BEATA MARIA/DEA VULTS! : En studie i bruket av Maria som symbol för heligt krig från korstågen till belägringen av Wien.

Beata Maria/Dea Vults is a thesis for the degree of master (one year) in theology. The thesis explores the role of the Virgin Mary as a martial saint in catholic combat with Islam and muslims between the years 1119 AD to 1648 AD with a focus on symbolism. The paper is focusing on symbolism in war banners, patron saints and semiotic symbols on arms and armour. There are three different events or phenomenons in the study, separated in time as well as space. Firstly the war banner used at the battle of Las Navas (1212 AD) during the reconquista of Spain. The banner of Mary with child is the prime subjekt as well as the myths appearing in the aftermath of the battle, and the ceremony that was devised from it. The second phenomenon is the knights templars use of Mary as patron saint, and the ceremony that followed this relationship. There is also discussion of the belts worn that were related to Mary, the use of wich is attested in documents from the trials of the templars between 1307 and 1312 AD. Lastly the paper focuses on the armours of the polish winged husars of 1648 AD and the seige of Vienna. The thesis explores the relationship between the symbols of the armour of the husars and the religious views of King John III Sobieski of Poland. The main question of the study is: What were the meaning of the symbols of Mary as she was carried as a ritualistic symbol for war? The subsequent questions are: How do you trace a progression in the useage of Mary as a symbol from the templars all the way to the use of Mary as a symbol for the winged husars? Which types of worship of Mary as a symbol were used primarliy in wars with muslims? The paper is researched by qualitative methods including text analysis as well as semiotic symbolism reading. There are two theories used in the analysis. Smarts dimensions and Andersons and Hulls Warrior elites, with Smarts dimensions as the dominant theory