holy Sanctum of the Tent of the Testimony, the Ark of the Covenant was kept, which contained Aaron’s flowering rod, the golden urn with the manna, and the Tables of the Law (Heb. 9:3–4).7
3. The Mariological Symbol Foederis Arca in Patrology and Medieval Theology
Numerous Fathers and theologians of Eastern and Western Churches repeatedly designated the Virgin Mary with the metaphor Ark of the Covenant. We will now consider in separate sections the testimonies offered in this regard by the Fathers and theologians of the Greek Church and, secondly, those of the Latin Church.
3.1. The Mariological Symbol Foederis Arca in Greek Patrology
In the first decades of the third century, the bishop and martyr St. Hippolytus, bishop of Rome (c. 170–235), in a commentary on the prophet Daniel, says that, when the time of Redemption arrived, the Savior brought his body out of the world into the world from the Virgin Mary, which he designates as the Ark of the Covenant, covered with pure gold on the inside, thanks to the Word of God, and on the outside, thanks to the Holy Spirit. Hippolytus concludes this happened so the truth would be demonstrated and the Ark would be revealed.8
Toward the middle of the third century, St. Gregory the Thaumaturgus (213–270) says in his first homily on the Annunciation that, when the archangel Gabriel brought the announcement to the Virgin Mary, with the initial greeting “Hail, full of grace,” she received the Word of God and thus produced in time the precious pearl of the completion of his human corporeality.9 Then the author, after quoting Psalm 131:8, Surge, Domine, in requiem tuam, tu, et arca sanctificationis tuae, says that this Ark is genuinely the holy Virgin Mary, covered with gold inside and outside, who received all the treasure of sanctification (Christ).10
In the second half of the fourth century, St. John Chrysostom (347–407), in an apologetic writing against heretics and in defense of the Virgin Mary, states that we venerate her for having been made Mother, slave, clouds, bedchamber, and Ark of God. She was made a mother, for she gave birth to him who wanted to be born as a man; she was made a slave, whose nature and grace are affirmed; she was made a cloud because she conceived of the Holy Spirit, the one she gave birth to without passion; she was made a bedchamber because the Word of God lived in her as in a conjugal bedroom; she was made an ark, but not the one that carried the Tables of the Law, but rather the one that conceived in her womb the Legislator. For this reason—Chrysostom concludes—we can proclaim that Mary is blessed among all women.11
In the first half of the fifth century, St. Proclus, patriarch of Constantinople (c. 385–446)—paraphrasing the same concepts expressed by St. John Chrysostom some four decades earlier—says that Mary was turned into mother, slave, cloud, thalamus, and Ark of the Lord; she became a mother since she gave birth to him who wanted to be born as a man; she became a slave, whose nature and grace Proclus confirms; she became a cloud because she conceived of the Holy Spirit and gave birth while preserving her virginity; she became a bedchamber because the Word of God lived in it as in a bridal chamber; she became an Ark, but not the one that carried the Tables of the Law, but the one that gave birth to the Lawgiver.12 Proclus goes on to say that for this reason, we can proclaim that Mary is blessed among all women because she is the only one who took away the sadness of Eve, the only one who bore the price of the Redemption of the world, the only one who became pregnant without needing sexual pleasure, the only one who gave birth without pain, the only one who gave birth to Immanuel.13
In the second half of the eighth century, St. Tarasius, patriarch of Constantinople (c. 730–806), in a speech on the Presentation of the Virgin to the temple, designates her with numerous biblical foreshadowings. In this sense, he assures that Mary is the Sancta Sanctorum, the immaculate conjugal bed of the Word, the virginal rod that blooms, the Ark of sanctification, the holy mountain, the tabernacle that contains God, the bush that burns without being consumed, the God’s chariot of fire, the spotless dove, and the vast seat of the Word.14 Several pages later in that speech, Tarasius rhetorically addresses the Virgin as she enters the temple of Jerusalem, asking her to come as the Ark of sanctification to the Lord of mercy and as the door of divine life to come to the conjugal bedroom of the Word, to the temple of the Lord.15
Toward the last decades of the seventh century or the first of the eighth, the Syrian hymnographer St. Andrew of Crete, bishop of Gortyn in Crete (650–740), extols the Virgin Mary in a sermon on the Annunciation, designating her as the new Ark of glory, in which the one who is holy by nature built for himself with admirable reason the sanctification of the new glory by incarnating in the virginal precinct of Mary’s nature without changing or dispensing with what he was in his immutable divine nature but assuming the human nature that he does not have.16 The author goes on to praise Mary, calling her the golden urn that contained manna in the Ark of the Covenant because she contained the one who made the sweet manna (the Eucharist).17
In his third sermon on the Dormition of the Virgin, St. Andrew of Crete extols Mary as the new Ark of God’s glory, in which the entire golden urn of manna, Aaron’s flowering staff, and the Tables of the Law stand.18 Finally, in his fourth sermon on the Birth of the Virgin, the Cretan hymnographer exalts Mary, designating her as the proper ladder of Jacob, the smoking mountain, and the Ark of sanctification, the one who was covered entirely with gold and resplendent with the shine of the Holy Spirit and, like the golden urn that carries Christ, the heavenly manna and immortal food for the whole world.19
In the first half of the eighth century, the famous Syrian theologian St. John Damascene (675–749) affirms in his first homily on the Virgin’s Dormition that Mary, as the Mother of the Lord who descended from heaven, is the Ark aforetime prefigured in which the seed of the second world was preserved; for having begotten the Savior of the world who freed us from sin, she is prefigured in the Tables of the Law engraved by God, is the pre-announced Ark of the Covenant, and is also presignified as the golden urn, the candelabra, the sacred table (mensa), and Aaron’s rod that flourished because the flame of deity, the Word of the Father, the most gentle and heavenly manna, the everlasting Light, came from Mary.20
In the second homily on the Dormition of the Virgin, John Damascene asserts that today, when Mary dies, the sacred and animated Ark of the living God, who conceived the Creator of the world in her womb, rests in the Lord’s immaterial temple, and her ancestor David jumps in front of it. Together with him, all the choirs of the angels, the archangels, the virtues, the principalities, the dominions, the powers, the thrones, the cherubim, and the seraphim celebrate.21 In another later passage of this second homily on the Virgin’s Dormition, John Damascene assures that Mary, the Ark of the Lord, leaving Mount Zion carried on the shoulders of the apostles in a funeral procession, is transferred to the temple of heaven from the tomb.22
In a homily on the Annunciation to the Virgin, John Damascene says that Mary is designated the blessed Ark of God, who had God within her and is venerable for the whole world, who should rejoice for this with true exultation.23 Finally, in a homily on the birth of Mary, Damascene says that the Virgin was the substantial receptacle of the person of God the Son, which is why she should be recognized as the Ark wholly covered with gold, comparable to that golden urn that contained the manna, the lampstand, the sacred table, and all the things of biblical antiquity, for all these things, which were a prefiguration of Mary, achieved honor as sketches of the true exemplar.24
In the ninth century, the famous Byzantine poet St. Joseph the Hymnographer (816–886) took up the Ark of the Covenant motif as a symbol of the Virgin Mary many times in his extensive Mariale. Thus, in one poem of this Marian hymnal, he designates the Virgin Mother of God as the Ark of venerable sanctification for the great and tremendous mystery of having gestated and nursed the Lord of the universe.25 In a second hymn from this collection of poems, Joseph the Hymnographer once again designates Mary as the Ark of sanctification, whom he describes as a chaste virgin and mother because her virginity and childbirth are supernatural, and then asks her to sanctify him wholly by freeing him from all passion.26 In other song of his Mariale, the Byzantine poet says that the most pure Mother of God is prefigured in the Bible as the Ark of the Law, the urn that contained the manna as the divine table, and the shining golden candelabrum, which gave birth to this Light destined for the illumination of the people and which illuminated the entire order of the Earth with its divine science.27 In a new hymn from this set of poems, Joseph the Hymnographer commends Mary, whom he calls the Wife of God, saying that the Ark of the Law prefigured her for having received and given birth in human flesh to the fullness of the divine Law (Christ) and for having remained a perpetual virgin after childbirth, as she had been (virgin) before childbirth.28 In a fifth song of his Mariale, the Byzantine poet once again praises Mary, whom he designates as God’s only blessed mother house, saying that the ancient Ark of the Law prefigured her womb containing the Manna Christ, our food.29 In another poem from this hymnal, Joseph the Hymnographer praises Mary for being totally free of sin, saying she is the Ark of intimate sanctification, palatable more with the understanding than with the external senses.30 In a tenth poem of this compendium of hymns, the Byzantine bard lauds Mary, designated as the Mother of God, saying that like an intelligible ark, she bore the Supreme Legislator, and like a splendid lamp, she generated the Light, and like a root never irrigated, she produced the cluster of life.31
In Ode 7 of his Mariale, Joseph the Hymnographer addresses King David, inspired by God, asking him to rejoice, to play the zither and dance because the Ark (the Virgin Mary), foreshadowed by him in past times, was born from a barren womb (Anna) and has been reserved by God for the King of all creatures (Christ).32 In a new hymn from his collection of songs, the Byzantine composer affirms that in the past, the Ark of the Law (covenant) prefigured the pure Virgin Mary because it carried within it not the two Tables of the Law but the Legislator himself, Christ, whom the Lawbreaking people crucified and who saves us.33 Finally, in a hymn of his Mariale, Joseph the Hymnographer says the most chaste Virgin Mary is prefigured as the Ark of the Law and as the urn that contained manna, at the same time as the divine mensa (sacred table) and the shining golden lampstand, ready to reveal to people the Light, which illuminates the ends of the entire Earth with divine wisdom.34
3.2. The Mariological Symbol Foederis Arca in Latin Fathers and Theologians
With similar frequency and effusiveness as the Greek Church Fathers, the Latin Church Fathers and theologians also symbolized the Virgin Mary as the Ark of the Covenant due to her virginal divine motherhood and other exclusive supernatural privileges.
