The Representation of Protestants in the Legends of Marian Images in the Territories of the (Former) Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Abstract

The paper is devoted to the representation of Protestants in the stories (legends and miracles) about the miraculous images of Our Lady that come from the territories of the (former) Grand Duchy of Lithuania: involving those currently incorporated in Belarus, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine. It considers first the representation of both the locals who converted to Protestantism from Orthodoxy or Catholicism in the 16th–17th century and the Lutheran Swedish invaders of the 17th–18th century by their contemporaries and later investigates into how the image of Protestants changed with the course of time up to nowadays and what had an impact on this. Interestingly, that since the 19th century military invaders from Sweden were described in interchangeable manner with the French soldiers of Napoleon Bonaparte’s troops. And now we are witnessing the genesis of a German Nazi soldiers presentation in the miracles attributed to Virgin Mary’s images/icons.