The Golden Virgin: Difference between revisions

The Golden Virgin
	The Golden Virgin Sculpture atop the Basilica
	50°00′13″N 2°38′53″E / 50.003611°N 2.648056°E
Location	20 Rue Anicet Godin, 80300 Albert, France
Designer	Albert Roze
Material	Metal
Height	5 m (16 ft 5 in)
Completion date	1897
Dedicated to	The Virgin Mary

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The Golden Virgin, a/k/a 'The Leaning Virgin'^[B] is a gilded sculpture depicting the Virgin Mary offering up the Baby Jesus skyward. Standing atop of the Basilique Notre-Dame de Brebières (French) Basilica of Our Lady of Brebières, a Catholic Church in Albert, France, it was sculpted by Albert Roze. After being nearly toppled by shellfire in the 1916 Battle of the Somme,^[C] it became a symbol of resilience and a great visual icon during World War I. The original statue was damaged and leaning in 1915 and went missing when it finally fell in 1918 as a result of the ultimate British bombardment. The detruction was elevated to mythical proportions.^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13]^[14] Anticipated toppling of the statue was superstitiously ascribed as having an actual effect on the outcome of the war. It was recast and replaced.

Materials

The sculpture was covered with thousands of gold leaves. Pope Leo XIII christened the church and seeing the Golden Virgin he called the basilica “Lourdes of the North.” The sculpture was fastened to the bell tower.^[15] In 1915, it was leaning after 2000 shells hit the town and Basilica.^[15] Engineers fastened a chain to keep it from toppling.^[D]

Background

In 1915 during The Battle of the Somme, World War I, the sculpture was shelled and leaning past 90 degrees.^[2]^[17]

In 1914 the Germans suspected there was a French observation post in the bell tower, so beginning in October 1914 they shelled the dome. By January 7, 1915, the dome was destroyed and by January 21, 1915, the base of the statue was hit and the statue "tilted alarmingly".^[18] The sculpture was designed by French sculptor Albert Roze and in 1897 and it was placed atop the Basilique Notre-Dame de Brebières. The sculpture depicts a golden colored Virgin Mary holding the infant Christ high above her head. Although artillery shells destroyed much of the town of Albert, the statue of Mary remained attached to the Basilica and badly tilted.^[17]

Superstitious soldiers studied the sculpture daily - wrote about her in their diaries and remarked that she was knocked over... threatening to fall over at any time. The messages about the statue were passed between troops; and it was often said that it was a portent: “When the Virgin falls, the war will end.”. Soldiers also said whoever knocked the statue down would lose the war.^[E]

The statue became a symbol to British and German troops as soldiers remarked that the Virgin Mary was keeping the baby Christ from falling.^[20] By 1918 the German troops occupied the city of Albert, and the British shelled the Basilique to deprive the Germans of the high position, and the statue finally was toppled. The statue was never recovered.^[1]^[18] Coincidentally, WWI ended November 11, 1918.^[21]

As was reported at the time:

”It was the tradition of the French peasants that when the Virgin fell the war would come to an end. It is said that an Australian gunner finally brought it down. At any rate, when the Germans were beaten back at end end of the last Allied offensive and Albert was retaken, the tower and statute had fallen in ruins. The peasants believe that the luck of the Germans had deserted them when the Virgin of Albert fell. From that day the power of the enemy waned, and this leaning statue certainly marked the high tide of the German invasion.”^[22]

Residents discussed placing the sculpture in her famous war-time pose. They eventually decided to place her in her original standing pose.^[1] The sculpture of the Golden Virgin was recast 1929^[15] and fitted atop the 76 m (249 ft 4 in) bell tower during the reconstruction of the Basilica.^[23]

The photo of leaning virgin was a fascination for many, and soldiers took photos: it appeared on many postcards at the time.^[2]^[19] The actions of French engineers in shoring it up continue to be a source of amazement. Over one hundred years later, it remains a symbol and metaphor for the triumph of good over evil.^[24]^[F] It is a landmark,^[2] tourist attraction^[26] and an artistic inspiration.^[27]

In 1957, and thereafter in many subsequent editions, the events surrounding the church and its sculpture were the subject of a popular novel by Henry Williamson, titled The Golden Virgin, being Volume 6 of the A Chronicle of Ancient Sunlight series. It was selected as a Daily Mail Book of the Month. ^[28]

Celebrations

On September 8, a novena is celebrated to honor the Leaning Virgin.^[29]^[30]^[31]

1915-1917, Havoc of War - Ruins - France - Cities - A - Church of Notre Dame at Albert, France - War Department
1914–1917, Daily Mail Official War Photograph, "The Church at Albert". "Passed by Censor" and "The Germans bombardment caused this strange bending downwards of the Virgin and Child on Albert Church tower."
1915, View of the ruins of the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Brebières in Albert
1917, Item is a photograph from an album of World War One-related photographs in the William Okell Holden Dodds fonds. Brigadier General Dodds
1918, Side view of the heavily bomb-damaged La Basilique in the city of Albert, France
8/1918, British cavalry passing the ruins of Albert cathedral, France, during World War I
1918, Photograph from an album of World War One-related photographs in the William Okell Holden Dodds fonds
1914-1917 Havoc of War Ruins France Cities Cathedral ruined by German Artillery
1914-1918 Soldiers in front of the Notre-Dame de Brebières Basilica in Albert

