The Essay

Professor Miri Rubin explores the Jewish response to the Christian cult of the Virgin Mary, and looks at how this devotion was used against medieval Jews in hurtful, powerful and prejudiced ways. Gentle Mary meek and mild became an instrument of anti-semitic propaganda, the heroine of miracle tales about converting Jews, the emblem of Christianity triumphant against Judaism. It's a painful legacy which can make ecumenical rapprochement difficult.