La Vierge en quête de Jésus pendant la Passion. Entrelacs médiévaux et folkloriques entre l’Italie et la Grèce : rapprochements et questions ouvertes

Abstract

At the center of the study is the motif spread in Italy and Greece, in the Middle Ages and in folklore, of Mary's search for Jesus during the Passion. The historiographical and philological reconstruction of the motif takes its cue from a medieval Italian text, the “Pianto delle Marie marchigiano”, and first investigates modern Italian songs, to show their continuity with the Middle Ages; then the observation expands to the Hellenic “moirologia”, to highlight the strong resemblance to the Italic counterparts; we therefore try to bring these similarities back to historical unity, showing that we are dealing with two forms in which a long-lasting cultural memory persists.