The cult of the black Madonna in Western Europe is a real phenomenon. There is no such thing in Orthodoxy, if you do not take into account the only icon of the 17th century "Adding the Mind": the Russian icon painter suffered from mental disorders and, while working on the icon, prayed for the return of health. Was everything all right with the head of the Western masters who created the pitch-black Mother of God? After all, it is common knowledge that the Virgin Mary was not African.
Templar Madonna
The first surviving images of the black Madonna date back to the XII-XIII centuries. There is reason to believe that there were earlier examples that have not survived to our time.
The question arises: are the black Madonnas in Western Europe a local invention or borrowing from someone else's cultural heritage? For a long time, the clergy refused to answer this question, preferring to convince the parishioners that initially all the Mother of God were white, and their faces darkened from candle soot (soot, they say, settles on statues and icons for centuries). But then all the temple statues must be black, and this is not so.
In our time, scientists have come to the conclusion: the appearance of swarthy Madonnas in remote corners of Europe and in a very specific period is not accidental, and the children have nothing to do with it. Black Madonnas are guests from the Middle East. During the Crusades, the knights went to liberate Palestine and Jerusalem from Muslims and spread Christianity. In fact, the path of the crusaders was accompanied by robberies, robberies, and violence. The Catholic Church turned a blind eye to these outrages, because she herself was enriched by the generous donations of the crusaders. Among other things, the knights brought strange black female figurines from the Middle East and worshiped them. Over time, the cult acquired an unprecedented scale. The veneration included exotic rituals: the figurine was poured with wine, carried out with a magnificent procession from the temple, placed near a large stone, a wheel was burned in front of it,before her they lit not white, but green candles. When the church woke up, it was too late. The Templars donated money for the construction of temples dedicated to the black Madonna, the local population flowed there like a wide river. Representatives of the nobility also deified the dark-skinned woman, presented rich gifts in the hope of her protection. For 100 years (1170-1270), about 80 cathedrals and about 500 churches appeared in her honor. The French king Louis XI himself donated money for such churches.) There were about 80 cathedrals and about 500 churches in her honor. The French king Louis XI himself donated money for such churches.) There were about 80 cathedrals and about 500 churches in her honor. The French king Louis XI himself donated money for such churches.
Black is for good
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Scientists have compiled a generalized portrait of the "ancestor" of the black Madonna. All sculptures were no higher than 70 cm and were made according to the same template. The dark-haired woman was seated on a throne with a low back, her gaze was not modestly lowered down, but directed into the distance, as if she were looking over the heads of believers. The face did not express the usual sorrow and humility, but concentration, detachment and even arrogance. Madonna's arms and fingers were prohibitively long. On her knees, she often held the same detachedly looking Infant. The child either blessed the globe with his hand, or he held an apple, symbolizing the Earth. His face cannot be called childish, but rather the face of an adult man.
Figurines were usually carved from black stone or ebony. Sometimes the overseas visitor looked black and white: the face of ebony, and the hands of white.
After serious research, experts concluded: the progenitor of the black Madonna is the most revered goddess Isis in Egypt, the first daughter of Hebe, the god of the earth, and Nut, the goddess of the sky. Isis was considered the patroness of motherhood, healing, magic, fertility and navigation. At the same time she ruled over the wind, water, and also the kingdom of the dead. In ancient Egypt, she was portrayed as a black woman breastfeeding the infant Horus, sitting on her lap. On the head of the goddess was a dress in the form of a solar disk, framed by cow horns. The ancient Egyptians never associated black color with something bad, unpleasant, on the contrary, it symbolized the earth, rain clouds, as well as the darkness of the mother's womb, which gives new life.
In the pre-Christian period, the worship of the black goddess spread beyond the borders of Ancient Egypt and spread throughout the Mediterranean basin. Gaul, North Africa, Palestine, Spain, Rome fell under the onslaught of the cult of Isis. In the worship of Isis, the mysteries played a huge role. They were based on the rituals of initiation into the circle of the elect. Only people who had gone through serious tests could gain access to secret knowledge. Such secrecy further fueled interest in the cult. In addition, Isis trod the path to women's hearts: the ladies saw in her an worried and suffering wife and mother, and therefore their protector and benefactress. The black color did not bother anyone. “I am black, but beautiful, like the tents of Kidar, like the curtains of Solomon. Do not look at me that I am dark, for the sun has scorched me …”- says the Song of Songs.
With the advent of Christianity, Isis in Europe began to get rid of. Instead of her, the Virgin Mary was erected on the podium. And when it seemed that even the name of Isis was forever erased from the memory of the people, the crusaders returned from the Middle East with a statuette of a forgotten black goddess.
Queens of human hearts
Not all black Madonnas were able to survive the troubled days. Many were destroyed during the religious wars and revolutions that rocked Europe. Nevertheless, black goddesses are not uncommon even now. In France alone, there are 272 statues, in Spain - 50, in Italy - 30, in Germany - 19. Believers regard them as the greatest shrine, pilgrims travel distances to kneel before them, and the rumor of miracles spreads around the world. Figures and icons are surrounded by legends: the dark-skinned woman is credited with the talent to give long-awaited children to childless, to take care of pregnant women, to help with childbirth.
One of the most famous statues is kept in the French Cathedral of Notre-Dame-de-Chartres near Paris. A small figurine made of pear tree depicts a woman sitting on a throne with a baby in her arms. On the stone base of the throne is the inscription: "Virgini pariturae", which means: "The virgin who must give birth." The "Frenchwoman" has a difficult fate. In 1793, during the French Revolution, she was thrown into a fire. The enraged crowd raged around the fire, shouting "Death to the Egyptian!" Half a century later, the statue was molded anew, and after the last renovation of the cathedral, the Virgin of Chartres suddenly appeared white, which terribly outraged the parishioners. The passion for the restoration has not subsided to this day.
Black Protector
The Black Madonna from the German town of Altötting was brought by monks to a local monastery from a neighboring one; town in 1330. Became considered miraculous after resurrecting a drowned boy. During World War II, not a single bomb hit the cathedral where the sculpture is kept, although the allies mercilessly "ironed" the area. Parishioners also attribute this merit to the dark-skinned Mother of God.
Bosca's uterus
The Mother of Boska of Czestochowa, a miraculous icon from the Polish city of Czestochowa, is equally revered by both Catholics and Orthodox. According to legend, the Evangelist Luke himself painted it. During the oppression of Christians, she was hidden in caves, until Saint Helena, the mother of the Roman emperor Constantine I, took her to Byzantium. The icon stood for five centuries in the chapel at the royal palace. Then it was presented to one of the Galician and Volyn princes Lev Danilovich and moved to the city of Belz. Then she passed their hands into hands, until she settled in the monastery of the Pauline Order. But this is not all adventure. When the monastery was ravaged by the Czech Hussites, ardent iconoclasts, they chopped down the image with sabers. So characteristic scars appeared on the Virgo's cheek. During World War II, Soviet soldiers watched the dark face of the Mother of God, which brightened right before their eyes. Boris Polevoy left memories of this in his book "To Berlin - 896 kilometers".
Magazine: All the mysteries of the world №19. Author: Natalia Hajdu