The Bearded Mary is a rare type of image from medieval

iconography Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...

(from the time of the

Carolingian dynasty The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Franks, Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Pippinids, Arnulfi ...

) in which

Mary, the mother of Jesus Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

, is depicted with a beard.

Caroline Walker Bynum Caroline Walker Bynum, FBA (born May 10, 1941, in Atlanta, Georgia)Caroline Walker Bynum short CV
at < ...

and

Jeffrey Schnapp Jeffrey Thompson Schnapp (born 1954) is an American university professor who works as a cultural historian, designer, and technologist. Until joining the Harvard University in 2011, he was the director of the Stanford Humanities Lab from its foun ...

link the tradition to the (earlier) medieval idea that sexually chaste women could become like men, detailed by JoAnn McNamara, and even grow a beard (according to an account repeated by

Gregory the Great Pope Gregory I (; ; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great (; ), was the 64th Bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 until his death on 12 March 604. He is known for instituting the first recorded large-scale mission from Rom ...

). According to Schnapp, the Carolingian image suggests female cross-dressing can be "viewed as a sign of spiritual advancement", celebrating "the martial heroism of female martyr-saints such as Perpetua,

Catherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

, and

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc ( ; ; – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the Coronation of the French monarch, coronation of Charles VII o ...

References

{{Reflist Virgin Mary in art Bearded women

See also

References