Madonna

“Madonna”, refers to the Biblical character, Mary, mother of Jesus Christ. The term Madonna comes into English usage in the 17th century, primarily in reference to works of the Italian Renaissance. There are hundreds of thousands of representations of Madonna starting with the 2nd century and continuing to the present.

The Story

Mary, also known as the Virgin Mary, was a young Jewish woman from Nazareth, a virgin, betrothed to Joseph. One day, the angel Gabriel appeared to her in her own home and announced that she was to be the mother of the promised Messiah who would be conceived through the Holy Spirit. She responded by saying “I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done unto me according to your word.”

Joseph at first planned to quietly divorce her however when he was told that her conception was by the Holy Spirit in a dream by “an angel of the Lord” he agreed to complete the wedding rites.

In some versions of the story, the apocryphal Gospel of James, Mary was the daughter of Saint Joachim and Saint Anne. Before Mary's conception, Anne had been barren and was far advanced in years. Mary was given to service as a consecrated virgin in the Temple in Jerusalem when she was three years old, much like Hannah took Samuel to the Tabernacle as recorded in the Old Testament.

Some apocryphal accounts state that at the time of her betrothal to Joseph, Mary was 12–14 years old, and he was ninety years old.

According to the Gospel of Luke, a decree of the Roman Emperor Augustus required that Joseph return to his hometown of Bethlehem to register for a Roman census. While Joseph and Mary were en route to Bethlehem, Mary gave birth to a son, Jesus. As there was no place for them to stay at the inn, she used a manger as a cradle.

Twelve years later, Mary, Joseph and their family were returning from a Passover celebration in Jerusalem. On the day of their return, Jesus "lingered" in the Temple, but Mary and Joseph thought that he was among their group. Mary and Joseph headed back home and after a day of travel realized Jesus was missing, so they returned to Jerusalem .Three days later they found him in the Temple in great discussion with the elders who were amazed at this maturity and learning at such a young age.

Mary is notably absent in the story of the life of Jesus. Some verses suggest a conflict between Jesus and his family, including an attempt to have Jesus restrained because "he is out of his mind". A famous quote reads: "A prophet is not without honour except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home."

Mary appears again in the story of Jesus, when he worked his first miracle turning water into wine during a wedding in Cana.

She is depicted as being present at his crucifixion, along with Mary Magdalene and Mary of Clopas. The image of Mary cradling the dead body of her sun is a common motif in art, known as a “pieta” or “pity”.