On Wed, 15 Apr 1998 14:55:12 -0400 Nell Gifford Martin <[log in to unmask]>
writes:
>Dear All:
>
>Several extra-attentive students have noticed recently that the BVM's
>cloak is tending toward blue, as we tend toward the Late Middle Ages
>in
>an art history survey of Romanesque and Gothic art and architecture.
>They want to know when, why, and how blue got more or less settled
>upon
>as Mary's colour. Does anyone know?
>
>Many thanks in advance,
>
>Nell Gifford Martin
>[log in to unmask]
>http://www.cyberpsalter.org
>
>Hi! The Supple Doctor is on holiday in Londonderry, New Hampshire.
The blue of the Virgin's robe was made from Lapis Lazuli, which comes
from a single mine in the Himalayas. It was, and is, very precious and
so was reserved for the Virgin's robe. Blue was not the original colour
for the Virgin; this was red, the colour of purity. Why red for purity?
Greek Pyros, fire (as in pyrotechnic) gives us also the word pure.
Gold, for example, is purified, that is, has the impurities burnt out by
fire. For the how, when and why of the change you would need to
examine trade routes and conditions: it is a long way back from the
Himalayas with Lapis Lazuli.
All of which reads a bit like a joke, but I promise you it is all true.
Londonderry New Hampshire, by the way, is associated with the poet
Robert Frost. Not actually his birthplace - he was born in California -
but he owned a farm here. He seems to have owned a large number of
farms, because several other places in New England also claim
associations. There are places like the "Stopping by Woods Diner" and
schools, libraries etc are commonly named from his poems.
Doctor Elasticus.
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