Thus, in the second half of the fourth century, the influential master St. Ambrose, bishop of Milan (340–397), says in his Sermon 42 that we designate the Virgin Mary as that Ark of the Covenant before which King David jumped and danced because it carried within it the Tables of the Law of the Testament, while Mary gestated the heir of the Testament; while it carried the Old Law, Mary contained the Gospel; if it had what was said by God, Mary had the Word of God.35 Moreover, if the ancient Ark of the Covenant shone inside and outside with the splendor of gold, Mary shone with the brilliance of virginity; if the old Ark were adorned with earthly gold, Mary was adorned with heavenly gold.36
Toward the end of the sixth century or the beginning of the seventh, the fine Italian poet St. Venantius Fortunatus, bishop of Poitiers (530–610), wrote a famous hymn in honor of Mary. In one of whose stanzas, he praises the Virgin in these terms:
| Blessed is the mother for the gift, | Beata mater munere |
Toward the middle of the seventh century, St. Ildefonsus, archbishop of Toledo (607–667), in a fragment of a poem included in a poetic Crown of the Virgin attributed to him, says,
| You who unite with the heavenly husband | Tu sempiterno foedere, |
In another sentence of this Crown of the Virgin, St. Ildefonsus (if he is the author of this hymnal attributed to him) indicates that the Virgin Mary is the Ark of the Testament, completely covered in gold, in which all the treasures of grace and the mercy of God are present: adorned externally with virtues and internally with innocence and piety, internally resplendent with the gold of piety, and externally brilliant with the works of charity and the clarity of miracles.39 Then the author goes on to say that Mary is wholly clean inside in the mind and completely beautiful outwardly in her works, utterly devoid of guilt, and totally associated with God, resplendent with the divine clarity and exultant with the divine praise. He then adds that Mary is the temple of the Lord, which is omnipotence in charity, wisdom in humility, kindness in virtue, solidity in faith, simplicity in perfection, chastity in virginity, and holiness in works.40 The author asserts that Mary is the world’s life, the medicine of languishing souls, the Tree of Life in the middle of paradise, whose fruit heals the contrite, restores the weak, consoles the sad, and sustains the sickly ones.41 Finally, in another fragment of this Marian Crown attributed to him, St. Ildefonsus says about the Virgin Mary,
You were the Ark for the glorious treasure of fertility; the golden censer of God for the devotion of prayer, which is entirely inflamed by the love of eternity: you were the urn for circumspection, the manna for the gentleness of divine birth, the rod [of Aaron] for royal authority, the Tables of the Law for the fullness of science, the mercy seat for the affection of piety. In the tabernacle of God, there was nothing that was not covered with gold. So, you too, Lady, are like the tabernacle that the Most High sanctified; you were all gold because you are full of charity.42
In the first half of the twelfth century, the Saxon Augustinian theologian Hugh of Saint Victor (1096–1141), who, in addition to being a cardinal, was director of the Victorine School, alludes to the Marian symbol under analysis in a writing about three privileges granted to the Virgin. In this regard, Hugh affirms that God, the author of wonders, worked three wonders in Mary: he admirably raised the integrity of purity so the Ark of the Covenant was covered with the purest gold; he potentially fertilized virginal purity so the burning bush would not be consumed; he ineffably copulated what is below with the supreme heights, so that, through Jacob’s ladder, earthly things would be united with heavenly things.43
Around those same years, the influential Cistercian Church Doctor St. Bernard, abbot of Clairvaux, known as Doctor Mellifluus (1090–1153), in his third sermon on the antiphon Salve Regina, expresses an extensive list of denominations or biblical foreshadowings (especially, the ones we are studying in this article) through which the Virgin Mary is identified. In this sense, Bernard expresses,
The Lady of things [the created world] is not only known as the sky and the firmament, but she is also conveniently designated by other names and called by other names of things. She is the tabernacle of God, temple, house, atrium, cubicle, she is the conjugal bed, wife, lilies, she is the Ark of the flood, the Ark of the Covenant, the golden urn, she is manna, Aaron’s rod, Gideon’s fleece, Ezekiel’s gate, the city of God, she is heaven, Earth, Sun, Moon and the morning star, she is dawn and lamp, tuba and mountain, and also the fountain of the gardens, and the lily of the valleys; she is the desert, and the land of promise flowing with milk and honey, the star of the sea, and also a ship, a road in the sea, a net, a vineyard, a field, an ark, a granary, a stable, a subjugated manger, a warehouse, a royal hall, a tower, and camps, army, people, kingdom, priesthood.44
In another sermon on the Virgin Mary, St. Bernard establishes the symbolic parallelism between the material making of the Ark of the Old Covenant and the supernatural constitution of Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant. In this regard, the abbot of Clairvaux expresses,
The Ark of the Testament also displays the holy figure of Mother of God. Bezeleel did that; this [Mary] was formed by Immanuel. Bezeleel had Oliab as a partner in this work: and also the Virgin of virgins was formed, pre-chosen, preserved, prepared, and adorned by the Holy Spirit and by her omnipotent Son. Bezeleel is interpreted as the “Shadow of God”; Oliab is interpreted as “My protection”: the first [Bezeleel] represents the figure of the Holy Spirit, but the second [Oliab] represents the figure of the Son [of God].45
Toward the middle of the twelfth century, the Benedictine Peter of Celle (1115–1183), bishop of Chartres, in his famous Liber de Panibus, says that Christ is a pontiff according to the order of Melchizedek, on whose head the anointing oil was poured and whose hands were consecrated in sacrifice. In the temple of the virginal womb, he proceeded in pontifical vestments to offer the sacrifices of our Redemption to the altar of the cross not without his own blood and pacified those on Earth and in heaven.46 Then, Peter of Celle concludes,
Here is the Ark of sanctification, here the tables of the Testament, here the rod of Aaron that budded, flourished, germinated, and produced nuts. Here is the propitiation or the mercy seat; here is the holy one and the Holy of holies.47
Approximately four decades later, the French theologian, poet, and diplomat Peter of Blois (1135–1203), in a sermon on the birth of Mary, after designating her according to various biblical figures based on her multiple virtues, continues to exalt the Virgin for her qualities, assuming these symbolic figures: for her strength, Mary is the city founded by the Most High; for the integrity of her virginity, she is the closed garden, the sealed fountain, the closed door, the Lebanon not cut; because of her holiness, she is the temple of God, the door of the sanctuary, the Ark of God, the tabernacle of the Holy Spirit; by her glory, Mary is the King’s throne hall, the room of aromas, the fountain of gardens, the paradise of delights.48
In the final decades of the twelfth century or the first decades of the thirteenth, the Cistercian monk Garnerius of Rochefort (1140–1225), abbot of Clairvaux and later bishop of Langres, addresses the topic under study in a sermon on Mary’s birth. In this regard, after remembering the biblical passage from the third book of Kings, In mense Ethanim posita est arca foederis in domo Domini (III Reg. VIII), he says that the Virgin Mary is this Ark, of which the liturgical poem expresses,
Blessed Mother for the gift,
Whose supreme architect,
who has the world in his fist,
Was enclosed in the Ark of her womb.49
Complementing that idea, Garnerius says she is called the Ark of the Covenant because, in the secret of her womb, the alliance began for God the man and between God and man. Mary is, in effect, this Ark in the temple of the Lord; that is, she was born in honor of the Church of God and was exposed to the world.50
In the second half of the thirteenth century, the General of the Franciscan Order, cardinal, and bishop of Albano, St. Bonaventure of Bagnoregio (1217/21–1274), known as the Seraphic Doctor (Doctor Seraphicus), states in his fifth sermon for the birth of Mary that, among all the sacred and secret foreshadowings of the Old Testament instituted by God, the one that appears to be the most sacred to be honored is that of the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. This happens not casually or irrationally, but according to the deliberate disposition of the Supreme Wisdom, bearer of the Law.51 Complementing his reflection, the author says this is based not so much because the Ark was artificially made of wood and gold, but because it most aptly prefigured the mysteries of God according to the opinion of eternal art. Therefore, among all the other biblical foreshadowings, which, according to the manifold Wisdom of God, generate multiple intelligences, the Ark of the Covenant is replete with a multitude of mystical intelligences destined to lead to an all-comprehensive spiritual intelligence.52
Then the Seraphic Doctor goes on to say that under the figure of the Ark of the Covenant, the dignity of the Virgin Mary is prefigured in diverse ways if we consider the four aspects with which the Holy Scripture describes this Ark, namely, regarding its construction, its ability to contain, its effectiveness, and its possibility of receiving honors.53 Furthermore, Bonaventure clarifies that if we consider the Ark in terms of its construction, we consider it as it is materially; if we consider it in terms of its capacity to contain, we consider it for what it has; if we consider it for its effectiveness, what it does is taken into account; if we consider it for the possibility of receiving honors, what it receives is taken into account.54
Moreover, the Seraphic Doctor goes on to say that, according to Scripture, the construction of the Ark of the Covenant was made with incorruptible materials, proportional measurements, a pleasing form, and a quadrangular shape; all aspects hint at the glorious Virgin Mary, who was made according to the art of God the Son and the Holy Spirit.55 Taking now, as an example, only the first of those aspects above, Bonaventure assures that Mary is similar to the Ark of the Covenant regarding its construction because the incorruptible material of which the Ark was made corresponds to the incorruptibility and the integrity of the Virgin Mary’s flesh, which became light, exonerating herself from the weight of carnality and incorruptible, avoiding the contagion of carnal corruption. Because—the Seraphic Doctor wonders—what else is virginity but a particular form of incorruptibility?56
In the first sermon on the Purification of the Virgin, St. Bonaventure states,
Due to the purity of her intellectual or contemplative virtues, the glorious Virgin is compared to gold; from where it is said in the Exodus: Build for the Lord an Ark of setim wood, you will cover it with purest gold. The Ark, on which there were two Cherubs covering the atonement cover, is the glorious Virgin, full of divine lights, a divine ark all attentive around the divine.57
After having displayed the numerous testimonies through which many Fathers and theologians of the Greek and Latin Churches metaphorically designated the Virgin Mary under the symbol of the Ark of the Covenant, let us now see the expressions of this symbolic designation in the liturgical hymns written in Europe throughout the Middle Ages.
4. The Mariological Symbol Foederis Arca in Medieval Liturgical Hymns
Inspired by the testimonies of the Fathers and theologians of the Eastern and Western Churches who designated the Virgin Mary as the Ark of the Covenant, numerous medieval hymnographers composed countless liturgical hymns, in many of whose stanzas they take up the Ark of the Covenant’s metaphor to designate the Virgin for her virginal divine motherhood, her perpetual virginity, her supreme holiness, or the excellence of her virtues. In this section, we will analyze only the stanzas of the hymns that designate Mary as the Ark of the Covenant, grouping them chronologically by centuries.
