Tea at Trianon: Star of the Sea: Marian Devotion through the Prism of a Medieval English Hymn

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Sunday, January 7, 2024

Star of the Sea: Marian Devotion through the Prism of a Medieval English Hymn

From Avellina Balestri at Fellowship and Fairydust:

Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary has played an integral role in Christian devotion since the early days of the Church, and continues to be a vital part of the daily devotions of Catholic, Orthodox, and even some denominations of Protestant Christians to this day. Once a year, during the season of Christmas, even those who typically do not engage in Marian devotion find reason to shed a spotlight on this Jewish maiden’s role in the salvation of mankind. But it is my firm belief that all Christians should have ample cause to honor her all year long, particularly during the Lenten and Easter seasons, as a vital thread in the fabric of our spiritual lives.
     I find particular inspiration in the soaring poetry of the Middle Ages in honor of the Virgin and believe it to be a wonderful method of sharing the Catholic understanding of Mary’s place in the Christian life and why we pay her homage. Harkening back to the Age of Chivalry, we can see how the culture telescoped (and indeed, colorfully kaleidoscoped) the various attributes of the Blessed Mother in light of their own understanding of the world around them, still grounded in a monarchical system. As such, she is seen as the highest of all Queens, and given royal adulation.

     One hymn in particular, “Star of the Sea”, captures the freshness and vigor of the Marian devotion in the age of a united Christendom and explains quite poetically and movingly the feelings of the Catholic populace of medieval England. The lyrics are a mix between Latin, the language of the Church, and Middle English, the language of the people which had come into vogue in legal and liturgical works alike during the reign of King Henry V (1413-1422). For the purposes of this analysis, I will use the translation into modern English.

      The hymn begins by hailing Mary as “Fairest and brightest of them all, even the star of the sea, brighter than the daylight.” This is a testament to the belief in the Immaculate Conception. This teaching, simply explained, means that for the special calling assigned to Mary to be mother of Jesus Christ, she was preserved from the stain of Original Sin, that inheritance of susceptibility to temptation that has plagued humanity since the first fall of Adam and Eve. Cooperating with this singular grace, applied to her ahead of time through the future death of her divine son, she lived a life free from sin and full of grace. (Read more.)