medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
In asking how many of the black Madonna sites were Benedictine-connected I had no intention of linking it with "Black Monks"--just wondered if there was a correlation. If the simple explanation for the phenomenon is the blackening of wood over the centuries, then there might be a statistical correlation with Benedictines simply because they established themselves early on and at a time when wood was preferred to other materials?? (Simply because it was available at an early stage of establishing a monastic outpost; if a miracle occurred, then the wooden Madonna was retained rather than being replaced with stone or bronze or precious metal later??
This pattern (early outpost of Benedictines in a wilderness setting) certainly was the case at Mariazell. Einsiedeln in Switzerland also comes to mind. What about Montserrat or the various French sites mentioned? Even apart from association/nonassociation with Benedictines, do the black Madonnas fall into a relatively common time frame (or into a relatively common stage in the Christianization of a particular locality, regardless of chronological date?)?
Dennis Martin
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