References

Notes

^ Basilique Notre-Dame de Brebières with The Golden Virgin atop of the bell tower. The sculpture was created by Albert Roze and subsequently destroyed and lost during World War I.
^ "Most Tommies called it the ‘Leaning Virgin’ or the ‘Golden Virgin’. When the Australians arrived in July 1916 they had another name for it – Fanny Durack ... an Australian female olympic swimmer who had won a gold medal in the 1912 Olympics. The Diggers thought it looked like Fanny diving into a swimming pool!"^[2]
^ "The Battle of the Somme was fought from north of the Somme river between the towns of Albert and Arras. The Battle began on the 1 July and was called off on the 18 November 1916. The Battle of the Somme is famous for the loss of 58,000 British troops (one third of them killed) on the first day of the battle, 1 July 1916, which to this day remains a one-day record."^[3]
^ Some credit French Engineers.^[16] Other sources say it was either the British or the French who secured the statue with a thick cable.^[4] The mixup/discrepancy is understandable amidst the maelstrom and hindered battlefield observation or recording. It is perhaps attributable to The fog of war.
^ "No one wanted it to remain what it literally was, merely an accidentally damaged third-rate gilded metal statue now so tenuously fixed to its tower that it might fall any moment. Myth busily attached portent[i]ous meaning to it."^[19]^[15]^[17]
^ The Golden Virgin and "flying baby" statue was recast and placed upon the reconstructed basilica.^[25]

Citations

^ ^a ^b ^c Holt & Holt 2016, p. 368.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Reed, Paul. "WW1 Landmarks: The Leaning Virgin, Albert". Retrieved October 15, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Item MM 120129 Photograph - 'Basilica of Notre-Dame de Brebières', Albert, France, Sergeant John Lord, World War I, 1916". Museums Victoria. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
^ ^a ^b Aonghais 2014, pp. 380-381.
^ Holt, Holt & Gilbert 2008, p. 116.
^ The Illustrated War News. United Kingdom: Illustrated London News and Sketch. 1916. p. 7. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
^ Gervais 2014, pp. 117-118.
^ MacNintch 2007, pp. 472.
^ Samuels 2022, p. 132.
^ Cole 2016, pp. 119-120.
^ Cooper & Leonard 2015, p. 53.
^ Ferguson 2008, p. 88.
^ Van Emden 2016, p. 102.
^ Webster 2015, p. 91.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Daubs, Katie (October 15, 2018). "'When the Virgin falls, the war will end'". Toronto Star. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
^ Middlebrook 2018, p. 51.
^ ^a ^b ^c Walsh 2011, p. 177.
^ ^a ^b Sumner 2018, p. 45.
^ ^a ^b Fussell & Winter 2013, pp. 131–135.
^ Neiberg 2014, p. 39.
^ "Armistice Day: World War I ends". History. A&E Television Networks. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
^ Edgar, William G. (November 23, 1918). Victory at the British Front. p. 580. Retrieved November 16, 2022. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
^ David, Samantha (March 2, 2021). "€180million facelift for WW1 bombarded French basilica". The Connexion. English Language Media. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
^ Part-time Priest (November 7, 2015), Sermon: The Leaning Virgin
^ "Basilique Notre-Dame de Brebières, Albert, France". Retrieved October 14, 2021. A graceful building, topped with a golden Virgin and "flying baby."
^ Bailey 2014, p. 194.
^ Miller, Francis Trevelyan; Muirhead Bone, artist (1918). "Church of Notre Dame de Brebières in Albert, France — The Leaning Virgin from an etching by Muirhead Bone". Journal of American History: 14, 68. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
^ Williamson, Henry. "The Golden Virgin (Vol. 6, A Chronicle of Ancient Sunlight)". The Henry Williamson Society. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
^ Ziolkowski 2018, p. 24, 189.
^ Roy 2005, p. 76.
^ Santoro 2011, p. 171.