4.1. Twelfth- and Thirteenth-Century Hymns
Datable to an imprecise date between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, we have found the following two hymns.
Hymnus 101. De Beata Maria Virgine praises Mary, alluding to the construction materials and content of the Ark of the Covenant through these eloquent verses:
| 10a. You are made with light wood, | 10a. Tu de lignis levigatis, |
Hymnus 191 exalts the Virgin by designating her through several Old Testament foreshadowings, among others, that of the Jewish sacred Ark, by expressing,
| This [Mary] is the Ark of the Covenant, | Haec est arca foederis, |
4.2. Thirteenth-Century Hymns
From the thirteenth century, we have found these six hymns alluding to the biblical metaphor under study.
Hymnus 235 hails the Virgin for her sublime superiority over other human beings and for her saving power, stating,
| Oh, hope and Ark of the Covenant | O humani generis |
Hymnus I. Psalterium beatae Mariae Virginis. Tertia Quinquagena acclaims the Virgin Mary for her excellency as the chosen Mother of God, establishing several parallels between her, the Ark of the Covenant, the tabernacle, and the Tent of the Testimony, through these brilliant rhymes:
| Hail, pre-signed aforetime, | Ave, dudum praesignata, |
Hymnus 84. De Beata Maria Virgine proclaims the sublimity of Mary’s supernatural attributes as the virginal Mother of God and perpetual virgin, alluding to several Old Testament foreshadowings, stating,
| 4a. This is the flowering rod [of Jesse], | 4a. Haec est virga florida, |
Hymnus 118. De Beata Maria Virgine exalts Mary as a powerful Mother of God through several biblical figures in these precise rhymes:
| 6a. Ark of the Law | 6a. Arca legis, |
Hymnus 122. De Beata Maria Virgine thus proclaims the Virgin Mary as a sacred ark similar to the ancient Ark of the Covenant, for containing in its womb Christ, founder of the new Law, and giver of heavenly manna.
| 3a. In the afternoon, it is announced | 3a. Vespere praemittitur, |
Toward the first half of the thirteenth century, Edmund of Canterbury (Edmundus Cantuariensis, c. 1174–1240) begs Mary in his Hymnus X. Psalterium Beatae Mariae Virginis to intercede for him before her divine Son, whom she conceived as in an ark, through this stanza:
| Hail, rich Ark of Christ | Ave, dives arca Christi, |
4.3. Fourteenth-Century Hymns
Dating back to the fourteenth century, we have found these six hymns alluding to the Marian symbol of the Ark of the Covenant.
In the first half of this century, the German monk Konrads von Haimburg (Conradus Gemnicensis, † 1360), in his famous Hymnus 2. Crinale Beatae Mariae Virginis, celebrates Mary with several biblical foreshadowings, among them the Ark of the Covenant, with these delicate rhymes:
| Hail, clear star of the sea, | Ave clara stella maris, |
Hymnus 60. In Annunciatione Beatae Mariae Virginis exalts the Virgin Mary as the mother of the Savior, designating her with several biblical metaphors alluding to containers or sustainers, among them that of the Ark of the Covenant, with these rhymes:
| 3a. Rejoice, throne of the supreme King. | 3a. Gaude, thronum summi regis, |
Hymnus 72. In Assumptione Beatae Mariae proclaims the exemplary privileges of the Mother of God through several biblical figures in this stanza:
| This [Mary] is the tree [the bush] on fire, | Haec est arbor inflammata |
Hymnus 81. De beata Maria Virgine designates the Virgin Mary as the Ark of the ancient Hebrew Alliance in these verses:
| Ark, sanctuary, | Arca, sanctuarium, |
Hymnus 87. Ad Beatam Mariam Virginem sings to the Virgin Mother of God, designating her as the ancient Ark of the Covenant, stating,
| Ark of the Deity | Arca deitatis, |
Hymnus 81 exalts Mary, designating her with various biblical foreshadowings for her sublime virtues and privileges through these brilliant rhymes:
| Oh, distinguished maiden, | O insignis puella, |
4.4. Thirteenth- and Fourteenth-Century Hymns
Dating back to an imprecise date between the thirteenth and fourteenth century, we have found these two hymns alluding to the symbol under consideration.
Hymnus 98. De Beata Maria Virgine identifies Mary, the pre-elected Mother of God, with the Hebrew Ark of the Covenant and all its sacred contents, expressing,
| This is the established Ark, | Haec est arca instaurata, |
Hymnus 105. De Beata Maria Virgine designates the Virgin Mary with various biblical symbolic tropes, including the metaphor under study, proclaiming,
| 13a. Cluster, grape, honeycomb, garden, | 13a. Botrus, uva, favus, hortus, |
4.5. Thirteenth- and Fifteenth-Century Hymns
Datable to some unknown date in those 300 years, we have found the following five hymns alluding to the referenced metaphor.
Hymnus 20 hails the Virgin Mary for her virginal divine motherhood, assimilating her to the Jewish Ark of the Covenant, to its contents, the rites and events that distinguished it, through these well-polished rhymes:
| 1. Behold the Ark of the Covenant, | 1. En arca, quam tunc foederis |
Hymnus 24 sings of Mary in her exalted privilege as the chosen mother of the Redeemer, equating her with a new Ark of the Covenant, stating,
| Oh, chaste mother, | O casta genitrix, |
Hymnus 42 salutes the Virgin Mary, as the sublime Mother of God and practical helper, by pointing out,
| Hail, rich Ark of Christ, | Ave dives arca Christi, |
Hymnus 101 formulates concepts relatively similar to those of the preceding Hymnus 24, expressing,
| Ruler of the minds | Rectrix mentium, |
Hymnus 139 exalts the Virgin Mary for having been pre-elected Mother of God and for the sublimity of her virtues through this stanza:
| This excellent and venerable, | Haec excelsa atque veneranda, |
4.6. Fourteenth- and Fifteenth-Century Hymns
We have documented these four hymns datable from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries alluding to the metaphor above.
Hymnus 52. Salutationes Beatae Mariae Virginis praises the Virgin Mother of God for her mediating power through these rhymes:
| Hail, Ark of the New Testament | Salve, felicis figmenti |
Hymnus 3. In Sanctificatione Conceptionis Beatae Mariae Virginis. In 2. Nocturno. Antiphonae designates the Mother of God with the symbolic figure of the Hebrew Ark of the Covenant and its vase of manna, expressing,
| You are the Ark of Holiness, | Tu es arca sanctitatis, |
Hymnus 94. De beata Maria Virgine praises the virginal Mother of God for her effective mediating power, designating her with the metaphor under study, by these stanzas:
| 7a. Holy Ark of the Covenant | 7a. Arca sacra foederis |
Hymnus XIV. Psalterium beatae Mariae Virgine. Tertia Quinquagena acclaims Mary for having been pre-elected mother of the Savior through these verses:
| Hail, that from the departure | Ave, quae ab exitu |
4.7. Fifteenth-Century Hymns
Dating back to the fifteenth century, we have documented the following 21 liturgical hymns alluding to the biblical metaphor under analysis.
Hymnus 56. In Nativitate Beatae Mariae Virginis praises the Mother of God through several biblical foreshadowings, including that of the Ark of the Covenant and the characteristics of its manufacture, indicating,
| The first artist made the Ark | Auro tectam omni parte |
Several stanzas later, this Hymnus 56 goes on to say,
| You are the Ark covered in gold | Arca tu es deaurata, |
Hymnus 47. De Conceptione Beatae Mariae Virginis. Ad Laudes sings the excellent merits of Mary, prefigured in two biblical symbols, in this stanza:
| The Ark of the Law, the King’s temple, | Arca legis, templum regis |
Hymnus 79. In Conceptione Beatae Mariae Virginis. Ad Matutinum requests the saving protection of the Virgin, whom he designates as the Ark containing the manna, in these verses:
| Ark that preserves the sweetness, | Arca servans dulcedinem, |
Hymnus 49. De Nominibus et Titulis Beatae Mariae Virginis requests the saving mediation of the Virgin Mary, whom he designates with several biblical prefigurations, in these rhymes:
| Delightful garden, | Hortus delectabilis, |
Hymnus 50. De Nominibus Beatae Mariae Virginis exalts and pleads for the saving protection of the Virgin Mary with these biblical foreshadowings, including that of the Ark of the Covenant, containing manna:
| Royal offspring, beautiful wife of God, Mary, | Regia proles, sponsa Dei speciosa, Maria, |
Hymnus 103. Alphabetum archangelicum in laudem Beatae Mariae Virginis greets the Mother of God with these praises:
| Hail, Ark of Deity, | Ave, arca deitatis, |
Hymnus 104. Oratio de Virgine Maria, matre Jesu expresses concepts identical to those of the preceding Hymnus 103,
| Hail, Ark of deity, | Ave, arca deitatis, |
Hymnus 107. Ad Beatam Mariam Virginem requests the protective mediation of the mother of the Savior, designating her as his throne and containing the Ark of deity through these rhymes:
| Lawyer available gratis | Ante thronum trinitatis |
Hymnus 119. Ad Beatam Mariam Virginem exalts the Virgin Mary through several biblical metaphors, including that under study, by expressing,
| You are the springing fountain of the gardens, | Tu es scatens fons hortorum, |
Hymnus 122. De Beata Maria Virgine proclaims the sublime greatness of the Virgin Mary through several biblical metaphors, expressing,
| The golden Ark | Te signat urna aurea |
Hymnus XI. Psalterium Secundum. Quinquagena I requests the saving intercession of the Virgin Mary, whom he identifies with the Ark of the Covenant, in this stanza:
| Hail, heavenly Ark of grace | Ave, arca caelestis gratiae, |
Hymnus XII. Psalterium Tertium. Quinquagena I requires the saving protection of Mary, whom it designates as the Ark containing manna and the Tables of the Law, by this stanza:
| Hail, Ark, sweetest manna, | Ave, arca, manna dulcissimum |
Hymnus XIV. Psalterium Iubilus Beatae Mariae Virginis. Quinquagena I expresses concepts analogous to those of the preceding Hymnus XII, stating,
| Hail, Ark of the Covenant | Ave, arca foederis |
Hymnus XV. Psalterium Hymnarius Beatae Mariae Virginis. Quinquagena I deals with expressions similar to the two preceding hymns through these rhymes:
| Hail, singular Ark | Ave, testimonii |
Hymnus XV. Psalterium Hymnarius Beatae Mariae Virginis. Quinquagena III imprecates the saving protection of the Virgin Mary, whom it designates as the Ark of the Covenant, in these verses:
| Hail, Ark of grace | Ave, arca gratiae |
