Mariolatry in Germany Before the Protestant Reformation
Kenneth E. Lawson
Introduction
Germany is normally considered the birthplace of the Protestant Reformation. This is a bit simplistic, as smaller movements in protest against the Roman Catholic Church existed in Europe hundreds of years before Martin Luther's reforms. Nevertheless, in the Middle Ages Germany had a vital role in exposing the hypocrisy, fraud, and apostasy of the Roman Catholic Church. Much of this false Christianity centered on veneration towards Mary. The purpose of this article is to investigate the devotion to the Virgin Mary in Germany before the Protestant Reformation of the 1500s. Gaining an appreciation for the prevailing deviant German theology of that era will help us to have a greater appreciation for the work of Martin Luther and other lesser known historic German Christians.
Three Aspects of Worship Towards Mary
Pre-Reformation mariolatry in Germany manifested itself in three major dimensions. A hugely popular object of devotion were images with the "Maria Mit Kind" (Mary and Child) theme. Another popular way to adore Mary was through statues dedicated to the theme of "Kronung Maria " (Crowning of Mary). A third dimension of veneration towards Mary was through painting, statues, or inlaid wood carvings with the theme of "Thronende Maria Mit Kind" (Mary Enthroned With Child).
A visit to the Karlsruhe Castle Art Museum, located south of Heidelberg, reveals to a visitor the extent of the pre-Reformation German idolatry associated with the Virgin Mary. In the museum, the "Maria Mit Kind" images abound. This theme was a favorite of German peasants, as Mary statues were carved with traditional peasant attire, in wood or stone, associating Mary to the typical German as a mother to be adored. Simply put, to be a German meant that Mary was a semi-divine person to be prayed to, yet she retained her humanity in the image of a statue resembling a German peasant. An interesting aspect of the numerous "Maria Mit Kind" idols in the museum was the frequent representation of Mary's feet crushing the serpent's head. German artists expressed quite a bit of flexibility in their carvings of the image of Satan's crushed head, but the theology behind the artwork is readily apparent. Mary is depicted as a female messiah-type figure who crushes the serpent's head, in a perversion of the prophecy of Genesis 3:15.
The theme of "Kronung Maria " was a very popular expression in the piety of the people and in the work of artists in pre-Reformation Germany. These artistic representations were more elaborate than the simple carved marble or wood statues devoted to "Maria Mit Kind. " The majority of the "Kronung Maria " images were two dimensional carvings covered with jewels and were designed for use on display behind the altar in Roman Catholic Churches. Various personages were depicted as crowing Mary as the Queen of Heaven. One particular exquisitely carved small wooded icon boldly stated a typical theological position for the average German in the late 15th century. The artist carved an image of God the Father as an elderly man with a long beard holding the world in the palm of his hand. God the Son was carved as a young healthy man with a trim beard, a royal robe, and a crown of thorns on his head. The third member of this divine trinity is Mary. She was carved with equal size and status as God the Father and God the Son. Both are shown crowning Mary in heaven, amidst the celebration of celestial beings. Theologically, Mary is shown as Queen of Heaven, ruling with God the Father and God the Son. This was the typical idea of pre-Reformation Germans, and was succinctly captured by this particular artist.
A favorite image of theological position for the average German in the late 15th Century. The artist carved an image of God the Mary was the "Thronende Maria. " It was to these type of images that countless Germans bowed their knees and offered prayers to Mary as an intercessor and mediator. The "Thronende Maria" artwork reveals Marv as the historic object of German prayers. She is carved, painted, or sculpted as a queen sitting upon her throne, ready to listen and respond to the petitions of her devoted followers. She is always depicted in this capacity in a listening mode, in elegant royal robes wearing an elaborately decorated crown. Some of these artistic representations were large and covered with jewels, others were smaller and simpler, with a rougher appearance. Theologically, the message is obvious. To reach God, prayer must be made through a sympathetic mother figure, Mary the Queen of Heaven.
Household Mariolatry
A typical German pre-Reformation Roman Catholic had a "heiligen-schrein" or household shrine dedicated to some Roman Catholic saint or pope or mystic. These informal altars were used not in place of corporate worship, but to serve to bring "glueck" meaning luck, or "segnen" meaning blessing to the home. A widely popular "heiligenschrein " in pre-Reformation Germany were statues related to the Virgin Mary.
The typical house "heiligen-schrein" image of Mary was around two to three feet tall and could be easily transported from room to room. They were almost always made out of stone, though a few were carved out of wood. These idols were washed, polished, kissed, and adored by their owners. Today, thousands of these images exist in museums throughout Germany. There are three "heiligen-schrein " themes that were the most popular in pre-Reformation Germany. They are the "Maria der Verkundigung" (Annunciation to Mary), the "Travemde Maria" (Sorrowful Mary), and the "Madonna im Rosenkranzanhanger" (Virgin Mary of the Rosary.) These household statues serviced both the educated and the ignorant, the wealthy and the poor. These crude superstitious household fetishes were at one time the passion of the German people.
The Cathedrals at Worms and at Speyer
The Cathedral at Worms, Germany is most famous for being the location of the Diet of Worms, at which Martin Luther in 1521 was investigated and eventually condemned. The Cathedral is a Romanesque structure with two apses quartered by four round staircase towers. The Cathedral towers above the city. The west chancel, completed around 1230, is one of the best examples of Romanesque architecture in Germany. Here Luther was forced over several days to debate his theological positions and repeatedly requested to recant his evangelical beliefs. Luther refused to recant, and the boundaries of the Reformation were clearly cast.
Inside the Cathedral remains intact the chancel area which held the choir within the apse end, at which the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and a host of Roman Catholic scholars and theologians sat during their investigation of Luther. Above and to the right of the chancel area is a ten foot tall faded bronze statue of the Virgin Mary. This image to Mary reveals her crowned as a queen, with a scepter in her hand, dispensing grace to her followers. As Luther stood before his accusers, he observed the elaborate, old engravings and detailed wood carvings depicting various Roman Catholic saints and myths which surrounded his elegantly robed inquisitors. Guiding Luther's opponents, in plain view of Luther, was this large idol dedicated to the superstition of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Dispenser of Grace. Luther refused to recant. In his many accusations of error against the Roman Catholic Church, Luther was inflexible in his position against any veneration, adoration, or undue attention given to the Virgin Mary. She was the earthly mother of the Messiah, and in that role she was blessed, nothing more.
The Speyer Cathedral is about a 30 minute drive from the Cathedral at Worms. This building was originally constructed beginning in 1030, but has been badly damaged by multiple wars over the centuries, and has just recently completed renovations. The Speyer Cathedral is visible for miles away, as the surrounding flat countryside exposes the enormous dual belfries. When the condemnations of biblical Christianity at the Diet of Worms in 1521 were slow to be enacted, the Speyer Cathedral became prominent. At Speyer in 1529 the Imperial Diet again met to re-condemn Luther's teachings. Local Lutherans surrounded the Cathedral in solemn protest of the meeting. It is from this event that the term "Protestant" can trace its current usage.
The main entrance into the Speyer Cathedral near the historic cobblestone plaza displays elegant stone carvings of various apostles and Roman Catholic saints. Preeminent among these is a carving of Mary as a crowned queen, welcoming guests. Before entering the Cathedral a visitor is guided into a huge multi arched entryway, which displays an oversized tile artwork of Mary being worshiped by apostles and angels. The interior of the Speyer Cathedral is almost barren, as the renovations of the building's structure did not include a restoration of all the Roman Catholic images and artwork which once adorned its walls. There is, however, one statue in the cavernous interior, one image that represents the heart of historic worship at Speyer. The statue is to the Virgin Mary. it is dedicated to Mary as "Salve Regina" (Holy Queen) and is surrounded by hundreds of candles, which symbolize prayers to God or Jesus through Mary. This ten foot tall idol on the right of the altar shows a German style blonde hair and blue eyed Mary as a queen holding a scepter, robed in a flowing white garment, wearing a crown of gold. Both historically and in contemporary Speyer, the Cathedral population has rejected the Biblical teachings of Martin Luther and instead bows the knee to man-made images.
The Role of the First German Bibles
Throughout the Middle Ages the Bible was to the common people an unknown book, available almost exclusively only in the Latin translation known as the Vulgate. A movement within the Protestant Reformation was to recover the original Hebrew and Greek texts of the Bible, and to get the Bible into the languages of the common people. Martin Luther completed the German translation of the New Testament in 1522 and the Old Testament in stages, fully completed in 1532. As the availability of the Scriptures increased in German villages, and as people embraced the Reformation doctrine of justification by faith in Christ alone for salvation, devotion to the Virgin Mary in those areas decreased or disappeared.
Wars, revolts, riots, and social upheaval were the characteristics of the early Reformation in Germany. In some Protestant villages idols to the Virgin Mary were destroyed in public rallies, while other Roman Catholic villages burned copies of the newly printed German Bibles. While there was sufficient evil on both sides, the Roman Catholic authorities with the support of Roman clergy from the Pope to the village priest, were especially vicious in the brutal attempts to suppress the ProtestantReformation. It is highly ironic that the Karlsruhe Museum has on display in the same room both original German hand copied editions of their first Bibles, and multiple statues to Mary. Further, the Museum has a highly controversial but accurate display of the Roman Catholic oppression of the Reformation in Germany, showing the multiple instruments of torture used by Rome against the German people to prohibit the distribution of the first German Bibles. How odd it is that in the same room are displays to those who worshiped the idols of Mary and those who gave their lives because they would not bow their knee to her idolatrous image.
Conclusion
As I sat in the main display hall of the Karlsruhe Museum near Heidelberg, I looked in all directions to see eleven Mary images of various styles, shapes, and colors on display. The Protestant Reformation was in strict opposition to this idolatrous devotion towards Mary. While I wish Martin Luther had separated even farther from Roman Catholic theology, his efforts in his day were heroic. Luther rediscovered the Bible for the German people. In the Scriptures there was and is not one word of support for devotion to Mary, prayer to Mary, or Mary as intercessor or mediator. The idea of carving images to Mary and bowing down to them was found to be in strict opposition to Biblical Christianity. Many Germans followed the reforms of Luther, but many did not. Today, Germany is a mostly secular country, with only a small fraction of the population going to any church of any kind. The Reformation in Germany was incomplete, idols and images to Mary still exist today, and Germany remains a country in desperate need of a revival of Biblical Christianity.
