John of Damascus (eighth century) first called
Mary [Greek: soteira tou chosmou], and soon after she was styled
"Saviour of the World" in the Occident also. With this the cult of Mary
had reached its third stage, the stage which interests us; she had
become the object of metaphysical love. But before dealing with this
third stage, we must glance, in passing, at the ancient Teutonic tribes.
They, too, worshipped goddesses and sacred women; virginity, a virtue
not appreciated by the Orientals, here stood in high repute. According
to Tacitus and others, the Teutons looked upon the Virgin as a
mysterious being, approaching divinity more closely than all others.
Thus there was here, perhaps, more than on the shores of the
Mediterranean, a favourable soil for the cult of Mary. The
characteristics of Holda and Freya, as well as their perfect beauty,
were transferred to Mary, and Mary's name was substituted for the names
of the old auxiliary goddesses. In the oldest German evangelical poems
Mary does not yet rank as a divinity, she is merely extolled as the most
perfect of all earth-born women.
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