Page:The Classical Heritage of the Middle Ages.djvu/245

 vra] CHRISTIAN PROSE 227 hood passed as a virgin in the Temple, until she is given into the guardianship of Joseph. And it narrates her final glorification.^ In the religious art and literar ture of the Middle Ages the romantic story of Joachim and Anna is as well known as the Gospel story of the life of Christ, which it regularly accompanies.* And from the Middle Ages on through the Renaissance, few subjects in religious art vie in frequency and beauty with the Assumption of the Virgin. The same Gospels that tell the parentage and girl- hood of Mary give details of the Saviour's birth and childhood alike miraculous and foolish, quite on a level with early mediaeval miracle-story. Mary's vir- ginity before and after Jesus' birth is established by such naive circumstantial narrative as would ad- dress itself to the common, uneducated mind.* Cor- responding to like puerile taste, the journey to Egypt is filled with silly miracle,* and even more meaningless and void of goodness are the miracles of the child- Saviour. He possesses magic powers, with which he amuses himself, or takes malicious vengeance on his playmates. Where he is, there is no safety for other children ; " Teach him," say their parents to Joseph, 1 See Protevangeliutn of James, Qospel of Pseudo-Mattheto, Oos- pel of Nativity of Mary, Story of Joseph the Carpenter, Book of John concerning the falling asleep of Mary, The Passing of Mary. the Arena at Padua. •See Protevangeliutn, 19, 20; Oospel of Pseudo-Matthew, 13. J. Strxygowski, Byzantinische Denkmdler, Bd. I (1891), refent to representations in art of the proving of Mary's virginity according to the Protevangeliutn.
 * See the whole story greatly painted by Qiotto in the Church of
 * See Qotpel qf Pseudo-Mattheto.