Revealing the Threshold: The Vierge Ouvrante as Liminal Devotion in Medieval Europe
Abstract
Abstract: The article explores late-medieval vierges ouvrantes (hinged Virgins that reveal Christological or Trinitarian interiors) as thresholds between secrecy and revelation. They translate the porta clausa of Ezekiel 44:2 and the hortus conclusus of Song of Songs 4:12 into sculpture, illustrating the paradox of a body that is both inviolate and permeable. Their mechanisms turn the Incarnation into a visible event and also expose cultural fears about vision, curiosity and trespass. Patristic writers framed these fears in theological terms. Jean Gerson condemned the vierge ouvrante as ‘unwarranted exposure.’ Later comparanda, from illuminated manuscripts, obstetrical collections and the Mechelen Besloten Hofjes, repeat the same tension between revelation and restraint. The article argues that both the opening and the later sealing or destruction of these statues reveal a theology of thresholds that reshaped the act of seeing.
Submitted: Aug. 29, 2025 | Accepted: Oct. 29, 2025 | Published Dec. 15, 2025 | Language: en
Keywords Porta clausa • hortus conclusus • Vierge ouvrante • Opening Madonna • Threshold
Copyright © 2025 Aisling Reid. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/VA/2385-2720/2025/01/003