The Virgin of the O

[Bert45]

I have seen two references to the Virgin of the O on the Camino Francés. I'd not heard of it before, so I googled, of course. I found two explanations for the name. I wonder if this forum might help me choose which one to believe. If I knew how, I could do a poll, but ...
One version says that the name is derived from the Great Antiphons sung during the seven days before Christmas. Each one begins with "O". [ 17 December: O Sapientia (O Wisdom), 18 December: O Adonai, 19 December: O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse)... 23 December: O Emmanuel from Wikipedia]
The problem I have with this explanation is that it begins with 17 December, whereas the Feast of the Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also known as Our Lady of O or the Feast of O was celebrated on December 18. [The feast has been removed from the universal calendar of the Church.] And it ends on 23 December, whereas I would expect it to end on 24 December as it is all about the advent of Christ.
The other explanation is that it takes its name from "the expression of longing said in the office of the Mozarabic Liturgy," [catholicism.org] "because on that day the clerics in the choir after Vespers used to utter a loud and protracted “O,” to express the longing of the universe for the coming of the Redeemer (Tamayo, Mart. Hisp., VI, 485). The Roman “O” antiphons have nothing to do with this term, because they are unknown in the Mozarabic Rite. This feast and its octave were very popular in Spain, where the people still call it 'Nuestra Señora de la O.'" [my emphasis and catholicism.org]
But it's interesting either way ¿don't you think?
I think the upside-down question mark is useful: Alt+168.

 

[Kathor1]

Great Antiphons sung during the seven days before Christmas. Each one begins with "O". [ 17 December: […] And it ends on 23 December, whereas I would expect it to end on 24 December as it is all about the advent of Christ.

Never heard about this and don’t know what it is. However, a quick look into the Spanish Wikipedia says that these antiphones are sung during vespers.

Another quick look confirms that, in liturgy, high feasts and Sundays begin already in the evening of the previous day and that this evening’s vesper belongs to the following day. Ergo, the last vesper of advent is on 23 December - contrary to your expectation.

I didn’t know that either but I knew that in the Middle Ages, time was counted differently from today’s methods: days were not counted from midnight to midnight but from evening to evening.

Technology - technical advancements in making clocks - eventually changed this.

 

[Kathor1]

catholicism.org

Just curious what brought you to that website and why you consider it is “quote worthy”? It looks like just yet another blog to me … and not a particular expert website on Spanish traditions and Spanish church history.

Home

Catholicism.org, an online journal of the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Richmond N.H. Working and praying for a Catholic America!

catholicism.org

 

[ELHS220]

I have seen two references to the Virgin of the O on the Camino Francés. I'd not heard of it before, so I googled, of course. I found two explanations for the name. I wonder if this forum might help me choose which one to believe. If I knew how, I could do a poll, but ...
One version says that the name is derived from the Great Antiphons sung during the seven days before Christmas. Each one begins with "O". [ 17 December: O Sapientia (O Wisdom), 18 December: O Adonai, 19 December: O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse)... 23 December: O Emmanuel from Wikipedia]
The problem I have with this explanation is that it begins with 17 December, whereas the Feast of the Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also known as Our Lady of O or the Feast of O was celebrated on December 18. [The feast has been removed from the universal calendar of the Church.] And it ends on 23 December, whereas I would expect it to end on 24 December as it is all about the advent of Christ.
The other explanation is that it takes its name from "the expression of longing said in the office of the Mozarabic Liturgy," [catholicism.org] "because on that day the clerics in the choir after Vespers used to utter a loud and protracted “O,” to express the longing of the universe for the coming of the Redeemer (Tamayo, Mart. Hisp., VI, 485). The Roman “O” antiphons have nothing to do with this term, because they are unknown in the Mozarabic Rite. This feast and its octave were very popular in Spain, where the people still call it 'Nuestra Señora de la O.'" [my emphasis and catholicism.org]
But it's interesting either way ¿don't you think?
I think the upside-down question mark is useful: Alt+168.

La “O” is very “big” in Sevilla. The following is from the Archdiocese of Sevilla and supports the ANTIPHONS. See paragraph beginning with, “La representación …..,”

Virgen de la O. Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de la O (Sevilla) - Archidiócesis de Sevilla

Celebramos el 18 de diciembre la festividad de la Expectación del Parto, en la que se venera con especial devoción popular a la Virgen con las advocaciones de la Esperanza y de la O. En la Parroquia trianera dedicada a la Madre de Dios con este último título encontramos esta obra motivada por...

www.archisevilla.org

 

[ELHS220]

 

[Bert45]

Just curious what brought you to that website and why you consider it is “quote worthy”? It looks like just yet another blog to me … and not a particular expert website on Spanish traditions and Spanish church history.

