Vadas József (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 13. (Budapest, 1993)
DÁVID Katalin: Adatok a Mária ikonográfiához
KATALIN DÁVID A FEW DETAILS TO THE ICONOGRAPHY OF VIRGIN MARY The history of Hungarian Christianity has been accompanied by a deep respect for Virgin Mary since the beginnings; however, only some parts of the subject have been researched so far. The available material is far from being complete concerning either the details or the topics. On the other hand, not all of the research studies have been published, despite that perhaps the most unique cult of Hungarian ecclesiastical art is connected with Mary, and this subject adds a special feature to Hungarian culture. When Ars Decorativa asked me to write an article for the volume in the honour of Mária Csernyánszky, I immediately offered this topic - with a specific reference to the name of the celebrated. The size of the volume is limited, however; therfore I would only like to discuss one single problem in details. The celebration of St. Mary tge Greatest has scarcely been researched yet. Among the abundant churches dedicated to Mary, there are only a few bearing this title in Hungary or abroad. We should indicate that in the Italian ecclesiastical counties - the Venetian and those on the Coast of the Adriatic Sea - that were neighbours to Hungary in the Middle Ages, no churches bore the same title, though in Italy a deep respect for Mary had been going on since the beginnings. If we are aware of this fact, the lack of the title "St. Mary the Greatest" is even more striking. 1 On the basis of my research work which, due to the limits in length, cannot be detailed here - I have reason to suppose that the origin of the title was connected with the special Madonna icon of the main Santa Maria Maggiorc church in Rome, which, according to the legend was attributed to Saint Luke evangelist and any reproduction of the picture was strictly forbidden; they wanted the picture to belong exclusively to the Eternal City of Rome. Inspite of the fact that the dedication of this church was connected with one of the most significant synods, the Ephesian one, 2 the official name of the Mary portrait has been "Salus Populi Romani". The snow miracle of the church reinforced its relation to the city 3 , which was maintained throughout the Middle Ages. It was only in the fourteenth or fifteenth century that the title first appeared outside Rome; the geographical location of the useage suggests that it was used as a background of grace in the struggle, against Bogomil and Hussite heretics, who were questioning tcological convictions about the person of Mary, similar to the heresy condemned in Ephesus. 4 The most important relic of the title is the Franciscan church in the downtown of Szeged, which is also one of the proofs for the fact that the symbol of St. Mary the Greatest was used as a spiritual weapon against Bogomil and Hussite heretic's. Up to the middle of the fifteenth century the church was dedicated to St. Peter. Then it was taken over by the Franciscans, the leaders of the struggle against Bogomil and