,

Bibliogaphy

Aonghais, Clinton Mhic (2014). The Baker Boys. Bloomington, Indiana: Trafford Publishing. p. 380. ISBN 978-1-4907-3909-0. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
Bailey, Rosemary (April 2014). DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: France (ebook). United Kingdom: DK Publishing. p. 194. ISBN 9781465421760. ISBN, 1465421769.
Cole, Kate J. (May 15, 2016). Postcards from the Front 1914-1919 (ebook). n Stroud, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom: Amberley Publishing. pp. 119–120. ISBN 9781445635217. ISBN 1445635216.
Cooper, Stephen; Leonard, Jason (August 3, 2015). After the Final Whistle: The First Rugby World Cup and the First World War (ebook). History Press. p. 53. ISBN 9780750965668. ISBN 0750965665.
Ferguson, Niall (August 5, 2008). The Pity of War: Explaining World War I (ebook). United States: Basic Books. p. 88. ISBN 9780786725298. ISBN 078672529X.
Fussell, Paul; Winter, J.M. (June 12, 2013). "Myth, Ritual, and Romance". The Great War and Modern Memory (Paperback) (New ed.). New York, New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 131–35. ISBN 9780199971954.
Gervais, Reginald A. (December 17, 2014). The Silent Sixtieth 100 Years on (ebook). FriesenPress. pp. 117–118. ISBN 9781460254110. ISBN 1460254112.
Holt, Tonie; Holt, Valmai (June 30, 2016). Somme 100th Anniversary (ebook). Yorkshire, England: Pen & Sword Books. ISBN 9781473866744. ISBN 147386674X.
Holt, Tonie; Holt, Valmai; Gilbert, Martin (June 15, 2008). Major and Mrs. Holt's Battlefield Guide to the Somme (ebook). United Kingdom: Pen & Sword Books. p. 116. ISBN 9781783035090. ISBN 1783035099.
Middlebrook, Martin (April 1, 2018). The First Day on the Somme: 1 July 1916. London England: Penguin Publishing. p. 51. ISBN 978-0141981604. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
MacNintch, John (2007). The Brother Keepers: The Great War Odyssey of Sable MacInnes and His Brothers (Hardcover). AquaDoc Publications. p. 472. ISBN 9780978750503. ISBN 0978750500.
Neiberg, Michael S. (February 16, 2014). The Western Front 1914–1916. Oxford, United Kingdom: Amber Books. p. 39. ISBN 9781908273109. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
Roy, Christian (2005). Traditional Festivals: A Multicultural Encyclopedia (Hardcover). Vol. 1. United Kingdom: ABC-CLIO. p. 76.
Samuels, Dorothy Gage, A.P.I.S. (2022). With the Ulster Division in France: A Story of the 11th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles (South Antrim Volunteers), From Bordon to Thiepval. DigiCat, 2022. p. 132.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Santoro, Nicholas J. (August 12, 2011). Mary in Our Life: Atlas of the Names and Titles of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and Their Place in Marian Devotion (ebook). iUniverse. p. 171. ISBN 9781462040223. ISBN 1462040225.
Sumner, Ian (November 30, 2018). The French Army on the Somme 1916 (ebook). Great Britain: Pen and Sword Military. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-52672-548-6. ISBN 1526725495. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
Van Emden, Richard (March 31, 2016). The Somme: The Epic Battle in the Soldiers' Own Words and Photographs (ebook). United Kingdom: Pen & Sword Books. p. 102. ISBN 9781473855229. ISBN 1473855225.
Walsh, Michael (September 30, 2011). Brothers in War. London, United Kingdom: Ebury Publishing. p. 177. ISBN 9781446446157. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
Webster, Anne L. (September 8, 2015). Mississippians in the Great War: Selected Letters (ebook). United States: University Press of Mississippi. p. 91. ISBN 9781496802804. ISBN 1496802802.
Williamson, Henry. "The Golden Virgin (Vol. 6, A Chronicle of Ancient Sunlight)". The Henry Williamson Society. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
Ziolkowski, Jan M. (2018). The Juggler of Notre Dame and the Medievalising of Modernity: The Middle Ages. Vol. 1. Open Book Publishers. p. 24, 189.
"Item MM 120129 Photograph - 'Basilica of Notre-Dame de Brebières', Albert, France, Sergeant John Lord, World War I, 1916". Museums Victoria. Retrieved October 15, 2021.

External links

Item MM 120230 Photograph - Damage to Golden Virgin, Albert, France, Sergeant John Lord, World War I, 1917 Victoria and Albert Museum
Visit Somme website
WW1 Landmarks: The Leaning Virgin, Albert Photograph
Stock photograph, The Leaning Virgin of Albert, France, A WW1 legend Photograph
Stock photograph, Albert, Picardy, France. Golden Virgin atop steeple of Basilica of Notre Dame de Brebieres after being hit by German shellfire

[1] Basilique Notre-Dame de Brebières with The Golden Virgin atop of the bell tower. The sculpture was created by Albert Roze and subsequently destroyed and lost during World War I.

[4] "Most Tommies called it the ‘Leaning Virgin’ or the ‘Golden Virgin’. When the Australians arrived in July 1916 they had another name for it – Fanny Durack ... an Australian female olympic swimmer who had won a gold medal in the 1912 Olympics. The Diggers thought it looked like Fanny diving into a swimming pool!"^[2]

[6] "The Battle of the Somme was fought from north of the Somme river between the towns of Albert and Arras. The Battle began on the 1 July and was called off on the 18 November 1916. The Battle of the Somme is famous for the loss of 58,000 British troops (one third of them killed) on the first day of the battle, 1 July 1916, which to this day remains a one-day record."^[3]

[20] Some credit French Engineers.^[16] Other sources say it was either the British or the French who secured the statue with a thick cable.^[4] The mixup/discrepancy is understandable amidst the maelstrom and hindered battlefield observation or recording. It is perhaps attributable to The fog of war.

[24] "No one wanted it to remain what it literally was, merely an accidentally damaged third-rate gilded metal statue now so tenuously fixed to its tower that it might fall any moment. Myth busily attached portent[i]ous meaning to it."^[19]^[15]^[17]

[31] The Golden Virgin and "flying baby" statue was recast and placed upon the reconstructed basilica.^[25]

[FOOTNOTEHoltHolt2016[httpswwwgooglecombookseditionSomme_100th_AnniversaryaRYDDAAAQBAJhlengbpv1dqBasiliqueNotre-DamedeBrebiC3A8respgPT123_368]-2] Holt & Holt 2016, p. 368.

[Great-3] Reed, Paul. "WW1 Landmarks: The Leaning Virgin, Albert". Retrieved October 15, 2021.

[Victoria-5] "Item MM 120129 Photograph - 'Basilica of Notre-Dame de Brebières', Albert, France, Sergeant John Lord, World War I, 1916". Museums Victoria. Retrieved October 15, 2021.

