In some of the old
calendars, today commemorated the wedding day of Mary and Joseph. People are always interested in
weddings, and the espousals of the Virgin received a goodly amount of
embellishment.
The Golden Legend recounted:
“And in the fourteenth year
of her [Mary’s] age, the bishop
commanded in common that the virgins that were instituted in the temple, and
had accomplished the time of age, should return to their houses and should
after the law be married. All the
others obeyed his commandment, but Mary answered that she might not do so
because her father and mother had given her all to the service of our Lord. And then the bishop was much angry
because he durst not make her to break her avow against the scripture, that
saith: ‘Avow ye vows and yield them to God’. And he durst not break the custom of the people.
And then came a feast of the
Jews, and he called all the ancient Jews to council, and showed to them this
thing. And this was all their
sentence: “That in a thing so doubtable, that counsel shall be asked of our
Lord.” And then went they all to prayer, and the bishop, that was gone to ask
counsel of our Lord. Anon came a
voice out of the oracle and said that, “all they that were of the house of
David that were convenable [suitable]
to be married and had no wife, that each of them should bring a rod to the
altar, and his rod that flourished, and, after the saying of Isaiah, the Holy
Ghost sit in the form of a dove on it, he should be the man that should be
desponsate [betrothed] and married to
the Virgin Mary.
And Joseph, of the house of
David, was there among the others, and to him it seemed to be a thing
unconvenable, a man of so old age as he was to have so tender a maid, and
whereas others brought forth their rods he hid his. And when nothing appeared according to the voice of God, the
bishop ordained for to ask counsel again of our Lord. And he answered that, “he
only that should espouse the virgin had not brought forth his rod”. And then Joseph by the commandment of
the bishop brought forth his rod, and anon it flowered, and a dove descended
from heaven thereupon, so that it was clearly the advice of every man that he
should have the virgin.
And then he espoused the
Virgin Mary, and returned into his city of Bethlehem for to ordain his meiny [attendants] and his house, and for to
fetch such things as were necessary. And the Virgin Mary returned unto the house of her father
with seven virgins, her fellows of her age, which had seen the demonstrance of
the miracle.
According to the Protoevangelium of James, when Mary was
twelve, the priest Zacharias inquired of the Lord
concerning her, and an angel came to him and said, "Zacharias, Zacharias,
go out and assemble the widowers of the people, and let them bring each his
rod, and to whomsoever the Lord shall show a sign, his wife shall she be.” And
Zacharias did as the angel commanded, and made
proclamation accordingly. Joseph the carpenter, a righteous man, threw down his axe, and
taking his staff in his hand, ran out with the rest.
The high priest took their rods and entered into the temple to pray; when he
returned to the gathered suitors, there was no sign forthcoming until Joseph
received his rod, from which a white dove issued and settled on him. Then the high priest said to him, "You have been chosen
by lot to take into your keeping the virgin of the Lord." At first, Joseph
refused, citing his advanced age, but the priest reminded him of the fate of those
who contradicted the Lord, and Joseph succumbed. He took her home to his house, and said to her,
"Behold, I have received you from the temple of the Lord, and now I will leave you in my house, for I
must go and follow my trade of building. I will return
to you, and meanwhile the Lord be with you and
watch over you."
The visions of Catherine
Emmerich included the betrothal and the wedding of Mary and Joseph. In one vision, she heard two widows who
had attended the wedding in their youth describing Mary’s wedding dress and
recalled:
“She wore a white woolen
undergarment without sleeves: her arms were wrapped round with strips of the
same stuff, for at that time these took the place of closed sleeves. Next she put on a collar reaching from
above the breast to her throat. It
was encrusted with pearls and white embroidery, and was shaped like the
under-collar worn by Archos the Essene, the pattern of which I cut out not long
ago. Over this she wore an ample
robe, open in front. It fell to
her feet and was as full as a mantle and had wide sleeves. This robe had a blue ground covered
with an embroidered or woven pattern of red, white, and yellow roses
interspersed with green leaves, like rich and ancient chasubles. The lower hem ended in fringes and tassels,
while the upper edge joined the white neck-covering. After this robe had been arranged to fall in long straight
folds, a kind of scapulary was put over it, such as some religious wear, for
instance the Carmelites. This was
made of white silk with gold flowers: it was half a yard wide, and was set with
pearls and shining jewels at the breast.
It hung in a single width down to the edge of the dress, of which it
covered the opening in front. The
lower edge was ornamented with fringes and beads. A similar width hung down the back, while shorter and
narrower strips of the silk hung over the shoulders and arms; these four
pieces, spread out round the neck, made the shape of a cross… The full sleeves,
over which the shoulder-pieces of the scapulary projected, were lightly held
together by bracelets above and below the elbow… They caused the full sleeves
to puff out at the shoulders, elbows, and wrists… Over all this she wore a
sky-blue mantle, shaped like a big cloak, which in its turn was covered by a sort
of mourning cloak with sleeves made after a traditional fashion… This cloak
fell back over the shoulders, came forward again at the sides, and ended at the
back in a pointed train. Its edge
was embroidered with gold flowers.”
You can read the full account here, with further descriptions of her hairstyle, shoes, accessories, and
trousseau.
Joseph’s outfit merited a
much shorter description: “Joseph wore a long full coat of pale blue, fastened
down the front from breast to hem with laces and bosses or buttons. His wide sleeves were also fastened at
the sides with laces; they were much turned up and seemed to have pockets
inside. Round his neck he wore a
kind of brown collar or rather a broad stole, and two white strips hung over
his breast, like the bands worn by our priests, only much longer.”
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Artwork:
“The Designation of Joseph”
from The Hours of Catherine of Cleves
(15th century)
“Espousals of the Blessed
Virgin with Joseph” from The Hours of Catherine
of Cleves (15th century)
Artists have differed on the age and personal appearance of
Joseph. Early painters thought
that Joseph should be represented as an old, nearly decrepit man with a white
beard and nearly senile countenance – possibly because some of the early
‘authorities’ on the subject claimed that he was eight-four years old and a
widower when he espoused Mary.
Later artists argued that the head and protector of the Holy Family must
have been a man of mature age, but still strong and able to work at his trade,
and portrayed him accordingly.
“Mary in her wedding dress”
from The Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary:
From the Visions of Anne Catherine Emmerich. Woodcut from the 1852 German edition.
“St. Joseph in his wedding
garments” from The Life of the Blessed
Virgin Mary: From the Visions of Anne Catherine Emmerich. Woodcut from the
1852 German edition.