Hymnus 113. De Beata Maria Virgine exalts the virginal divine motherhood of Mary, whom it identifies with the two biblical foreshadowings of the Ark of the Covenant and the burning bush, in these stanzas:
| 4a. Resplendent Ark of the Testament. | 4a. Arca fulgens testamenti, |
In the second half of the fifteenth century, Antony of Lantsee (†1492), in his Hymnus VIII. Psalterium beatae Mariae Virginis. Prima Quinquagena, greets the Virgin Mary as the pre-chosen Ark of God in these terms:
| 1. Hail, plasma of deity, | 1.Ave, plasma deitatis, |
Around the same decades, Iacobo Merlone Horstio, in his Hymnus 11. Rosarium beatae Mariae Virginis hails the Virgin Mary with several biblical metaphors, including the one under study, expressing,
| This Ark is called a tower | Arca, turris haec vocata |
The famous hymnographer Ulrich Stöcklins von Rottach (Udalricus Wessofontanus), abbot of Wessobrunn, active in 1438–1443, greets Mary in his Hymnus 18. Salutatorium Beatae Mariae Virginis with several biblical foreshadowings while pleading for her saving protection through these rhymes:
| Hail, Virgin, little reed basket | Vale, virgo, fiscella scirpea, |
Once again, Ulrich Stöcklins von Rottach requests in his Hymnus 24. Centimonium Beatae Virginis. Primae partis the saving protection of the Virgin, whom he hails with the figure of the Ark of the Covenant, in these terms:
| 43. Oh, Ark that contains | 43. O arca continens |
Finally, Ulrich Stöcklins von Rottach in his Hymnus 42. Abecedarius 2 addresses Mary, whom he designates as the new Ark of the Covenant, a container of the new Eucharistic manna, in these terms:
| New Testament Ark | Arca novi continens |
As a final synthesis of what was stated in our article’s Section 2 and Section 3, we can infer the following evidence: for more than 1000 years, Eastern and Western Fathers, theologians, and hymnographers agree in designating the Virgin Mary, due to her privileged status as Mother of God the Son the Savior, as the Ark of the Covenant or some other similar symbolic figures alluding to containers or seats of deity. Therefore, it is shocking to note that, despite such an abundant patristic, theological, and hymnic tradition on its Mariological meanings, the Foederis Arca metaphor is not mentioned—much less explained and documented—in none of the books of Mariology that we know (Pikaza 1989; De Fiores 1991, 1992; Forte 1993; Bastero de Eleizalde 1995; de La Potterie 1995; Fernández 1999; Stock 1999; Ponce Cuéllar 2001; Pozo 2005; Cerbelaud 2005; De Fiores 2006–2008; de La Soujeole 2007; Menke 2007; De Fiores et al. 2009; Scheffczyk 2010; Calero de los Ríos 2010; Casás Otero 2015; García Paredes 2015; Bonarrigo 2018; Castaño Félix 2019; Hauke 2021). However, some contemporary theologians, such as René Florentin, have claimed that the symbolic identification of the Virgin Mary as the Ark of the Covenant is already implicit in the Gospel of Luke, based on the assumption that Luke 1:39–45 is inspired by 2 Samuel 6 (Schafer 2020). In addition to the fact that such an assumption seems to be indefensible, dealing with the opinions of any contemporary theologian falls outside the research purposes in this article: this is dedicated exclusively to the exegetical statements of the Church Fathers, theologians, and medieval hymnographers who symbolically identify Mary as the ark of the covenant.
5. The Symbol Foederis Arca in Some Paintings of the Annunciation from the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries
After having analyzed the texts of the Fathers, theologians, and liturgical hymnographers who consider the Virgin Mary, Mother of God the Son incarnate, in light of the biblical metaphor Ark of the Covenant, we will now examine some artistic representations of the Annunciation that could illustrate in some way this biblical metaphor. After all, the human conception/incarnation of God the Son in the virginal womb of Mary takes place at the very moment in which, at the conclusion of the event of the Annunciation, she accepts as a humble slave of the Lord (ancilla Domini) the Almighty’s project to make her the mother of his divine Son. In this sense, we will analyze 10 pictorial Annunciations from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries that include in their scene some furniture that seems to poetically suggest the Hebrew Ark of the Covenant.
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The Limbourg Brothers, The Annunciation, from The Belles Heures of Jean de France, Duc de Berry, c. 1405–09. The Metropolitan Museum, New York
In the sumptuous Belles Heures du Duc de Berry (Jean de France), created between 1405 and 1409 with 172 illuminations, the Limbourg Brothers (c.1380–1416) combined an intimate and naturalistic vision typical of the Northern painters with the most classical figuration of Italian artists. In the Annunciation, from f30r of this devotional book of Duc de Berry (Figure 1a,b),105 the Limbourg Brothers stage the Marian event in a splendid house shaped as a church or chapel. Holding a lily stem in his left hand, the archangel Gabriel kneels before the Virgin while pointing with his right index finger to indicate that she has been chosen by God the Father to be the mother of his divine Son incarnated as a man. On a fanciful balcony/niche, the Most High blesses the Virgin while emitting toward her head/ear the fertilizing ray of light preceded by the dove of the Holy Spirit. Kneeling in a prie-dieu, she slightly turns her face toward Gabriel to maintain the crucial dialogue while she joins her hands on her chest as a sign of accepting the divine plan the heavenly messenger communicates to her.
It is important to highlight here the form and function of the exquisite piece of furniture—at the same time prie-dieu and lectern—before which the Virgin is kneeling. Extended by a graceful Solomonic column whose top is presided over by the figure of Moses with the Tables of the Law, its main body presents the shape of an ark, inside which two books appear. Evidently, the intellectual author of this Annunciation—probably a priest or friar who instructed the Limbourg Brothers—wanted to reflect the continuity/transfer between the Old Alliance or Old Testament (signified by the figure of Moses and the Tables of the Law, i.e., Judaism) and the new covenant or New Testament (signified by the two books kept in the ark, i.e., Christianity).
Let us remember, in fact, what some Church Fathers, theologians, and liturgical hymnographers expressed about the idea that the Virgin Mary is a genuine Foederis Arca with greater propriety than the Jewish Ark of Covenant: because, if it contained the Tables of the Law of the old covenant, Mary contains in her womb (ark) the Legislator himself, the God who came incarnated as a man to this world to establish a new covenant with humankind. Nor must we forget that it is precisely in the event of the Annunciation when the new Legislator, Christ, who comes to establish the new covenant with humanity, is conceived and incarnated in Mary’s virginal womb. Therefore, this surprising ark with books in this Annunciation of the Limbourg Brothers symbolizes as a visual metaphor the Virgin Mary as the “Ark of the (New) Covenant,” in accordance with the textual metaphor developed by the Fathers, theologians, and medieval liturgical hymnographers about the Foederis Arca concept. Some commentators of this Annunciation that we know (Panofsky [1953] 1966, vol. I, pp. 29–32, 34, 43–45; Freeman 1960, pp. 105, 109, Figure 6) have ignored the deep Mariological and Christological meanings of this ark with books inside.
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The Limbourg Brothers, The Annunciation, f. 26r of Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, c. 1411–14. Musée Condé, Chantilly
In an analogous way to what they did in the preceding miniature, the Limbourg Brothers present The Annunciation, f. 26r of Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, c. 1411–1414, in the Musée Condé of Chantilly (Figure 2a,b)106 inside a Gothic temple. Genuflecting before Mary with a lily stem in his left hand, the archangel Gabriel unfolds a meandering phylactery with the greeting Ave gra[tia] plena inscribed on it. Kneeling on a prie-dieu, Mary turns her face toward Gabriel while raising her right hand in a gesture of agreement with the Almighty’s project. Blooming in a mandorla of seraphim and cherubs in the upper left part of the scene, holding the sphere of the universe in his left hand, the Most High breathes the ray of light (symbol of God the Son) upon Mary’s head/ear in a clear reference to the conceptio per aurem thesis that we have studied in another paper (Salvador-González 2016, pp. 83–122). Meanwhile, the dove of the Holy Spirit flies over the Virgin, according to the angelic announcement, “the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (Luke 1:35).
For our purposes, it is interesting to highlight once again an eloquent circumstance. As they did in the previous miniature, in this second Annunciation, the Limbourg Brothers designed the Virgin’s prie-dieu in the shape of an ark, inside which two books stand out. So, everything we said to explain with reference to the doctrine of this ark in the previous miniature is fully valid here. It is obvious that, with the ark containing books, the authors of this Annunciation wanted to identify the Virgin Mary with the symbol Foederis Arca.
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Robert Campin, The Annunciation, c. 1420–25. Prado Museum, Madrid
Robert Campin (c. 1375–1444) features his Annunciation, c. 1420–1425, from the Prado Museum in Madrid (Figure 3a,b)107 in a Gothic temple (Salvador-González 2020a, pp. 127–45; 2020b, pp. 23–41; 2020e, pp. 56–68; 2021a, pp. 525–53; 2021b, pp. 115–33). Outside of it, Gabriel kneels before the Virgin. In the temple’s central nave, Mary is seated on a cushion on the floor, absorbed in meditating on the prayer book she keeps open in her veiled hands, as if she were unconscious of the archangel’s presence. In the upper left corner of the panel, the Almighty, floating amid a glittering mandorla of angels, emits toward Mary the symbolic beam of light (Salvador-González 2020d, pp. 334–55), which, after passing across a window (Salvador-González 2022, pp. 39–85), reaches her radiant head.