[FOOTNOTEAonghais2014[httpsbooksgooglecombooksid7wfZBQAAQBAJqthegoldenvirginfrenchengineerspgPA381_380-381]-7] Aonghais 2014, pp. 380-381.

[FOOTNOTEHoltHoltGilbert2008[httpswwwgooglecombookseditionMajor_Mrs_Holt_s_Battlefield_Guide_to_thDaKaBQAAQBAJhlengbpv1dqBasilicaofOurLadyofBrebiC3A8respgPT116_116]-8] Holt, Holt & Gilbert 2008, p. 116.

[Illustrated-9] The Illustrated War News. United Kingdom: Illustrated London News and Sketch. 1916. p. 7. Retrieved November 16, 2022.

[FOOTNOTEGervais2014[httpswwwgooglecombookseditionThe_Silent_Sixtieth_100_Years_On4lLjBQAAQBAJhlengbpv1dqBasilicaofOurLadyofBrebiC3A8respgPA117_117-118]-10] Gervais 2014, pp. 117-118.

[FOOTNOTEMacNintch2007[httpswwwgooglecombookseditionThe_Brother_KeepersK_MgAQAAIAAJhlengbpv1bsqBasilicaofOurLadyofBrebiC3A8resdqBasilicaofOurLadyofBrebiC3A8resprintsecfrontcover_472]-11] MacNintch 2007, pp. 472.

[FOOTNOTESamuels2022[httpswwwgooglecombookseditionWith_the_Ulster_Division_in_FranceaAJ2EAAAQBAJhlengbpv1dqBasilicaofOurLadyofBrebiC3A8respgPT132_132]-12] Samuels 2022, p. 132.

[FOOTNOTECole2016[httpswwwgooglecombookseditionPostcards_from_the_Front_1914_1919LsR5DAAAQBAJhlengbpv1dqBasilicaofOurLadyofBrebiC3A8respgPT119_119-120]-13] Cole 2016, pp. 119-120.

[FOOTNOTECooperLeonard2015[httpswwwgooglecombookseditionAfter_the_Final_WhistleJsQSDQAAQBAJhlengbpv1dqBasilicaofOurLadyofBrebiC3A8respgPP53_53]-14] Cooper & Leonard 2015, p. 53.

[FOOTNOTEFerguson2008[httpswwwgooglecombookseditionThe_Pity_of_War1Pp6BwAAQBAJhlengbpv1dqBasilicaofOurLadyofBrebiC3A8respgPA88_88]-15] Ferguson 2008, p. 88.

[FOOTNOTEVan_Emden2016[httpswwwgooglecombookseditionThe_SommeoVKqCwAAQBAJhlengbpv1dqBasilicaofOurLadyofBrebiC3A8respgPT102_102]-16] Van Emden 2016, p. 102.

[FOOTNOTEWebster2015[httpswwwgooglecombookseditionMississippians_in_the_Great_WarmoNqCgAAQBAJhlengbpv1dqBasilicaofOurLadyofBrebiC3A8respgPT91_91]-17] Webster 2015, p. 91.

[TS-18] Daubs, Katie (October 15, 2018). "'When the Virgin falls, the war will end'". Toronto Star. Retrieved October 13, 2021.

[FOOTNOTEMiddlebrook2018[httpsbooksgooglecombooksidoVilX9ilLgkCqthegoldenvirginfrenchengineerspgPT51_51]-19] Middlebrook 2018, p. 51.

[FOOTNOTEWalsh2011[httpswwwgooglecombookseditionBrothers_in_WarEPOvl5vYpl0Chlengbpv1dqBasiliqueNotre-DamedeBrebiC3A8respgPA177printsecfrontcover_177]-21] Walsh 2011, p. 177.

[FOOTNOTESumner2018[httpsbooksgooglecombooksid_LPNDwAAQBAJqleaningvirginsouvenirspgPT45_45]-22] Sumner 2018, p. 45.

[FOOTNOTEFussellWinter2013[httpwwwenglishemoryeduLostPoetsFussellhtml_131–135]-23] Fussell & Winter 2013, pp. 131–135.

[FOOTNOTENeiberg2014[httpswwwgooglecombookseditionThe_Western_Front_1914_1916LSfuBAAAQBAJhlengbpv1dqBasiliqueNotre-DamedeBrebiC3A8respgPT364printsecfrontcover_39]-25] Neiberg 2014, p. 39.

[History-26] "Armistice Day: World War I ends". History. A&E Television Networks. Retrieved October 13, 2021.

[27] Edgar, William G. (November 23, 1918). Victory at the British Front. p. 580. Retrieved November 16, 2022. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)

[rebuilt-28] David, Samantha (March 2, 2021). "€180million facelift for WW1 bombarded French basilica". The Connexion. English Language Media. Retrieved October 12, 2021.

[29] Part-time Priest (November 7, 2015), Sermon: The Leaning Virgin

[30] "Basilique Notre-Dame de Brebières, Albert, France". Retrieved October 14, 2021. A graceful building, topped with a golden Virgin and "flying baby."

[FOOTNOTEBailey2014[httpswwwgooglecombookseditionDK_Eyewitness_Travel_Guide_France1LMAAwAAQBAJhlengbpv1dqLeaningvirginalbertfrancepgPA194_194]-32] Bailey 2014, p. 194.

[33] Miller, Francis Trevelyan; Muirhead Bone, artist (1918). "Church of Notre Dame de Brebières in Albert, France — The Leaning Virgin from an etching by Muirhead Bone". Journal of American History: 14, 68. Retrieved November 16, 2022.

