*2.5. 13th-Century Hymns*

Dating from this century we have found only the *Hymnus 370. Sequentia de Virgine Maria*, which proclaims the theme studied with these brilliant rhymes that eloquently express the nutritious and healing power of the beautiful guardian of Heaven's gate:

Hail, crystalline door, Living bread factory, Hellish Death Medicine, Flower of the world, Mary.15 *2.6. 14th-Century Hymns*

Composed in the 14th century, we have documented four hymns that are inspired by the ideas analyzed.

The *Hymnus 73. De Beata Maria Virgine* praises the mother of the Savior with these expressive phrases:

Rejoice, Virgin, the gate of Heaven, For you, the light was born to the world, A mother so laudable.16

The *Hymnus 74. De beata Maria Virgine* glorifies the immaculate Lord's mother for her co-redemptive power with these statements:

Hail rose born from thorns, By whom the gate of Paradise, Which was closed, was opened to everyone.17

The *Hymnus 67. De Beata Maria Virgine* expresses the virginal motherhood of Mary, from the royal lineage of David, with these illustrative metaphorical figures:

3a. You are called a rod, a bramble,18 Flower, window, door, 3b. Mother of God, sunlight, born of the good lineage of Jesse.19

The *Hymnus 76. De beata Maria Virgine* ratifies the analyzed doctrine of Mary's universal salvaging authority, whose continuous protection ask in these short verses:

6a. You are the always open gate of mercy, 6b. Always be propitious For all of us.20

The *Hymnus 83. De beata Maria Virgine* sings the saving power of the Heavenly Queen in this stanza:

The Virgin Mary Became the door of life, because she was born With the glorious titles of kings Additionally, the prophets.21

*2.7. 15th-Century Hymns*

We have found fifteen hymns alluding to the theme written in the 15th century. The *Hymnus 510. Ad Beatam Mariam Virginem* salutes Mary, from the royal lineage of David, as God's temple and palace, for her helping and rescuing power through these verses:

Hail, chastity cell, Gate of Paradise, hail, the temple of divinity, Hail, the palace of the Sun [God], hail, port of the shipwrecked, Hail, the little rod of Jesse, Hail, the splendor of goodness, Hail, full of grace.22

The *Hymnus 21. Historia de Domina in sabbato. In 3. Nocturno. Responsoria* underlines the power of God the Son's mother, and the high honors tributed to her in Heaven as follows:

Gate of Paradise, hope and path of life, the hierarchy of Heaven serves you meekly Additionally, praises you assiduously, pious Queen;23

The *Hymnus 480. De Beata Virgine. Oratio* thus greets the mother of God for her competence in saving people, especially the poorest, in the following terms:

Rejoice, crossroads of salvation, Mary, the hope of the humble, You are the open door of forgiveness, consolation of indulgence, do not despise me, merciful.24

The *Hymnus 484. De Beata Virgine Maria* celebrates the rescuing intercessory power of God's mother in favor of those most in need through these verses:

Hail, holy temple of God, Source of salvation, the door of hope, all the prisoners run towards you With full confidence.25

The *Hymnus 488. Salve regina* proclaims the saving role of the Virgin Mary for the benefit of the faithful in these eloquent terms:

Hail, [you who has been] heavenly created for whom salvation is prepared, gate of heaven [which is] open, [but] closed to sinners.26

The *Hymnus 497. Super eadem sequentia [Ave maris stella]* asks the Virgin to grant the devotee entrance to Paradise in this concise plea:

Happy Gate of Heaven, adopt us there.<sup>27</sup>

The *Hymnus 29. Item alius de Sancta Maria* takes this stanza from the famous antiphon *Salve Regina* to proclaim the saving power of God the Son's virginal mother:

Hail, star of the sea, Nourishing mother of God Additionally, always a virgin Happy Gate of Heaven.28