What, for our purposes, is interesting to emphasize in this Annunciation is the semi-open wall shelf behind the Virgin, inside which you can see some books and a container or vase, among other objects. If those books represent, as we have already seen, the New Testament, the vase could mean the golden vessel or urn that contained the manna in the Jewish Ark of the Covenant. It seems logical to conclude that Robert Campin—probably instructed by a priest or a friar—placed in the scene of this Annunciation a shelf with books and a vase to symbolize the Virgin Mary as the Foederis Arca, according to the Mariological and Christological interpretations deciphered by so many Church Fathers, medieval theologians, and liturgical hymnographers. Some commentators of this panel (Silva Maroto 2001, pp. 50–51; Thürlemann 2002, p. 196, Figure 208) do not even mention this special ark and its dogmatic connotations.
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Rogier van der Weyden, The Annunciation, the Central Panel of the Triptych of the Annunciation, Post 1434, Musée du Louvre, Paris
Rogier van der Weyden (c. 1399/1400–1464) featured The Annunciation, c. 1434–1435, from the Musée du Louvre (Figure 4a,b).108 The central panel of the today dismembered Triptych of the Annunciation, post-1434, in the luxurious living room of an elegant bourgeois home in fifteenth-century Flanders, in which a symbolic conjugal bed stands out (Salvador-González 2020c, pp. 7–31; 2021c, pp. 77–93). Covered with a luxurious ecclesiastical cloak embroidered in gold brocade, Gabriel kneels before the Virgin. Dressed in dark blue, Mary turns her head slightly after stopping reading the open prayer book she is carrying in her left hand. Surprised by the crucial announcement given to her by the heavenly herald, she manifests her consent to the divine will by raising her right hand as in a gesture of oath.
Omitting now the symbolic interpretation of some objects included in this Louvre Annunciation—a vase with lilies, a candelabrum without a candle, a lamp, a closed door, and a conjugal bed—stressed with varying pertinence by several art historians, we are interested in highlighting the cupboard located in the background of the scene between Gabriel and Mary. Although it is closed, without revealing its contents, and even though it is predictable furniture in a comfortable living room, this solid piece of equipment, clearly shaped like an ark, allows us to imagine that van der Weyden—perhaps instructed by a churchman or friar—could have introduced here to symbolize Mary as Ark of the Covenant with all the Mariological and Christological meanings revealed by the Fathers, theologians, and hymnographers when interpreting this biblical metaphor. Many commentators of this Annunciation by van der Weyden, among them especially Erwin Panofsky ([1953] 1966, vol. I, pp. 253–56) ignore the doctrinal meanings of this ark.
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Jean Fouquet, The Annunciation, Livre d’Heures d’Étienne Chevalier, c. 1452–1460. Chantilly, Musée Condé
Jean Fouquet (1420–1480) structures The Annunciation from the Livre d’Heures d’Étienne Chevalier, c. 1452–1460 (Figure 5),109 inside a resplendent Gothic church. The archangel raises his right finger upwards to exhibit the origin of the message he is announcing to her. Covered with an oversized blue dress and seated on a rug, Mary prays with folded hands in a modest attitude, willing to consent to the Almighty’s project.
It is important to highlight in this miniature the shining golden ark, decorated on its front with the figures of seven prophets and guarded at its four corners by four golden cherubs, which is supported on four high columns behind the blue altar covered with a white tablecloth at the bottom of the temple’s apse. Fouquet—perhaps taught by an ecclesiastic—introduced this symptomatic Jewish Ark of the Covenant into the scene of this Annunciation with a deliberate purpose: to present it as a symbol of the Virgin Mary as a new Foederis Arca, in accordance with the meanings revealed during more than a millennium by the Fathers, theologians, and liturgical hymnographers of Eastern and Western Churches.
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Hans Memling, The Annunciation, c. 1480–89. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Hans Memling (1430–1494) stages The Annunciation, c. 1480–89, from the Metropolitan Museum of New York (Figure 6a,b)110 in a luxurious bourgeois living room in Flanders, quite like the one depicted by Rogier van der Weyden in the Louvre Annunciation just analyzed.
Covered with a splendid cope of red velvet embroidered with gold thread, the archangel Gabriel begins to kneel before Mary, who reacts to his entrance by rising from her prie-dieu. Exceptionally, Memling has put two other angels in the attitude of helping the Virgin, who, standing and with her legs bent, seems to be fading. This fainting and the protruding belly of Mary can be interpreted as clear symptoms of her pregnancy after the immediate human conception/incarnation of God the Son in her virginal womb at the same moment in which she accepted the Almighty’s plan. This conception/incarnation is also revealed by the dove of the Holy Spirit, who came over her while the power of the Most High overshadowed her.
We are interested in highlighting the cupboard leaning on the back wall, which deserves the same Mariological and Christological interpretation that we gave to the cupboard of the recently analyzed Annunciation by van der Weyden, on which it is clearly inspired. Blum (1992, pp. 43–58), Lane (1984, p. 75, n. 30), and Wytema (2016) have interpreted this locked cupboard as a reference to the Virgin’s purity, without bringing any documentary proof. The other commentators we know on this painting (Corti and Faggin 1969, p. 89, n. 11, pl. 16; McFarlane 1971, p. 13, Figure 39; De Vos 1994, pp. 304–6, n. 84) ignore this cupboard and its doctrinal meanings.
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Circle of Dirk Bouts, The Annunciation, c. 1480–90. Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisboa
The unknown disciple of Dirk Bouts, who painted this Annunciation from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon (Figure 7a,b),111 located the Marian event in the living room of a Flemish bourgeois residence. Having just entered through the main door, generously open to the landscape, the archangel Gabriel, dressed in an alb, begins his genuflection before the Virgin. Interrupting the reading/prayer before the unforeseen visit of the archangel, the kneeling Mary turns her body and face with humility and modesty toward the heavenly messenger to dialogue with him while the dove of the Holy Spirit flies toward her head.
It is interesting for our purposes to highlight in this Annunciation of Lisbon the cupboard/ark on the lectern of the Virgin, through whose open door one can see a closed book and a roll of papyrus or phylactery. Once again, that ark with book and papyrus refers to the symbolization of Mary as Foederis Arca. Such symbolization is justified by the concordant interpretation of the Fathers, theologians, and liturgical hymnographers, who saw the Virgin as the new Ark of the Covenant, which, instead of containing the Tables of the Law, contained in her womb the Legislator and establisher of the New Alliance. We also believe that, by vividly contrasting a closed book and a papyrus scroll in this cupboard, the intellectual author of this painting could be suggesting the parallelism/continuity between the Old Alliance or Old Testament (the papyrus scroll) and the New Alliance or New Testament (the book).
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Workshop of Dirk Bouts, Annunciation, c. 1480–1490. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond
Although with a completely different composition than the Lisbon painting just analyzed, the other unknown disciple of Dirk Bouts, who painted The Annunciation, c. 1480–90, from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond (Figure 8a,b),112 also offers the detail of a cupboard/ark with books and a papyrus scroll visible inside. There are only two noticeable differences between both cases: first, in the Richmond painting, there are numerous books included, while in the Lisbon painting, there is only one; second, in the painting from the North American museum, the view of the content of the cupboard is frontal and complete because it is located on the background wall, while in the one from the Portuguese museum, the view is oblique and incomplete because it is located on the right side wall. In any case, the meanings of this Richmond Annunciation are the same as those of Lisbon.
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León Picardo, The Annunciation, c. 1513. Prado Museum, Madrid
León Picardo stages The Annunciation, c. 1513, a panel from the altarpiece of the Benedictine monastery in Tamara de Campos (Palencia), today in the Prado Museum, Madrid (Figure 9a,b),113 in a simple chamber. The archangel Gabriel, grasping with his left hand the herald’s scepter and a twisting phylactery with the greeting
It is vital to highlight in this panel the two-faceted open cupboard embodied in Mary’s lectern, in which several books and a roll of papyrus can be observed. Obviously, León Picardo—likely induced by a Benedictine monk from the monastery to which the panel was aimed—has included such an unusual cupboard with books and papyrus in the scenery of this Annunciation to illustrate as a visual metaphor the textual metaphor of Mary symbolized as Foederis Arca, according to the ideas we explained in the analysis of the previous paintings.
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Joos van Kleve, The Annunciation, c. 1525. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Joos van Kleve features The Annunciation, c. 1525, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (Figure 10a,b),114 inside a luxurious, elaborately furnished interior of a Flemish home. In this brilliant setting, the standing archangel, carrying his herald’s scepter in his left hand, blesses the Virgin, who kneels in front of an open prayer book placed on a bench. The dove of the Holy Spirit flies over Mary’s head to impregnate her, aside from her unpolluted nuptial bed.
It is worth highlighting in this Annunciation by van Kleve the cupboard on the background wall, on which rests a triptych altarpiece, whose semi-visible central panel represents the Adoration of the Three Wise Men (Epiphany) and whose external facets of both wings represent the meeting of Abraham with the priest Melchizedek. This reference to the well-known Old Testament episode is joined by the engraving nailed to the wall to the left of the altarpiece, with the bust image of Moses, in clear reference to the Tables of the Law and the old covenant. In this way, the parallelism/continuity between the visible references to the Old Testament (Abraham’s meeting with Melchizedek, Moses) and the New Testament (Epiphany) makes plausible the hypothesis of imagining that the invisible content of a closed cupboard contains books and perhaps a papyrus scroll, as in other paintings just analyzed.
Thus, the closed cupboard of this Annunciation by van Kleve, as well as those of van der Weyden and Memling analyzed above, would constitute a new example of visual metaphor that would reveal the Virgin Mary under the textual metaphor of the new Foederis Arca, according to the ancient concordant interpretation of the Eastern and Western Fathers, theologians, and liturgical hymnographers. An additional detail could reinforce this hypothesis: the metal vessel or jug visible on the lower shelf of the cupboard—although it was interpreted (without documentary basis) by Erwin Panofsky as a “symbol of virginity”115—could perhaps refer to the golden vessel that contained the manna in the Jewish Ark of the Covenant.
6. Conclusions
The extensive and in-depth research into primary sources of Christian doctrine that we have undertaken in this article allows us to draw the following conclusions:
Since the third century and for more than 1000 years, we have documented a huge amount of testimonies through which numerous Fathers and theologians of the Greek-Eastern and Latin Churches agree in designating the Virgin Mary with the metaphor Ark of the Covenant (Foederis Arca) or other symbolic figures alluding to sacred objects of the Old Testament, such as the manna urn, the sacred table (mensa), the atonement cover, the golden candelabrum, and other similar Jewish cult elements.
