medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
> Blue has stayed in vogue, but red has also become a prominent color for
> Mary as represented by artists since the 10th century.
Being something of a sceptic when it comes to colour symbolism, I would maintain
that much of the "symbolism" for these colours post-dates the artistic traditions that
gave rise to them in the first place. At the very least, most explicit statements of
colour symbolism overwhelmingly post-date the Middle Ages.
In the later Middle Ages, the Virgin was also sometimes shown wearing white,
particularly in Annunciation scenes, explicitly as she was described in the visions of
St Bridget of Sweden. White, of course, is the colour of "purity", but I rather doubt
whether St Bridget had that in mind at the height of her mystical transports.
Cheers,
Jim Bugslag
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