<i>Frauenlob's Song of Songs. A Medieval German Poet and his Masterpiece</i> (review)

Parergon 26.1 (2009) but, rather, the status of Mary as ancestor of the duchy of Brabant. On the other hand, Thomas’ supplement did not have much later popularity. Although Mary is such a well-known individual, scholarship tends to have been fragmented into different specializations which have rarely influenced each other. Mulder-Bakker’s introduction does an excellent job of identifying these threads and, in the process, provides an historiographical survey which is a boon to scholarship and more than the sum of its parts. Bolton’s essay shows how much James supported Oignies in ways other than by the writing of Mary’s vita; he sent eastern silks to the community, he commissioned works of art for the church, and in particular he took advantage of his eastern connections to send relics to Oignies. James did all of this for many years after Mary died; his interest was not fleeting. Given such support, it is worth asking why Mary was never canonized, but Bolton points out that bad luck played a role. Key supporters died or were absent and a change of pope put a lid on the cult until the modern period. But the stunning relic collection remained – Mary herself would stay up at night to care for the collection – and the relics as well as the two vitae, the Villers’ office, and the academic attentions of modern scholars all indicate the wide interest in Mary and her holy sisters. Elizabeth Freeman School of History and Classics University of Tasmania