Mary Untier of Knots
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Mary Untier of Knots or Mary Undoer of Knots is a Baroque icon (German: Wallfahrtsbild or Gnadenbild) by Johann George Melchior Schmidtner, of around 1700, in the Catholic pilgrimage church of "St. Peter am Perlach", otherwise Perlach church, in Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany.
It shows the Virgin Mary untying knots and at the same time treading on the head of a snake, representing the devil and symbolising the prophecy in Genesis 3.15 that "[thy seed] shall bruise the serpent's head"). Below Mary is illustrated an incident from the Book of Tobit: the Archangel Raphael with Tobias on the way to Sarah, daughter of Raguel, to ask for her hand in marriage.
The concept of Mary untying knots is derived from St. Irenaeus of Lyons' book Adversus haereses (Against Heresies). In Book III, Chapter 22, he explains that "... the knot of Eve's disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. For what the virgin Eve had bound fast through unbelief, this did the virgin Mary set free through faith."
[edit] Mary Undoer of Knots abroad
The icon of "Mary Undoer of Knots" is especially venerated in South America.
- Maria Knotenlöserin (German)
- Maria Desatanudos / Maria Desatadora de Nudos (Spanish)
- Maria Desatadora dos Nós (Portuguese)
- Mary Undoer of Knots / Mary Untier of Knots (English)
- Maria Rozwiązująca Supełki (Polish)
- Marie qui défait les Nœuds (French)
- Maria che Scioglie i Nodi (Italian)
[edit] See also
- Knot | Gordian Knot
- Marian devotions | Intercession | Prayer
- Turamichele (fighting Archangel Michael in Augsburg-Bavaria)
[edit] External links
- (German) Diocese of Augsburg: Picture with picture-meditation
- (German) Mary Untier of Knots: links between Augsburg and Buenos Aires
- (Portuguese) Maria Desatadora dos Nós (Brazil)
- (English) Mary Undoer of Knots (USA and Canada)
