The name Mary

The name "Mary" comes from the Aramaic miryam, maryam. This name has been traced back to the Hebrew mara(h), "bitterness", and the ancient Egyptian mrit, merit, "loved". However, the etymology of this name has undergone some interesting developments: it has been associated with the star for a very long time, in a fortuitous and fortunate way[1].

Mary, star of the sea

The etymology associating the name of the Virgin Mary was fleshed out by tradition[2], and the Bishop of Chartres Fulbert comments on it in one of his sermons on the Nativity of Mary:

"This chosen and eminent person among daughters, surely received a name, not by chance, nor merely to please the parents, as is normally the case, but by a precise divine design, which refers to something great: Mary indeed means star of the sea." [3]

 

Just as the North Star represents an indispensable point of orientation for navigators, so Christians must keep their gaze fixed on Mary in order to be able to reach the final destination of their existence:

"It is necessary for all those who adore Christ, as they row through the waves of this world, to turn their gaze towards this star of the sea - that is, towards Mary who is close to God, the supreme pole of the universe - and to direct the course of their lives by contemplating her example.

Whoever behaves in such a way will not be tossed about by the winds of vanity; will not break on the rocks of adversity; nor be swallowed up by the frenzied whirlpool of pleasures; but will reach the harbour of eternal tranquillity without incident."[4]

Contemplating, following and imitating Mary

Contemplating, following and imitating Mary has great spiritual advantages for believers. Fulbert lists them as follows:

- the fortitude, prudence and simple faith she displayed, especially in her conversation with the Archangel Gabriel ;

- the justice with which she punctually observed all the prescriptions of God's law;

- the temperance that allowed "the lily of virginity to sprout in the valley of humility [5].

 

This marvellous myriad of virtues created a fascinating psychological and spiritual harmony in her person.

God himself delights in it.

We are incited to glorify the Lord and to imitate such a splendid synthesis of holiness by achieving our salvation in this way.

 

[1] The origin of the association of Mary's name with the star is not really known, but some people think it is due to a transcription error in a manuscript translated into Latin by St Jerome and written in the 4th century by Eusebius of Caesarea. In one of his many works, the Bishop of Caesarea, the first historian of the Church, interpreted the name Maryām, attributing to it the meaning of mar-yam (מר-ים) "drop of the sea", based on מר mar, a biblical word for "drop" and ים yam "sea". Saint Jerome († 420), Doctor of the Church and one of the four Fathers of the Latin Church, translated this etymology of Mary's name as Stilla maris, which in Latin means "drop of sea water". One of the scribes copying down the Latin manuscript one day probably made a transcription error, which soon became part of the tradition: instead of Stilla maris, he would have written Stella maris, which means " star of the sea". A fortunate error that had such a fruitful posterity!

[2] It developed, particularly under the influence of St Bernard of Clairvaux, a Marian doctor, in the twelfth century, in one of his homilies on the Annunciation, which became the famous prayer "Look at the star", famous thanks to the Emmanuel hymn composed a few years ago. Marian literature, which flourished in the 13th century thanks to the development of the cult of the Virgin Mary, also took up the symbol of the star to greet the Virgin Mary, who became known as "Our Lady" from the 12th century onwards, and developed into music with the prayer Ave maris stella.

[3] Fulbert of Chartres, Sermo IV, PL 141, 321 D - 322 A

[4] Fulbert of Chartres, Sermo IV, PL 141, 322 AB

[5] Fulbert of Chartres, Sermo IV, PL 141, 322 D.

 

To know more

 

-on the Holy Name of Maryin the Encyclopédie mariale

-on Saint Fulbert of Chartres (960-1028), in the Marian Encyclopaedia

-on Look at the star! The Name of Mary (St Bernard)in the Marian Encyclopaedia

-on Ave maris stella (text, music)in the Marian Encyclopaedia