Seat of Wisdom

History

The invocation, "Seat of Wisdom", originated in the eleventh century. Many early Christians saw Christ as Wisdom incarnate; therefore, by holding him on her lap, Mary becomes the “seat” of wisdom. It later became part of the Litany of Loreto.

In art

This type of Madonna image is based on the Byzantine prototype of the Chora tou Achoretou ("Container of the Uncontainable"), an epithet mentioned in the Acathist Hymn and present in the Greek East by the early 11th century, when the Byzantine-inspired enamels were made in Germany for the Cross of Mathilde. The type appeared in a wide range of sculptural and, later, painted images in Western Europe, especially around 1200. In these representations, some structural elements of the throne invariably appear, even if only handholds and front legs. The Virgin's feet often rest on a low stool. Later, Gothic sculptures of the type are more explicitly identifiable with the Throne of Solomon, where: "...two lions stood, one at each hand. And twelve little lions stood upon the six steps on the one side and on the other."(I Kings 10: 18–20)

The Sedes sapientiae icon also appeared in illuminated manuscripts and Romanesque frescoes and mosaics, and was represented on seals. The icon possesses in addition emblematic verbal components: the Virgin as the Throne of Wisdom is a trope of Damiani or Guibert de Nogent, based on their typological interpretation of the passage in the Books of Kings, that describes the throne of Solomon (I Kings 10: 18–20, repeated at II Chronicles 9: 17–19). This was much used in Early Netherlandish painting in works like the Lucca Madonna by Jan van Eyck.

Other uses

In modern times, sedes sapientiae is on the seal of the Catholic University of Leuven (here a play on words, since the university itself is a major seat of learning in the Low Countries). The Newman University Church in Dublin, Ireland is dedicated to Our Lady Seat of Wisdom. In 1999, Notre Dame College in Dhaka created a collage of Mata Mary (Mother Mary, **; the common name in which the college is known as) where Mary is shown as the Seat of Wisdom. Our Lady Seat of Wisdom College is in Ontario.

References

References

1. "Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom: New chapel statue is dedicated".
2. Rotan, S.M., Johann. "Mary, Seat of Wisdom". University of Dayton.
3. [https://bustedhalo.com/questionbox/what-does-the-title-mary-seat-of-wisdom-mean Moyer, Ginny Kubitz. "What does the title Mary, Seat of Wisdom mean?", ''Busted Halo'', March 1, 2010]
4. Bagley, Charlotte Hartwell. (1976). "The Catholic Encyclopedia".
5. "Ορθόδοξες φωτογραφίες και εικόνες - Εικόνες της Υπεραγίας Θεοτόκου/ΠΑΝΑΓΙΑ η Χώρα του Αχωρήτου". Rel.gr.
6. Society for Renaissance Studies (Great Britain). (1992). "Cosimo 'il Vecchio' de' Medici, 1389-1464: essays in commemoration of the 600th anniversary of Cosimo de' Medici's birth : including papers delivered at the Society for Renaissance Studies Sexcentenary Symposium at the Warburg Institute, London, 19 May 1989". Clarendon Press.