Bearded Mary Explained

The Bearded Mary is a rare type of image from medieval iconography (from the time of the Carolingian dynasty) in which Mary, the mother of Jesus, is depicted with a beard.^{[1] [2]}

Caroline Walker Bynum^[1] and Jeffrey Schnapp^[3] link the tradition to the (earlier) medieval idea that sexually chaste women could become like men, detailed by JoAnn McNamara, and even grow a beard (according to an account repeated by Gregory the Great).^[4] According to Schnapp, the Carolingian image suggests female cross-dressing can be "viewed as a sign of spiritual advancement", celebrating "the martial heroism of female martyr-saints such as Perpetua, Catherine, and Joan of Arc".^[3]

See also

• Wilgefortis – a fictitious female folk saint

Notes and References

1. Book: Bynum, Caroline Walker. Caroline Walker Bynum. Jesus as Mother: Studies in the Spirituality of the High Middle Ages. 7 April 2016. 1984. U of California P. 9780520052222. 139.
2. Book: Neusner, Jacob. Androgynous Judaism: masculine and feminine in the dual Torah. 1993. Mercer UP. 155. 9780865544284 .
3. Book: Schnapp, Jeffrey T.. Jeffrey Schnapp. Marina S. Brownlee. Kevin Brownlee. Stephen G. Nichols. The New Medievalism. Johns Hopkins UP. Baltimore. 201–25. Dante's Sexual Solecisms: Gender and Genre in the Commedia.
4. McNamara. Jo Ann. 1976. Sexual Equality and the Cult of Virginity in Early Christian Thought. Feminist Studies. 3. 3/4. 145–58. 10.2307/3177733 . 3177733. 2027/spo.0499697.0003.313. free.