[34] Williamson, Henry. "The Golden Virgin (Vol. 6, A Chronicle of Ancient Sunlight)". The Henry Williamson Society. Retrieved October 14, 2021.

[FOOTNOTEZiolkowski2018[httpswwwgooglecombookseditionThe_Juggler_of_Notre_Dame_and_the_Mediev42tgDwAAQBAJhlengbpv1dqBasilicaofOurLadyofBrebiC3A8respgPA24_24,_189]-35] Ziolkowski 2018, p. 24, 189.

[FOOTNOTERoy2005[httpswwwgooglecombookseditionTraditional_FestivalsIKqOUfqt4cIChlengbpv1dqBasilicaofOurLadyofBrebiC3A8respgPA76_76]-36] Roy 2005, p. 76.

[FOOTNOTESantoro2011[httpswwwgooglecombookseditionMary_in_Our_LifeZXWRgP-0KBkChlengbpv1dqBasilicaofOurLadyofBrebiC3A8respgPA171_171]-37] Santoro 2011, p. 171.

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@@ Line 26: / Line 26: @@
 ==Materials==
-The sculpture was covered with thousands of [[gold leaf|gold leaves]]. [[Pope Leo XIII]] [[christening|christened]] the church and seeing the Golden Virgin he called the [[basilica]] “[[Lourdes]] of the North.” The sculpture was fastened to the [[bell tower]].<ref name="TS">{{cite news |last1=Daubs |first1=Katie |title='When the Virgin falls, the war will end' |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2014/05/23/superstitious-soldiers-saw-nearly-destroyed-statue-as-a-sign-from-the-heavens.html |access-date=13 October 2021 |newspaper=[[Toronto Star]] |date=15 October 2018}}</ref>  In 1915, it was leaning after 2000 shells hit the town and Basilica.<ref name="TS"/>  Engineers fastened a [[chain]] to keep it from toppling.{{efn-ua|Some credit French Engineers.{{sfn|Middlebrook|2018|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=oVilX9ilLgkC&q=the+golden+virgin+french+engineers&pg=PT51 51]}}  Other sources say it was either the British or the French who secured the statue with a thick cable.{{sfn|Aonghais|2014|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=7wfZBQAAQBAJ&q=the+golden+virgin+french+engineers&pg=PA381 380-381]}} The mixup/discrepancy is understandable amidst the maelstrom and hindered [[Battlefield|battlefield]] observation or recording.  It is perhaps attributable to [[The fog of war]].}}
+The sculpture was covered with thousands of [[gold leaf|gold leaves]]. [[Pope Leo XIII]] [[christening|christened]] the church and seeing the Golden Virgin he called the [[basilica]] “[[Lourdes]] of the North.” The sculpture was fastened to the [[bell tower]].<ref name="TS">{{cite news |last1=Daubs |first1=Katie |title='When the Virgin falls, the war will end' |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2014/05/23/superstitious-soldiers-saw-nearly-destroyed-statue-as-a-sign-from-the-heavens.html |access-date=13 October 2021 |newspaper=[[Toronto Star]] |date=15 October 2018}}</ref>  In 1915, it was leaning after 2000 shells hit the town and Basilica.<ref name="TS"/>  Engineers fastened a [[chain]] to keep it from toppling.{{efn-ua|Some credit French Engineers.{{sfn|Middlebrook|2018|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=oVilX9ilLgkC&q=the+golden+virgin+french+engineers&pg=PT51 51]}}  Other sources say it was either the British or the French who secured the statue with a thick cable.{{sfn|Aonghais|2014|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=7wfZBQAAQBAJ&q=the+golden+virgin+french+engineers&pg=PA381 380-381]}} The mixup/discrepancy is understandable amidst the maelstrom and hindered [[battlefield]] observation or recording.  It is perhaps attributable to [[The fog of war]].}}
 ==Background==
@@ Line 36: / Line 36: @@
 [[File:Albert Cathedral "as it is to-day" (19705521768).jpg|thumb|281x281px|Photo of the near complete destruction of the Basilique Notre-Dame de Brebières taken after the golden Virgin fell and went missing in 1918. Photo by Brigadier General [[W. O. H. Dodds|William Okell Holden Dodds]] commanding officer of the 5th Canadian Division Artillery.]]
-[[Superstitious]] soldiers studied the sculpture daily - wrote about her in their [[diary|diaries]] and remarked that she was knocked over... threatening to fall over at any time. The messages about the statue were passed between troops; and it was often said that it was a portent: “When the Virgin falls, the war will end.”. Soldiers also said whomever knocked the statue down would lose the war.{{efn-ua|"No one wanted it to remain what it literally was, merely an accidentally damaged third-rate gilded metal statue now so tenuously fixed to its tower that it might fall any moment. Myth busily attached portent[i]ous meaning to it."{{sfn|Fussell|Winter|2013|pages=[http://www.english.emory.edu/LostPoets/Fussell.html 131–135]}}<ref name="TS"/>{{sfn|Walsh|2011|page=[https://www.google.com/books/edition/Brothers_in_War/EPOvl5vYpl0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Basilique+Notre-Dame+de+Brebi%C3%A8res&pg=PA177&printsec=frontcover 177]}}}}
+[[Superstitious]] soldiers studied the sculpture daily - wrote about her in their [[diary|diaries]] and remarked that she was knocked over... threatening to fall over at any time. The messages about the statue were passed between troops; and it was often said that it was a portent: “When the Virgin falls, the war will end.”. Soldiers also said whoever knocked the statue down would lose the war.{{efn-ua|"No one wanted it to remain what it literally was, merely an accidentally damaged third-rate gilded metal statue now so tenuously fixed to its tower that it might fall any moment. Myth busily attached portent[i]ous meaning to it."{{sfn|Fussell|Winter|2013|pages=[http://www.english.emory.edu/LostPoets/Fussell.html 131–135]}}<ref name="TS"/>{{sfn|Walsh|2011|page=[https://www.google.com/books/edition/Brothers_in_War/EPOvl5vYpl0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Basilique+Notre-Dame+de+Brebi%C3%A8res&pg=PA177&printsec=frontcover 177]}}}}
