> Can any of the learned listmembers tell me when and why the BVM changes
> her clothes, ie in painting, glass etc., from frequently wearing red (or
> green, or red and white) in the middle ages to the now almost uniform
> blue? A medieval art historian friend has suggested the high status of
> blue pigment, as the most expensive, in the Renaissance as one possible
> reason for the shift. Other ideas?
>
We have discusse dthis at our church - Our Lady of Walsingham - from time to
time. I think you're on the right track. My understanding is that read and
green used to be the colours of royalty, and therefore were given to Mary as
Queen of Heaven, and that also is where the tradition of red and green at
Christmas came from. I'm pretty sure the blue and white came from the
continent, probably France, and probably at about the time you suspect, just
by looking at royal banners and the French devotion to Our Lady at that
time. The altar guild has also posited that it really should be blue and
WHITE (heraldic silver) and not blue and gold because Christ's colours are
usually red and gold - Mary being silver, as in a "mirror" to reflect
Christ's glory rather than her own. We would be interested in any further
developement on this colour issue as we are preparing to build a new church!
Stephen M. Collins
Our Lady of Walsingham R.C. Church
Houston, Texas
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