Source Suggestion: Mother of God: A History of the Virgin Mary by Miri Rubin

Although I did not read the source in its entirety, Mother of God seems to be a great resource because it is thorough, accessible, and recent (published 2009). I read a brief section from the chapter “Mary and Women, Mary and Men.” The chapter is a fantastic resource for those of you studying virginity in medieval culture or those gendered perceptions of medieval texts (i.e. Mary and the New Testament). I did not Mary related to my topic whatsoever, but because we are going to be reading the N-Town Plays, you may find that Rubin’s text is incredibly helpful. Mother of God is physically located in Whitworth’s Catalog.

For my second paper, I hope to use the “Presentation of Mary in the Temple” from the N-Town Plays (see my review of Napolitano’s article to see how this idea started). The section “Mary and the Learning of Men” from “Mary and Women, Mary and Men” has been helpful in orienting myself towards a rhetorical-pedagogical reading of the N-Town Plays. Surprisingly, Mary was a figurehead for universities, schools, are other venues for scholarship; Rubin explains, “Mary offered rich opportunities for the display of acumen in debate, of literary sensibility, and of skill in biblical commentary. She thus became the ideal touchstone for testing and displaying those skills” (Rubin 268-269). Rubin extends her discussion of Mary and learned men to poets, patrons, and medieval pedagogy—a goldmine for my paper, and perhaps yours as well!