 The statue became a symbol to [[British troops|British]] and [[German Army order of battle, Western Front (1918)|German troops]] as soldiers remarked that the Virgin Mary was keeping the baby Christ from falling.{{sfn|Neiberg|2014|page=[https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Western_Front_1914_1916/LSfuBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Basilique+Notre-Dame+de+Brebi%C3%A8res&pg=PT364&printsec=frontcover 39]}} By 1918 the German troops occupied the city of Albert, and the British shelled the Basilique to deprive the Germans of the high position, and the statue finally was toppled. The statue was never recovered.{{sfn|Holt|Holt|2016|page=[https://www.google.com/books/edition/Somme_100th_Anniversary/aRYDDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Basilique+Notre-Dame+de+Brebi%C3%A8res&pg=PT123 368]}}{{sfn|Sumner|2018|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=_LPNDwAAQBAJ&q=leaning+virgin+souvenirs&pg=PT45 45]}}  Coincidentally, WWI ended November 11, 1918.<ref name="History">{{cite web |title=Armistice Day: World War I ends |url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/world-war-i-ends |website=History |publisher=[[A&E Television Networks]] |access-date=13 October 2021}}</ref>
@@ Line 87: / Line 87: @@
 *{{cite book |last1=Aonghais |first1=Clinton Mhic |title=The Baker Boys |date=2014 |publisher=[[Trafford Publishing]] |location=Bloomington, Indiana |isbn=978-1-4907-3909-0 |page=380 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7wfZBQAAQBAJ&q=the+golden+virgin+french+engineers&pg=PA381 |access-date=13 October 2021}}
 *{{cite book |url= https://www.google.com/books/edition/DK_Eyewitness_Travel_Guide_France/1LMAAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Leaning+virgin+albert+france&pg=PA194 |page=194 |last1=Bailey |first1=Rosemary |authorlink1=Rosemary Bailey (author) |title=DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: France |location=United Kingdom |isbn=9781465421760 |id=ISBN, 1465421769 |date=April 2014 |type=ebook |publisher=[[DK (publisher)|DK Publishing]]|language=English}}
-*{{cite book |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Postcards_from_the_Front_1914_1919/LsR5DAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Basilica+of+Our+Lady+of+Brebi%C3%A8res&pg=PT119 |pages=119-120|title=Postcards from the Front 1914-1919 |first1=Kate J. |last1=Cole |year=2016 |isbn=9781445635217 |id=ISBN 1445635216 |date=May 15, 2016 |type=ebook |publisher=[[Amberley Publishing]] |language=English |location=n Stroud, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom}}
+*{{cite book |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Postcards_from_the_Front_1914_1919/LsR5DAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Basilica+of+Our+Lady+of+Brebi%C3%A8res&pg=PT119 |pages=119–120|title=Postcards from the Front 1914-1919 |first1=Kate J. |last1=Cole |isbn=9781445635217 |id=ISBN 1445635216 |date=May 15, 2016 |type=ebook |publisher=[[Amberley Publishing]] |language=English |location=n Stroud, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom}}
-*{{cite book |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/After_the_Final_Whistle/JsQSDQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Basilica+of+Our+Lady+of+Brebi%C3%A8res&pg=PP53 |page=53 |title=After the Final Whistle: The First Rugby World Cup and the First World War |first1=Stephen |last1=Cooper |first2=Jason |last2=Leonard |year=2015 |isbn=9780750965668 |id=ISBN 0750965665 |date=August 3, 2015 |type=ebook |publisher=[[History Press]] |language=English}}
+*{{cite book |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/After_the_Final_Whistle/JsQSDQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Basilica+of+Our+Lady+of+Brebi%C3%A8res&pg=PP53 |page=53 |title=After the Final Whistle: The First Rugby World Cup and the First World War |first1=Stephen |last1=Cooper |first2=Jason |last2=Leonard |isbn=9780750965668 |id=ISBN 0750965665 |date=August 3, 2015 |type=ebook |publisher=[[History Press]] |language=English}}
-*{{cite book |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Pity_of_War/1Pp6BwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Basilica+of+Our+Lady+of+Brebi%C3%A8res&pg=PA88 |page=88|title=The Pity of War: Explaining World War I |first1=Niall |last1=Ferguson |year=2008 |isbn=9780786725298 |id=ISBN 078672529X |date=August 5, 2008 |type=ebook |publisher=[[Basic Books]] |language=English |location=United States}}
+*{{cite book |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Pity_of_War/1Pp6BwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Basilica+of+Our+Lady+of+Brebi%C3%A8res&pg=PA88 |page=88|title=The Pity of War: Explaining World War I |first1=Niall |last1=Ferguson |isbn=9780786725298 |id=ISBN 078672529X |date=August 5, 2008 |type=ebook |publisher=[[Basic Books]] |language=English |location=United States}}
 *{{cite book |url=http://www.english.emory.edu/LostPoets/Fussell.html |first1=Paul |last1=Fussell |authorlink1=Paul Fussell|first2=J.M. |last2=Winter |location=New York, New York|title=The Great War and Modern Memory |pages=131–35 |chapter=Myth, Ritual, and Romance |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |edition=New |date=June 12, 2013 |language=English |type=Paperback |isbn=9780199971954}}
-*{{cite book |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Silent_Sixtieth_100_Years_On/4lLjBQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Basilica+of+Our+Lady+of+Brebi%C3%A8res&pg=PA117 |pages=117-118 |title=The Silent Sixtieth 100 Years on |first1=Reginald A. |last1=Gervais |year=2014 |isbn=9781460254110 |id=ISBN 1460254112
+*{{cite book |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Silent_Sixtieth_100_Years_On/4lLjBQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Basilica+of+Our+Lady+of+Brebi%C3%A8res&pg=PA117 |pages=117–118 |title=The Silent Sixtieth 100 Years on |first1=Reginald A. |last1=Gervais |isbn=9781460254110 |id=ISBN 1460254112
 |date=December 17, 2014|type=ebook |publisher=[[FriesenPress]] |language=English}}
-*{{cite book |last1=Holt |first1=Tonie |last2=Holt |first2=Valmai |title=Somme 100th Anniversary |location=Yorkshire, England |isbn=9781473866744 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Somme_100th_Anniversary/aRYDDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Basilique+Notre-Dame+de+Brebi%C3%A8res&pg=PT123&printsec=frontcover|year=2016 |id=ISBN 147386674X |date=June 30, 2016 |type=ebook |publisher=Pen & Sword Books |language=English}}
+*{{cite book |last1=Holt |first1=Tonie |last2=Holt |first2=Valmai |title=Somme 100th Anniversary |location=Yorkshire, England |isbn=9781473866744 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Somme_100th_Anniversary/aRYDDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Basilique+Notre-Dame+de+Brebi%C3%A8res&pg=PT123&printsec=frontcover|id=ISBN 147386674X |date=June 30, 2016 |type=ebook |publisher=Pen & Sword Books |language=English}}