Home

Catholicism.org, an online journal of the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Richmond N.H. Working and praying for a Catholic America!

catholicism.org

Google took me there. I thought, with a name like 'catholicism.org' it would be authoritative. I didn't look at the Home page, unfortunately.

 

[El Cascayal]

This is my favorite liturgical time of the year. Advent the season of hope and wonder. Probably a universal one in the season of cold and longer nights, many faith or no faith traditions have similar winter rituals.
A PDF link from the US https://www.usccb.org/prayer/pdf/22771/en

If anyone is interested, the Monks of Weston Priory in Vermont in 1978 put out “Go Up to the Mountain” songs & song book. The supplement includes a beautiful and haunting rendition of the “O” antiphons.
I have been searching and have been unable to find a musical link for these. But here they are with slightly different language. https://www.westonpriory.org/esales/lyrics/O Antiphons.pdf

 

[Kathor1]

It took me a while to understand the question.

Have I got it right: There are some 50+ titles of Mary, the mother of Jesus. One of them, in Spanish, is Nuestra Señora de la O or Virgen de la O. Synonyms are Virgen de la Esperanza, Virgen Encinta, Virgen de la Divina Enfermera, and Virgen de la Dulce Espera. They all mean the same: they refer to Mary as a pregnant woman. Why “de la O”?

There are explanations for this title of Our Lady of the O but none are convincing. Among the explanations that one can find on the internet are: named after the first letter of a set of chants that are sung during vesper on days around the feast day; named after a tradition where clergy sing a long sound oooo; because the symbol “o” represents the rounded figure of a pregnant woman; because the “o” sound symbolises the joyful expectation of having a baby.

The first explanation that the title is related to the so called “O” antiphons is the most commonly accepted explanation.

I think that there is nothing more to dig up about this. It is one of numerous examples where a name such as this title or the name of a town or a tradition has roots in the distant past that are not well enough documented for us to understand in greater detail. It is just a level of uncertainty that one has to accept or get used to.

Interestingly, iconography related to Our Lady of the O and the title as such occur in Spain and Portugal and not in other parts of Europe.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Off topic here but the repeats of "O" reminded me of the origin of the names of the notes, do, re, mi, etc.

If you're interested go to subtopic "Origin" on this webpage:

Solfège - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Bert45]

I think I'll take the antiphons. It seems more likely than some monks choosing to sing a long 'oooo' in anticipation of the birth of Christ to express the longing of the universe for the coming of the Redeemer. They surely don't think that Jesus was born on December 25, in the year 0, ¿do they?

 

[Kathor1]

I saw a photo of a statue depicting Mary as a pregnant woman today. It belongs to a church in Santiago. As I understand it, both the title of Nuestra Señora de la O and this particular iconography are mainly found in regions of Spain and Portugal. I don't recall having seen it in France or Germany and surrounding areas.

I find it entirely plausible that folk religion / vernacular religion, i.e. religious tradition evolved and anchored in the piety of the people and not in official doctrine or specific liturgy etc. contributed to creating this title.

There are other statues and paintings of Mary with such a clearly o-shaped form in clothing or similar that depicts and emphasises pregnancy (instead of trying to hide or ignore it).

 

[Bert45]

By something of a coincidence, that statue is on the left-hand side of the arch over the entrance to the Church of Santa María Salomé. (The coincidence being my recent post about the Chapel of Mary and Joseph and San Julián in the same church.) You will know that in the centre of the arch there is a small statue of María de la Leche, a rare example of an image showing the Virgin Mary feeding the baby Jesus.
Yes, the terms "Virgin of the O" seems to be confined to Spain and Portugal. One of the sites I have looked at mentions that fact.
aleteia.org/ says: The feast has been removed from the universal calendar of the Church,
and catholicism.org says: This feast and its octave were very popular in Spain, where the people still call it “Nuestra Señora de la O.”
udayton.edu has: The four categories here mentioned are not necessarily related to Our Lady of O (known as such almost exclusively in Spain and Portugal),
I think that suggesting that "the symbol “o” represents the rounded figure of a pregnant woman;” is stretching representation too far. To say that a pregnant woman looks like an O, or that her rounded abdomen looks like an O, is not something that would occur to me. I can believe that it is one of the suggestions for the origin of the name, but not one I would support.

 

[Kathor1]

I think that suggesting that "the symbol “o” represents the rounded figure of a pregnant woman;” is stretching representation too far.

That's not what I wrote.

I referred to statues and paintings and not to an actual person. I wrote: "a clearly o-shaped form in [the] clothing or similar".

The faithful prayed for help or gave thanks with a statue or a painting of Nuestra Señora de la O in view. Such as this one which is just one example of many: