s
and Queen of Heaven. All through the mediaeval period, in fact, there was
a constant endeavor to prove that the Old Testament contained allusions
to Mary, and, with this in view, Albertus Magnus put together a
_Marienbibel_ in the twelfth century, and Bonaventura edited a
_Marienpsalter_. Therein, the gates of Paradise, Noah's ark, Jacob's
ladder, the ark of the Covenant, Aaron's rod, Solomon's throne, and many
other things, were held up as examples and foreshadowings of the coming
of the Blessed Virgin; and in the sermons, commentaries, and homilies of
the time the same ideas were continually emphasized. A collection of the
Latin appellations which were bestowed upon the Madonna during this time
contains the following terms, which reveal the fervor and temper of the
age: _Dei genitrix_, _virgo virginum_, _mater Christi_, _mater divinae
gratiae_, _mater potens_, _speculum justitiae_, _vas spirituale_, _rosa
mystica_, _turris davidica_, _domus aurea_, _janua coeli_, _regina
peccatorum_, _regina apostolorum_, _consolatrix afflictorum_, and
_regina sanctorum omnium_.

The Benedictines had consecrated themselves to the service of Mary since
the time of the Crusades, and, beginning with the eleventh century, many
religious orders and brotherhoods were organized in honor of Mary. The
Order of the Knights of the Star was founded in 1022, and the Knights of
the Lily were organized in 1048. About the middle of the twelfth century
the Order of the Holy Maid of Evora and that of the Knights of Alcantara
were established, and others followed. In 1149 Pope Celestine III.
chartered the Order of the Holy Virgin, for the service of a hospital in
Siena; in 1218, after a revelation from on high, the Order of the Holy
Mary of Mercy was founded by Peter Nolascus--Raymond von
Pennaforte--for the express purpose of giving aid and freedom to
captives. In 1233 seven noble Florentines founded the Order of the
Servants of Mercy, adopting Saint Augustine's rules of conduct, and they
dwelt in the convent of the Annunziata, in Florence. In 1285 Philip
Benizio founded a similar order for women, and, soon after, the pious
Juliana Falconeri instituted for women a second order of the same kind.
There was a constant multiplication of these orders vowed to the service
of the Madonna as the centuries passed, and the idea of Madonna worship
became more firmly fixed.

No account of Madonna worship can be considered complete, however,
without some refere