The project “Miracula Mariae: medieval short narratives between languages and cultures” concerns medieval and early modern stories about the miracles of the Virgin Mary. The texts have been transmitted both as individual items and in collections of varying sizes. Compilations of miracle stories into universal (as opposed to local) collections was first done in Latin and from these compilations vernacular versions were made in most European languages and also in several Oriental languages.
Building on previous rather disparate research, the project investigates not only the transmission of the narratives and the development of the collections, but also the pictorial and sculptural counterparts of the texts, tracing their wanderings in space and time. In addition the project aims at examining the sociological and psychological aspects of the stories in the different cultural settings. As the main research tool a database for the written and iconographical material is constructed.
Miracula Mariae 