 *{{cite book |url= https://www.google.com/books/edition/Major_Mrs_Holt_s_Battlefield_Guide_to_th/DaKaBQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Basilica+of+Our+Lady+of+Brebi%C3%A8res&pg=PT116 |page=116 |title=Major and Mrs. Holt's Battlefield Guide to the Somme |first1=Tonie |last1=Holt |first2=Valmai |last2=Holt |last3=Gilbert|first3=Martin |date=June 15, 2008 |type=ebook |location=United Kingdom |publisher=Pen & Sword Books |language=English |isbn=9781783035090 |id=ISBN 1783035099}}
 *{{cite book |last1=Middlebrook |first1=Martin |authorlink1=Martin Middlebrook|title=The First Day on the Somme: 1 July 1916 |date=1 April 2018 |publisher=[[Penguin Publishing]]|location=London England |isbn=978-0141981604 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oVilX9ilLgkC&q=the+golden+virgin+french+engineers&pg=PT51 |access-date=13 October 2021 |page=51}}
@@ Line 100: / Line 100: @@
 *{{cite book |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Traditional_Festivals/IKqOUfqt4cIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Basilica+of+Our+Lady+of+Brebi%C3%A8res&pg=PA76 |page=76 |title=Traditional Festivals: A Multicultural Encyclopedia |volume=1 |first1=Christian |last1=Roy |year=2005 |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |type=Hardcover |language=English |location=United Kingdom}}
 *{{cite book |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/With_the_Ulster_Division_in_France/aAJ2EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Basilica+of+Our+Lady+of+Brebi%C3%A8res&pg=PT32 |page=132 |title=With the Ulster Division in France: A Story of the 11th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles (South Antrim Volunteers), From Bordon to Thiepval. DigiCat, 2022|first1=Dorothy Gage, A.P.I.S. |last1=Samuels |year=2022}}
-*{{cite book |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mary_in_Our_Life/ZXWRgP-0KBkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Basilica+of+Our+Lady+of+Brebi%C3%A8res&pg=PA171 |page=171 |title=Mary in Our Life: Atlas of the Names and Titles of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and Their Place in Marian Devotion |first1=Nicholas J. |last1=Santoro |year=2011 |isbn=9781462040223 |id=ISBN 1462040225 |date=August 12, 2011 |type=ebook |publisher=[[iUniverse]] |language=English}}
+*{{cite book |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mary_in_Our_Life/ZXWRgP-0KBkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Basilica+of+Our+Lady+of+Brebi%C3%A8res&pg=PA171 |page=171 |title=Mary in Our Life: Atlas of the Names and Titles of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and Their Place in Marian Devotion |first1=Nicholas J. |last1=Santoro |isbn=9781462040223 |id=ISBN 1462040225 |date=August 12, 2011 |type=ebook |publisher=[[iUniverse]] |language=English}}
 *{{cite book |last1=Sumner |first1=Ian |title=The French Army on the Somme 1916 |publisher=[[Pen and Sword Military]] |location=Great Britain |isbn=978-1-52672-548-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_LPNDwAAQBAJ&q=leaning+virgin+souvenirs&pg=PT45 |access-date=13 October 2021 |page=45 |id=ISBN 1526725495 |date=November 30, 2018 |type=ebook |language=English}}
-*{{cite book |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Somme/oVKqCwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Basilica+of+Our+Lady+of+Brebi%C3%A8res&pg=PT102 |page=102  |title=The Somme: The Epic Battle in the Soldiers' Own Words and Photographs |first1=Richard |last1=Van Emden |year=2016 |isbn=9781473855229 |id=ISBN 1473855225 |date=March 31, 2016|type=ebook
+*{{cite book |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Somme/oVKqCwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Basilica+of+Our+Lady+of+Brebi%C3%A8res&pg=PT102 |page=102  |title=The Somme: The Epic Battle in the Soldiers' Own Words and Photographs |first1=Richard |last1=Van Emden |isbn=9781473855229 |id=ISBN 1473855225 |date=March 31, 2016|type=ebook
 |publisher=Pen & Sword Books |language=English |location=United Kingdom}}
 *{{cite book |last1=Walsh |first1=Michael |authorlink1=Michael Walsh (author) |title=Brothers in War |date=30 September 2011 |publisher=[[Ebury Publishing]] |location=London, United Kingdom |isbn=9781446446157 |page=177 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Brothers_in_War/EPOvl5vYpl0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Basilique+Notre-Dame+de+Brebi%C3%A8res&pg=PA177&printsec=frontcover |access-date=13 October 2021}}
-*{{cite book |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mississippians_in_the_Great_War/moNqCgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Basilica+of+Our+Lady+of+Brebi%C3%A8res&pg=PT91 |page=91 |title=Mississippians in the Great War: Selected Letters |first1=Anne L. |last1=Webster |year=2015 |isbn=9781496802804 |id=ISBN 1496802802 |date=September 8, 2015|type=ebook|publisher=[[University Press of Mississippi]] |language=English |location=United States}}
+*{{cite book |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mississippians_in_the_Great_War/moNqCgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Basilica+of+Our+Lady+of+Brebi%C3%A8res&pg=PT91 |page=91 |title=Mississippians in the Great War: Selected Letters |first1=Anne L. |last1=Webster |isbn=9781496802804 |id=ISBN 1496802802 |date=September 8, 2015|type=ebook|publisher=[[University Press of Mississippi]] |language=English |location=United States}}
 *{{cite web |first1=Henry |last1=Williamson |authorlink1=Henry Williamson |url=https://www.henrywilliamson.co.uk/bibliography/a-lifes-work/the-golden-virgin |publisher=The Henry Williamson Society |title=The Golden Virgin (Vol. 6, A Chronicle of Ancient Sunlight) |accessdate=October 14, 2021}}
 *{{cite book |title=The Juggler of Notre Dame and the Medievalising of Modernity: The Middle Ages |volume=1 |year=2018 |publisher=[[Open Book Publishers]]|page=[https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Juggler_of_Notre_Dame_and_the_Mediev/42tgDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Basilica+of+Our+Lady+of+Brebi%C3%A8res&pg=PA24 24, 189]|language=English
@@ Line 120: / Line 120: @@
 {{Virgin Mary}}
 {{World War I}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:The Golden Virgin}}

