This article accompanies the fable
Voices and Saints


Chartres Cathedral

Virginity and spousal union with Christ could best be experienced at places like Chartres Cathedral, which was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It has profoundly affected many men and women, such as Joseph Campbell, ever since it was built in the 12th and 13th centuries.

The cult of the Virgin Mary emerged at this time because something needed to be done to reverse the negative associations Christian men had about Christian women, because of how Eve brought Adam low in the Fall.

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, for example, saw the Virgin Mary as the Intercessor for the salvation of humankind because she gave birth to the Son of God. As a result, nuns were able to command considerable respect and Joan of Arc was able to draw on this respect for her wide-ranging appeal.