All these Christian authors interpreted the essential parallelism between this Ark and the Virgin Mary due to her supernatural privilege of being the virginal Mother of God the Son incarnate and her sublime virtues. On the one hand, they considered the contents of the Ark of the Covenant: the Tables of the Law, the golden vase or urn of manna, and Aaron’s flowering rod. Furthermore, they appreciated this Ark for the materials it was made of, solid gold and incorruptible wood. On the other hand, they valued the Ark for what it meant to the Jews as the most sacred object of their religion and for its crucial value as the element that materialized and made visible God’s alliance with them.
Based on this immense corpus of concordant exegetical texts by Eastern and Western Fathers and theologians, numerous Latin poets in the Middle Ages composed countless liturgical hymns, canticles, antiphons, and prayers, many of whose stanzas poetically take those metaphors and symbolic tropes, to refer to the same Mariological meanings expressed by the Church Fathers and theologians.
Therefore, the Fathers, theologians, and liturgical hymnographers of the Eastern and Western Churches saw the Virgin Mary symbolically foreshadowed in this Hebrew Ark of the Covenant. First, and above all, due to her condition as Mother of God, the Virgin contained in her womb/ark the divine Legislator himself (and not only the material Tables of the Law) and also engendered and made live among men the supreme donor of the New Alliance of God with mankind. Second, because of her complementary function as co-redemptrix of humanity and for the sublimity of her virtues, Mary is worthy of the greatest praise and veneration because she is the holiest human being, just as the ark was the holiest object for the Jews.
So, because of so many enthusiastic testimonies from Fathers, theologians, and liturgical hymnographers for many centuries, it could not be surprising to find out that several paintings of the Annunciation from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries include in their scenery a cupboard or ark, almost always containing some books (and eventually a scroll of papyrus).
It is quite clear that, based on this millenary concordant patristic, theological, and hymnic tradition on the Ark of the Covenant textual metaphor applied to Mary, the intellectual authors of each Annunciation above mentioned—probably a friar or a priest who instructed the painter—decide to include in the settings of these paintings a cupboard or an ark (mainly with some books) as a visual metaphor able to symbolize the Virgin Mary as the new Foederis Arca, according to the Mariological and Christological meanings highlighted during more than a millennium by many Eastern and Western Church Fathers, theologians, and liturgical hymnographers.
The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Footnotes
1. This article has been written in the context and as part of the plan of activities for the International Doctorate in History, Culture and Thought, according to the modality “Compendium of Articles”, at the Alcalá de Henares University, Spain.
2. “10 arcam de lignis setim compingite, cujus longitudo habeat duos et semis cubitos: latitudo, cubitum et dimidium: altitudo, cubitum similiter ac semissem. 11 Et deaurabis eam auro mundissimo intus et foris: faciesque supra, coronam auream per circuitum”. (Ex 25:10–11. Biblia Sacra juxta Vulgatam Clementinam. Nova Editio. Madrid: Biblioteca de Autores Cristianos, 2005, p. 66).
3. “17 Facies et propitiatorium de auro mundissimo: duos cubitos et dimidium tenebit longitudo ejus, et cubitum ac semissem latitudo. 18 Duos quoque cherubim aureos et productiles facies, ex utraque parte oraculi. 19 Cherub unus sit in latere uno, et alter in altero. 20 Utrumque latus propitiatorii tegant expandentes alas, et operientes oraculum, respiciantque se mutuo versis vultibus in propitiatorium quo operienda est arca, 21 in qua pones testimonium quod dabo tibi.” (Ex 25:10–11. Biblia Sacra juxta Vulgatam Clementinam, p. 66). In another passage, it confirms: “6 Fecit et propitiatorium, id est, oraculum, de auro mundissimo, duorum cubitorum et dimidii in longitudine, et cubiti ac semis in latitudine. 7 Duos etiam cherubim ex auro ductili, quos posuit ex utraque parte propitiatorii: 8 cherub unum in summitate unius partis, et cherub alterum in summitate partis alterius: duos cherubim in singulis summitatibus propitiatorii, 9 extendentes alas, et tegentes propitiatorium, seque mutuo et illud respicientes.” (Ex 37:6–9. Biblia Sacra juxta Vulgatam Clementinam, p. 77).
4. “22 Inde praecipiam, et loquar ad te supra propitiatorium, ac de medio duorum cherubim, qui erunt super arcam testimonii, cuncta quae mandabo per te filiis Israel.” (Ex 25:22. Biblia Sacra juxta Vulgatam Clementinam, p. 66).
5. “16 Ponesque in arca testificationem quam dabo tibi.” “16 Ponesque in arca testificationem quam dabo tibi.” (Ex 25:16. Biblia Sacra juxta Vulgatam Clementinam, p. 66).
6. “32. Dixit autem Moyses: Iste est sermo, quem praecepit Dominus: Imple gomor ex eo, et custodiatur in futuras retro generationes: ut noverint panem, quo alui vos in solitudine, quando educti estis de terra Aegypti. 33 Dixitque Moyses ad Aaron: Sume vas unum, et mitte ibi man, quantum potest capere gomor, et repone coram Domino ad servandum in generationes vestras, 34 sicut praecepit Dominus Moysi. Posuitque illud Aaron in tabernaculo reservandum.” (Ex 16:32–34. Biblia Sacra juxta Vulgatam Clementinam, p. 59).
7. “3 Post velamentum autem secundum, tabernaculum, quod dicitur Sancta sanctorum: 4 aureum habens thuribulum, et arcam testamenti circumtectam ex omni parte auro, in qua urna aurea habens manna, et virga Aaron, quæ fronduerat, et tabulæ testamenti, 5 superque eam erant cherubim gloriæ obumbrantia propitiatorium”. (Heb 9:3–4. Biblia Sacra juxta Vulgatam Clementinam, p. 1161).
8. Sanctus Hippolytus Portuensis, Fragmenta in Danielem, VI. PG 10, 647.
9. Gregorius Thaumaturgus, Homilia I in Annunciatione Virginis Mariae. PG 10, 1151. (In his Patrología Graeca, J-P. Migne lists this homily among the Opera Dubia of Gregorius Thaumaturgus).
10. Ibid.
11. Joannes Chrysostomus, Contra haereticos et in Sanctam Deiparam. PG 59, 710. Some decades later, Saint Proclus of Constantinople would take up these expressions of Saint John Chrysostom almost verbatim, in his Oratio De Laudibus Sanctae Mariae. Oratio VI. PG 65, 719, which we will quote thereafter.
12. Proclus Constantinopolitanus, Oratio De Laudibus Sanctae Mariae. Oratio VI. PG 65, 719.
13. Ibid. As already indicated in footnote 12. Proclus of Constantinople expresses in this paragraph almost the same words that a few decades before Saint John Chrysostom had established in his Contra haereticos et in Sanctam Deiparam. PG 59, 710.
14. Tarasius Constantinopolitanus, Oratio in SS. Dei Matrem in templum deductam. PG 86, 1483.
15. Ibid., 1487.
16. Andreas Cretensis, In Annunciationem B. Mariae. PG 97, 895.
17. Ibid.
18. Andreas Cretensis, In Dormitionem S. Mariae. III, PG 97, 1106.
19. Andreas Cretensis, In Nativitatem B. Mariae. IV, PG 97, 1106.
20. Joannis Damascenus, Homilia I in Dormitionem B.V. Mariae. PG 96, 711.
21. Joannis Damascenus, Homilia II in Dormitionem B.V. Mariae, 2. PG 96, 723.
22. Ibid., 738.
23. Joannis Damascenus, Homilia in Annunciationem B.V. Mariae. PG 96, 647.
24. Joannis Damascenus, In Nativitatem B.V. Mariae. PG 96, 671.
25. Josephus Hymnographus, Mariale. PG 106, 1279.
26. Ibid., 1361.
27. Ibid., 1154.
28. Ibid., 1091.
29. Ibid., 1142.
30. Ibid., 1014.
31. Ibid., 1147.
32. Josephus Hymnographus, Mariale. Ode 7. PG 106, 990.
33. Josephus Hymnographus, Mariale. PG 106, 1338.
34. Ibid., 1195–1198.
35. “Ante arcam ergo saltavit propheta David: arcam autem quid, nisi sanctam Mariam dixerimus? Siquidem arca intrinsecus portabat Testamenti tabulas, Maria autem ipsius Testamenti gestabat heredem: illa intra semet Legem, haec Evangelium retinebat; illa Dei vocem habebat, haec Verbum.” (Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Sermo XLII. PL 17, 689).
36. “Verumtamen arca imus forisque auri nitore radiabat, sed et sancta Maria intus forisque virginitatis splendore fulgebat: illa terreno ornabatur auro, ista caelesti.” (Ibid.).
37. Hymnus of Venanius Fortunatus (530–610), published by F.J. Mone with the title Hymnus 419. In Purificatione s. Mariae. Mone, 128, and by G. M. Dreves, with the title Hymnus 27. In Purificatione S. Mariae ad vesperas. AHMA 2, 88.
38. Ildefonsus Toletanus, Libellus de Corona Virginis. Caput XVIII. Oratio. PL 96, 309. Listed by J.-P. Migne among the Opera Supposita of St. Ildefonsus of Toledo.
39. “Tu, Virgo sanctissima, es arca testamenti, circumfecta ex omni parte auro, in qua sunt omnes thesauri gratiae et misericordiae Dei; exterius inaurata virtutibus, interius innocentia et pietate: interius fulgens auro pietatis, exterius rutilans operibus charitatis, et miraculorum claritate.” (Ildefonsus Toletanus, Libellus de Corona Virginis. Caput XX. Oratio. PL 96, 311–312 (Listed by J.-P. Migne among the Opera Supposita of St. Ildefonsus).
40. “Tota es munda intus in mente, tota pulchra exterius in operatione, tota carens macula, tota Deo sociata, divina claritate fulgens, divinis laudibus resultans. Tu es templum Domini, ubi est omnipotentia in charitate, sapientia in humilitate, benignitas in virtute, soliditas in credulitate, simplicitas in perfectione, castitas in virginitate, sanctitas in actione et opere.” (Ibid.)
41. “Tu es vita mundi, medicina animarum languentium, arbor vitae in medio paradisi, cujus fructus sanat contritos, reparat languidos, solatur tristes, sustentat imbecilles.” (Ibid.)
42. “Arca fuisti per gloriosum thesaurum fecunditatis; thuribulum Dei aureum per devotionem orationis, quam totam incanduerat amor aeternitatis: urna per circumspectionem, manna per divini partus suavitatem, virga per regiam auctoritatem. tabulae testamenti per scientiae plenitudinem, propitiatorium per affectum pietatis. In Dei tabernaculo nihil erat quod non auro vestiretur. Sic et tu, Domina, quasi tabernaculum es quod sanctificavit Altissimus; tota fuisti aurea, quia charitate plena.” (Ildefonsus Toletanus, Libellus de Corona Virginis. Caput XXIV. PL 96, 316. Listed by J.-P. Migne among the Opera Supposita of St. Ildefonsus).
43. “Auctor mirabilium Deus tria quaedam mirabilia operatus est in Maria: integritatem munditiae mirabiliter suscitavit, ut arca testamenti auro purissimo tegeretur; puritatem virginalem potentialiter fecundavit, ut rubus ardens non combureretur; ima summis ineffabiliter copulavit, ut, scala Jacob mediante, terrena coelestibus unirentur.” (Hugo a Sancto Victore, Miscellanea. Liber VI. Titulus CXXXIV. De tribus mirabilibus in Maria. PL 177, 862).
44. “Non solum autem coelum et firmamentum, Domina rerum intelligitur, sed aliis nominibus convenienter appellatur, et rerum vocabulis designatur. Ipsa tabernaculum Dei, ipsa templum, ipsa domus, ipsa atrium, ipsa cubiculum, ipsa thalamus, ipsa sponsa, ipsa lilia, ipsa arca diluvii, arca testamenti, urna aurea, ipsa manna, virga Aaron, vellus Gedeonis, porta Ezechielis, civitas Dei, ipsa coelum, ipsa terra, ipsa sol, ipsa luna et stella matutina, aurora ipsa et lucerna, tuba et mons, fons quoque hortorum, et lilium convallium; desertum ipsa, et terra repromissionis lacte et melle manans, stella maris, navis quoque, via in mari, sagena, vinea, ager, arca, horreum, stabulum, praesepe subjugale, apotheca, aula, turris, castra, acies, populus, regnum, sacerdotium.” (Bernardus Claraevallensis, In Antiphonam Salve Regina Sermones IV. Sermo III, 2. PL 184, 1069).
45. “Arca quoque testamenti typum tenet sanctae Dei Genitricis. Illam fecit Bezeleel; istam condidit Emmanuel. Bezeleel Oliab in opere socium habuit: et Virgo quoque virginum condita, praelecta, praeservata, praeparata, et ornata per Spiritum sanctum et ejus omnipotentem Filium fuit. Bezeleel interpretatur Umbra Dei; Oliab, Protectio mea: prior ille Spiritus sancti, iste vero typum tenet Filii.” (Bernardus Claraevallensis, De beata Virgine Maria. Sermo, 9. PL 184, 1019).
46. “Pontifex hic, secundum ordinem Melchisedech, super cujus caput fusum est unctionis oleum, et cujus manus in sacrificio consecratae sunt, super patre suo et matre non contaminatur (Lev. xxi, II). In templo uteri virginalis, in singulis pontificalibus ornamentis ad offerenda redemptionis nostrae sacrificia, ad altare crucis non sine sanguine proprio processit, et quae in terris sive quae in coelis sunt pacificavit.” (Petrus Cellensis, Liber de Panibus. Caput XXI. PL 202, 1020).
47. “Hic arca sanctificationis, hic tabulae Testamenti, hic virga Aaron quae fronduit, floruit, germinavit et nuces protulit. Hic propitiatio sive propitiatorium, hic sanctum et Sanctum sanctorum.” (Ibid.).
48. “Propter fortitudinem civitas quam fundavit Altissimus, propter virginitatis integritatem hortus conclusus, fons signatus, porta clausa, Libanus non incisus; propter sanctitatem templum Dei, porta sanctuarii, arca Dei, sacrarium Spiritus sancti; propter gloriam aula regis, cella aromatum, fons hortorum, paradisus deliciarum.” (Petrus Blesensis, Sermo XXXVIII. In Nativitate B. Mariae. PL 207, 673).
49. “Tamen sive de gradibus, sive de portionibus graduum, intellexerit poeta, hoc certum est quod Maria orta est sub Virgine. Aliquid simile in libro Regum reperies, ubi dicitur: In mense Ethanim posita est arca foederis in domo Dumini (III Reg. viii). Arca, inquam, de qua dictum est. Beata mater munere, Cujus supernus artifex, Mundum pugillo continens, Ventris sub arca clausus est.” (Garnerius Lingonensis, Sermo XXXII. In Nativitate B. Mariae Virginis, PL 205, 776).
50. “Et dicitur foederis, quia in secreto uteri virginalis initum est foedus per Deum hominem, et inter Deum et hominem. Ista enim arca in templo Domini, id est in honore Ecclesiae Dei posita est nascendo, et exposita mundo.” (Ibid.).
51. “Inter omnes figuras sacras et secretas, quae in Lege figurae a Domino Deo datae sunt et institutae, arca testamenti Domini ut sacratissima honorari praecipiebatur, et hoc non fiebat casualiter nec irrationabililer, sed secundum dispositionem supernae Sapientiae, quae tulerat Legem.” (Bonaventura de Balneoregio, De Nativitate B. Virginis Mariae. Sermo V: Q IX, 715a).
52. “Non ergo hoc fiebat arcae, quia de lignis et auro erat artificialiter facta, sed quia arcana Dei secundum dictamen artis aeternae praefigurabat aptissime. Unde et inter ceteras figuras, quae secundum multiformem sapientiam Dei multiplicem pariunt intelligentiam, arca testamenti est multitudine mysticarum intelligentiarum repleta, ut non sit in ipsa quod non ad aliquam intelligentiam spiritualem manuducat; pauca vel nulla sunt in ecclesiastica hierarchia, quae secundum variam intelligentiam Scripturarum figurari non possunt per eam.” (Ibid.).
53. “Sub figura autem arcae testamenti multiplex Virginis dignitas insinuatur secundum diversa, quae Scriptura docet considerare in illa mystica arca. Proponitur autem in Scriptura illa arca quadrupliciter consideranda, scilicet quantum ad fabricam, quantum ad continentiam, quantum ad efficaciam, quantum ad honorificentiam.” (Bonaventura de Balneoregio, De Nativitate B. Virginis Mariae. Sermo V: Q IX, 715a-b).
54. “Si consideras arcam quantum ad fabricam, consideras eam secundum id quod est; si quantum ad continentiam, consideras secundum quod habet; si efficaciam, secundum id quod facit; si honorificentiam, secundum id quod recipit.” (Ibid.).
55. “I. Fabrica autem illius arcae, ut insinuat Scriptura sacra, fuit, materiae imputribilis, mensurae proportionalis, formae spectabilis et figurae quadrangularis, in quibus insinuatur dignitas Virginis gloriosae, quae fabricata fuit secundum artificium Filii Dei et Spiritus sancti.” (Bonaventura de Balneoregio, De Nativitate B. Virginis Mariae. Sermo V: Q IX, 715b).
56. “Est igitur Maria primo de primo arca testamenti quantum ad fabricam, quia materiae imputribilis per integritatem carnis […]; in quo datur intelligi integritas gloriosae Virginis, quae ipsam levem fecit exonerando a pondere carnalitatis, et imputribilem sequestrando a contagio corruptionis, quae quidem est in opere carnis. Quid enim aliud est virginitas quam quaedam imputribilitas?” (Ibid.).
57. “Propter puritatem intellectualium sive contemplativarum virtutum comparatur Virgo gloriosa auro; unde in Exodo: Arcam Domino de lignis setim compingite, deaurabis eam auro mundissimo. Arca, super quam erant duo Cherubim obumbrantia propitiatorium, est Virgo gloriosa, repleta luminibus deificis, circa divina tota intenta.” (Bonaventura de Balneoregio, De Purificatione B. Virginis Mariae. Sermo I. Collatio: Q IX, 638b).
58. Hymnus 101. De Beata Maria V. AHMA 8, 81.
59. Hymnus 191. AHMA 20, 150.
60. Hymnus 235. AHMA 20, 179.
61. Hymnus I. Psalterium beatae Mariae V. Tertia Quinquagena. AHMA 36, 24.
62. Hymnus 84. De Beata Maria V. AHMA 40, 90.
63. Hymnus 118. De Beata Maria V. AHMA 40, 114.
64. Hymnus 122. De Beata Maria V. AHMA 40, 116–117.
65. Hymnus X. Psalterium Beatae Mariae V. auctore Edmundo Cantuariensi. AHMA 35, 139.
66. Conradus Gemnicensis, Hymnus 2. Crinale B.M.V. AHMA 3, 23.
67. Hymnus 60. In Annunciatione BMV. AHMA 9, 51.
68. Hymnus 72. In Assumptione BMV. AHMA 9, 59.
69. Hymnus 81. De beata Maria V. AHMA 9, 67.
70. Hymnus 87. Ad B. Mariam V. AHMA 15, 107. It repeats practically the same words as the Hymnus 103. Alphabetum archangelicum in laudem BMV, published in AHMA 15, 129.
71. Hymnus 81. AHMA 20, 139.
72. Hymnus 98. De Beata Maria V. AHMA 40, 101.
73. Hymnus 105. De Beata Maria V. AHMA 40, 105.
74. Hymnus 20. AHMA 1, 63.
75. Hymnus 24. AHMA 1, 65.
76. Hymnus 42. AHMA 1, 82.
77. Hymnus 101. AHMA 1, 121.
78. Hymnus 139. AHMA 1, 144.
79. Hymnus 52. Salutationes BMV. AHMA 15, 70.
80. Hymnus 3. In Sanctificatione Conceptionis BMV. In 2. Nocturno. Antiphonae. AHMA 17, 22.
81. Hymnus 94. De beata Maria V. AHMA 9, 76.
82. Hymnus XIV. Psalterium beatae Mariae V. Tertia Quinquagena. AHMA 35, 211.
83. Hymnus 56. In Nativitate BMV. AHMA 9, 48.
84. Hymnus 56. In Nativitate BMV. AHMA 9, 49.
85. Hymnus 47. De Conceptione BMV. Ad Laudes. AHMA 11, 35.
86. Hymnus 79. In Conceptione BMV. Ad Matutinum. AHMA 12, 51.
87. Hymnus 49. De Nominibus et Titulis BMV. AHMA 15, 62.
88. Hymnus 50. De Nominibus BMV. AHMA 15, 64.
89. Hymnus 103. Alphabetum archangelicum in laudem BMV. AHMA 15, 129. You can find practically the same words in Hymnus 87. Ad B. Mariam V. from the 15th century, published in AHMA 15, 107.
90. Hymnus 104. Oratio de V.M. matre Jesu. AHMA 15, 129.
91. Hymnus 107. Ad B. Mariam V. AHMA 15, 133.
92. Hymnus 119. Ad B. Mariam V. AHMA 15, 142.
93. Hymnus 122. De B. Maria V. AHMA 15, 148.
94. Hymnus XI. Psalterium Secundum. Quinquagena I. AHMA 38, 151.
95. Hymnus XII. Psalterium Tertium. Quinquagena I. AHMA 38, 160.
96. Hymnus XIV. Psalterium Iubilus BMV. Quinquagena I. AHMA 38, 186.
97. Hymnus XV. Psalterium Hymnarius BMV. Quinquagena I. AHMA 38, 198.
98. Hymnus XV. Psalterium Hymnarius BMV. Quinquagena III. AHMA 38, 208.
99. Hymnus 113. De Beata Maria V. AHMA 40, 111.
100. Hymnus VIII. Psalterium beatae Mariae V. Prima Quinquagena auctore Antonio de Lantsee. AHMA 36, 100.
101. Hymnus 11. Rosarium beatae Mariae V. Auctore Iacobo Merlone Horstio. AHMA 36, 265.
102. Udalricus Wessofontanus, Hymnus 18. Salutatorium B.M.V. AHMA 6, 52.
103. Udalricus Wessofontanus, Hymnus 24. Centimonium Beatae Virginis. Primae partis. AHMA 6, 75.
104. Udalricus Wessofontanus, Hymnus 42. Abecedarius 2. AHMA 6, 140.
105. The Limbourg Brothers, The Annunciation, miniature in f30r of The Belles Heures of Jean de France, duc de Berry, c. 1405–1409. The Metropolitan Museum, New York. Photo The Metropolitan Museum, New York.
106. The Limbourg Brothers, The Annunciation. f. 26r of Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, c. 1411–1414, Chantilly, Musée Condé, ms 65. Photo Wikimedia Commons:
107. Robert Campin, The Annunciation. Madrid, Prado Museum, Nº Inv. P01915, c. 1420–1425. Photo Prado Museum;
108. Rogier van der Weyden, The Annunciation, c. 1434–35, oil on wood, 86 x 93 cm. Central panel of the Triptych of the Annunciation, Musée du Louvre, París. Nº of Inventary: 1982. Photo Wikimedia Commons
109. Jean Fouquet, The Annunciation, Livre d’Heures d’Étienne Chevalier, c. 1452–1460. Chantilly, Musée Condé, ms 71. Photo Wikimedia Commons:
110. Hans Memling, The Annunciation, c. 1480–89. Metropolitan Museum, New York. Photo The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY:
111. Circle of Dirk Bouts, The Annunciation, c. 1480–90. Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisboa. Photo Wikipedia
112. Workshop of Dirk Bouts, Annunciation, c. 1480–1490. Oil on wood, 58.1 × 48.58 cm. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond. Photo Virginia Museum Virginia Museum of Fine Arts,
113. León Picardo, The Annunciation, c. 1513. Prado Museum, Madrid. Photo Wikipedia
114. Joos van Kleve, The Annunciation, c. 1525. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Photo The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY:
115. “In addition, the self of the cupboard beneath the altarpiece shows a washbasin with a water jug and a clean towel (all symbols of virginity), while in the corner can be seen the Nuptial Bed”. (
Footnotes
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References
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Hymnus 42. AHMA 1, 82.
Hymnus 47. De Conceptione BMV. Ad Laudes. AHMA 11, 35
Hymnus 49. De Nominibus et Titulis BMV. AHMA 15, 62.
Hymnus 50. De Nominibus BMV. AHMA 15, 64.
Hymnus 52. Salutationes BMV. AHMA 15, 70.
Hymnus 56. In Nativitate BMV. AHMA 9, 48.
Hymnus 56. In Nativitate BMV. AHMA 9, 49.
Hymnus 60. In Annunciatione BMV. AHMA 9, 51.
Hymnus 72. In Assumptione BMV. AHMA 9, 59.
Hymnus 79. In Conceptione BMV. Ad Matutinum. AHMA 12, 51.
Hymnus 81. De beata Maria V. AHMA 9, 67.
Hymnus 81. AHMA 20, 139.
Hymnus 84. De Beata Maria V. AHMA 40, 90.
Hymnus 87. Ad B. Mariam V. AHMA 15, 107.
Hymnus 94. De beata Maria V.AHMA 9, 76.
Hymnus 98. De Beata Maria V. AHMA 40, 101.
Hymnus 101. AHMA 1, 121.
Hymnus 101. De Beata Maria V. AHMA 8, 81.
Hymnus 103. Alphabetum archangelicum in laudem BMV. AHMA 15, 129.
Hymnus 104. Oratio de V.M. matre Jesu. AHMA 15, 129.
Hymnus 105. De Beata Maria V. AHMA 40, 105
Hymnus 107. Ad B. Mariam V. AHMA 15, 133.
Hymnus 113. De Beata Maria V. AHMA 40, 111.
Hymnus 118. De Beata Maria V. AHMA 40, 114.
Hymnus 119. Ad B. Mariam V. AHMA 15, 142.
Hymnus 122. De B. Maria V. AHMA 15, 148
Hymnus 122. De Beata Maria V. AHMA 40, 116–117.
Hymnus 139. AHMA 1, 144.
Hymnus 191. AHMA 20, 150.
Hymnus 235. AHMA 20, 179.
Hymnus I. Psalterium beatae Mariae V. Tertia Quinquagena. AHMA 36, 24.
Hymnus VIII. Psalterium beatae Mariae V. Prima Quinquagena auctore Antonio de Lantsee. AHMA 36, 100.
Hymnus X. Psalterium Beatae Mariae V. auctore Edmundo Cantuariensi. AHMA 35, 139
Hymnus XI. Psalterium Secundum. Quinquagena I. AHMA 38, 151.
Hymnus XII. Psalterium Tertium. Quinquagena I. AHMA 38, 160
Hymnus XIV. Psalterium beatae Mariae V. Tertia Quinquagena. AHMA 35, 211.
Hymnus XIV. Psalterium Iubilus BMV. Quinquagena I. AHMA 38, 186.
Hymnus XV. Psalterium Hymnarius BMV. Quinquagena I. AHMA 38, 198.
Hymnus XV. Psalterium Hymnarius BMV. Quinquagena III. AHMA 38, 208.
Ildefonsus Toletanus, Libellus de Corona Virginis. Caput XVIII. Oratio. PL 96, 309.
Ildefonsus Toletanus, Libellus de Corona Virginis. Caput XX. Oratio. PL 96, 311–312.
Ildefonsus Toletanus, Libellus de Corona Virginis. Caput XXIV. PL 96, 316.
Joannes Chrysostomus, Contra haereticos et in Sanctam Deiparam. PG 59, 710.
Joannis Damascenus, Homilia I in Dormitionem B.V. Mariae. PG 96, 711.
Joannis Damascenus, Homilia II in Dormitionem B.V. Mariae, 2. PG 96, 723–738.
Joannis Damascenus, Homilia in Annunciationem B.V. Mariae. PG 96, 647.
Joannis Damascenus, In Nativitatem B.V. Mariae. PG 96, 671.
Josephus Hymnographus, Mariale. PG 106, 990–1361.
Josephus Hymnographus, Mariale. Ode 7. PG 106, 990.
Mone, Franz Josef, Hymni Latini Medii Aevi. E codd. Mss. Edidit et adnotationibus illustravit Franc. Jos. Mone. Tomus Secundus. Hymni ad. B.V. Mariam, Friburgi Brisgoviae, Sumptibus Herder, 1854. Cited with the abbreviation Mone.
Petrus Blesensis, Sermo XXXVIII. In Nativitate B. Mariae. PL 207, 673.
Petrus Cellensis, Liber de Panibus. Caput XXI. PL 202, 1020).
Proclus Constantinopolitanus, Oratio De Laudibus Sanctae Mariae. Oratio VI. PG 65, 719.
Tarasius Constantinopolitanus, Oratio in SS. Dei Matrem in templum deductam. PG 86, 1483–1487.
Udalricus Wessofontanus, Hymnus 18. Salutatorium B.M.V. AHMA 6, 52.
Udalricus Wessofontanus, Hymnus 24. Centimonium Beatae Virginis. Primae partis. AHMA 6, 75.
Udalricus Wessofontanus, Hymnus 42. Abecedarius 2. AHMA 6, 140.
Venantius Fortunatus, Hymnus 419. In Purificatione s. Mariae. Mone, 128.
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Abstract
This article attempts to document why the Virgin Mary is symbolically designated by the biblical figure “Ark of the Covenant” (Foederis Arca), as reflected in one of the invocations of the Litany of Loreto (Litaniae Lauretanae). To justify such a designation, the author refers to the systematic analysis of the patristic, theological, and hymnic sources of the Eastern and Western Churches, in which the Virgin Mary is labeled as the “Ark of the Covenant” for her virginal divine motherhood, her supreme holiness, and her supernatural privileges. The perfect coincidence, with which for more than a millennium the Fathers, theologians, and liturgical hymnographers of the Greek-Eastern and Latin Churches alluded to the Virgin Mary through this biblical symbol, demonstrates the strong coherence of the Mariological theses of the Christian doctrinal tradition on the person and spiritual attributes of the Virgin Mary. These coincident interpretations of the Fathers, theologians, and hymnographers of the Eastern and Western Churches will allow us to justify our iconographic interpretations of 10 European pictorial annunciations of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries in whose scenes a container appears, almost always with books inside: such circumstance allows us to conjecture that the intellectual authors of these paintings of the Annunciation included in them this container to illustrate, as a visual metaphor, the textual metaphor with which the Fathers, theologians, and hymnographers symbolized the Virgin Mary as the Ark of the Covenant containing the Legislator of the new covenant.
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