v t e Sculpture
Types of sculpture	Architectural sculpture Assemblage Bas relief Bust Effigy Gas sculpture Earth art Environmental sculpture Figurine Installation art Kinetic sculpture Mobile Monumental Pedimental Soft sculpture Statue Stele
Styles of sculpture	Baroque Classical Detonography Jain sculpture Modern sculpture Relief Renaissance
Elements in sculpture	Mass Negative space Space Volume
Traditional materials	Wood Marble Limestone Granite Porphyry Diorite Jade Ivory Clay Terracotta Bronze Gold Silver Butter Soapstone
Modern materials	Steel Ice Jesmonite Acrylic Concrete Plastic Fiberglass Glass Aluminium Fabric Paper Found object
Notable sculptures	Great Sphinx of Giza (c. 2558–2532 BCE) Abu Simbel temples (c. 1264 BCE) Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon (438 BCE) Colossus of Rhodes (c. 292 BCE) Winged Victory of Samothrace (c. 2nd century BCE) Terracotta Army (246–210 BCE) Laocoön and His Sons (c. 200 BCE – 70 CE) Venus de Milo (130–100 BCE) Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius (175 CE) Buddhas of Bamiyan (507–554 CE) Chartes Cathedral (c. 1194–1250 CE) Konark Sun Temple (1250 CE) Moai, Easter Islands (1250–1500 CE) Pietà (1498–1499) David (1501–1504) Veiled Christ (1753) Kamagaya Great Buddha (1776) Nelson's Column (1843) Lion of Belfort (1880) The Kiss (1882) Liberty Enlightening the World, Statue of Liberty (1886) The Gates of Hell (1890–1917) The Golden Virgin (1897) The Thinker (1904) Jules Verne's tomb (1907) Abraham Lincoln (1920) Mount Rushmore Shrine of Democracy (1927–1941) Christ the Redeemer (1927–1931) The Motherland Calls (1967) Fallen Astronaut (1971) Mother Ukraine (1981) Genghis Khan Equestrian Statue (2008) Statue of Unity (2018)
Category Outline