The *Hymnus 54. De immaculata conceptione Beatae Mariae Virginis. In 1. Vesperis* praises the Virgin Mary for her ability to save the faithful from the devil through this illustrative stanza:

Spouse of God, star of the sea, You are called the gate of Heaven, The salvation of the world, which cuts The head of the furious Holofernes29 [the devil].30

The *Hymnus 21. Historia de Domina in sabbato. In 3. Nocturno. Responsoria* acknowledges with these verses the tribute that Heaven and Earth must give to the Virgin for her title as the mediator of humanity:

Gate of Paradise, Hope and path of life, Heaven's Hierarchy Serves you submissively. The assiduous praise Is appropriate for you, merciful Queen;31

The German hymnographer Ulrich Stöcklins von Rottach (Udalricus Wessofontanus), in his *Hymnus 10. Oratio devota de Beata Maria Virgine*, invokes the Queen of Heaven for her saving intercession on behalf of the faithful through these fervent rhymes:

Mother, help us quickly, So that we are not delivered to the prison of hell, Do open the door for us so that we can become consorts of Heaven.32

The same Ulrich Stöcklins von Rottach, in his *Hymnus 38. Abecedarius XIII*, requests the rescuing mediation of Mary before her divine Son, the Supreme Universal Judge, in favor of the believer to achieve eternal salvation through these pressing verses:

Grant us to avoid the terrible Wrath of the Judge [Christ], When he comes to examine Our life, [we ask you to] want to reject then the snares of the enemy [the devil], and open us The gates of Heaven.33

The *Hymnus 80. In Nativitate Beatae Mariae Virginis* extols the excellent role of salvation of Redeemer's mother with this eloquent stanza:

Oh, you, happy gate of Heaven, Always closed, for which the true light [Christ] Appeared at birth, 3b. With the beauty of whose light The darkened shadow Of our night disappeared.34

## *2.8. As a Synthetic Recapitulation*

Some primary results emerge from the analysis of the fragments of medieval liturgical hymns we have presented here.

Practically all the analyzed hymns designate the Virgin Mary as the gate of Heaven or the door of Paradise, to signify her privileged ability to help the faithful be saved in eternal life.

Many of those hymns further emphasize that Mary's saving power derives from her exclusive privilege to be the virginal mother of God the Son.

Some hymns even point to the idea that Mary was created *ex professo* to contribute to the salvation of humankind because she is the mother of the divine Savior. Other hymns add the idea that, in such a condition, the Virgin performs her helping work because she is full of grace and possesses all the virtues, especially chastity.

Almost all the hymns express in some way that, with such sublime attributes and prerogatives, Mary acts as a helper for those who pray to her or trust her, and as their effective intercessor before her divine Son, the Supreme Judge, to ensure that those who resort to her enter the heavenly Paradise.

Some hymns also formulate the idea that believers raise prayers to the Virgin to request earthly and heavenly goods, thus avoiding badness, especially from the devil.

In any case, these hymns designate the Virgin Mary as the door of Paradise or the gate of Heaven to signify her sublime mediating and helping power in favor of humankind, or, in other words: to manifest her role as an effective collaborator of her divine Son to ensure that the faithful obtain goods on Earth and the eternal salvation in Heaven.

However, taking into account the highly significant strength of these hymns to rebuke the thesis of Mary's universal mediation and her practical help to facilitate the believer's entry into Heaven, it is surprising that the traditional Mariology treatises (De Fiores 1992, 2006–2008; Müller 1998; Cerbelaud 2003; Laurentin 2011; Hauke 2021) have not considered these medieval liturgical hymns as supporting arguments to justify the doctrinal theses about the Virgin. One can perceive a similar waste of medieval liturgical hymns as a reflection of Mary's virtues and attributes in other prestigious specific studies on the mother of God (Rahner 1967; Ratzinger and Von Balthasar 1981; de La Potterie 1995; Perrella 2003; De Fiores 2010; Scheffczyk 2010).
