to the altar of sacrilege^ and made her offering in the person of the immortal Dante, who, " through the com- munion of mind, not less than through his writings, in- fused into religious art tliat mingled theology, poetry, and mysticism which ruled in the Giottesque school during the following century, and went hand in hand with the development of the power and practice of imi- tation. . . . His ideas respecting the Virgin IMary were precisely those to which the writings of St. Bernard, St. Bonaventura, and St. Thomas Aciuinas had already lent all the persuasive power of eloquence, and the Church all the weight of her authority" (Mrs. Jameson), lie hastened to render these doctrines into poetry, and in the Paradiso Mary figures as the Mystic Rose (Rosa mystica) and Queen of heaven, with the attendant an- gels, circle within circle, floating round her in adoration, and singing the Regina Coeli, and saints and patriarchs stretching Ibrth their hands towards her. " Thus," says Mrs. Jameson (p. xxx), "the impulses given . . . con- tinued in progressive development . . . the spiritual sometimes in advance of the material influences; the moral idea emanating, as it were,y/-o?/i the soul, and the influences of external nature flowing into it ; the com- prehensive power of fancy using more and more the ap- prehensive power of imitation, and both working to- gether tiU their ' blended might' achieved its fuU frui- tion in the works of Raphael" (q. v.). The Hussite war, and the iconoclastic s]>irit of the Bohemians, rather strengthened the Churchmen than otherwise, and con- tributed to the growth of the impulse to worship IMary. But strange fancies were now as freely interpolated in the productions of the artist, which, though themselves but " the reflex influence of that interpolation of new doctrines which had been going on in the Church for so many centuries" (HiU, Engl. Monasticism, p. 320), never- theless received the disapproval of pious Catholics of that age, who " cried out ' temerarium, scandalosimi, et periculosum,' when tliey saw the most solemn spectacle in the world's history made the sport of wanton imag- inations . . . the sorrow of the cross made to rest more heavily upon the mother of Christ than upon him" (HiU). The Council of Trent felt itself forced to de- nounce the impropriety of certain pictures, and it was generally acknowledged that paganized and degenerate influences had overruled spiritual art, that the latter was indeed no more, that " it was dead ; it could never be revived without a return to those modes of thought and belief which had at first inspired it" (Jlrs. Jameson). Just at this time "theological art," as Mrs. Jameson calls it, came to the rescue of Mariolatr^^ It is true the Reformation at the opening of the 16th century had dealt a severe blow at all the various institutions of Ro- manism savoring of idolatry and superstition, but this was only an additional reason why the Church of St. Pe- ter should seek to fortify herself the more strongly in the fortress so severely assailed by the enemy. Mariolatry had served her purpose ably, and just now, if ever, need- ed re-enforcing. Deprived of the aid of" religious art," the poets and artists no longer wTought up to a wild pitch of enthusiasm to inspire the spirit of worship of the Virgin, the mfalUble guide of the Church himself came to the rescue, and supplied by " theological art" what was needed. In 1571 the battle of Lepanto was fought. In it the combined fleets of Christendom, led by Don Juan of Austria, were arrayed against the Turks, and achieved a memorable victory over the devout ad- herents of the prophet of Mecca. Pope Pius V quickly availed himself of this opportunity to attribute the vic- tory " to the special interposition of the Blessed Virgin." From a very early period in Jlariolatry we find festivals instituted in honor of the " Blessed Virgin," but now a new festival, that of the Rosary, was added to those al- ready observed, a new invocation added to her litany, un- der the title of Atixtliain Chiistianoriivi, and, more than all, many sanctuaries were declared to be especially sa- cred to her worship, and thus a prominence was given to her devotion whicli found its full expression only in our
MARIOLATRY
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MARIS