Den heliga modern – en eländig fattig piga Den dubbelsidiga mariabilden i 1600-talets predikotexter i Sverige

Sammanfattning: This thesis examines the images of the Virgin Mary in sermons of seventeenth century Sweden. For the study a selection of four postils have been analysed, written by Simon Musæus, Martin Moller, Johannes Matthiæ and Lars Fornelius, all published in Sweden during the seventeenth century. The method of the study is based on the concept ”offered identifications”, coined by the Swedish church historian David Gudmundsson. The premise of this concept is that ideals were communicated through preaching, which could be ”offered” to the recipients of the sermons. The theoretical framework includes Heinz Schillings’ theory of confessionalization, wherein mainly the aspect of social discipline is of interest for the study. Three research questions explore how Mary is described, and what qualities that are attributed to her by the authors of the sermons, and how the image of Mary could act as possible ”offered identifications” for the Christian recipient of the sermons. These questions relate to the choice of method, in which ways Mary could be presented as an object of identification for Christian men and women, based on the conviction that the reformed Mary often posed as an example in virtue and faith. One final question aims to gather which Marian dogmas that survived the seventeenth century, a time when the Lutheran faith was firmly consolidated in Sweden. The main results of the study show that the sermons offer a two-fold image of the Virgin Mary, she promotes certain Christian values which the recipient should emulate, such as being a faithful servant of God, a chaste woman, housemother, parent, wife, and a well- behaved and obedient citizen. At the same time she serves as a holy figure, offering the Christian comfort through her role as the mother of God and as the holy Virgin Mary. The results of this thesis also show that the Virgin Mary have not disappeared in Swedish Lutheran writings, as previous research sometimes have claimed. The results also show that Lutheran preachers often did not hesitate to use apocryphal sources in their sermons, challenging the notion that Lutheran preaching handedly followed the idea of Sola Scriptura.