Mary and Joseph
Before we look further into Mary’s history, as constructed by the “forbidden” apocrypha, aided by some vivid imaginations, let us note the times when Mary actually is mentioned in the Scriptures:
• The Annunciation - when the Angel Gabriel announces that she will be the Mother of Jesus, and also informs her that her ageing cousin, the long barren Elizabeth, is expecting the child who will be His herald
• The Visitation - Mary travels to Judea to visit Elizabeth. John the Baptist, in his mother's womb, leaps for joy at Mary's approach, and Elizabeth is given the grace to know that Mary is the mother of the Saviour.
• The Nativity of Christ and the homage offered Him by the Wise Men from the East
• Jesus’s Presentation at the Temple
• The Flight into Egypt - which the family undertakes to escape the murderous rage of Herod the Great
• The Finding of Jesus in the Temple - Mary and Joseph look in vain for their lost adolescent son for three days, then find Him displaying His wisdom before the elders in the temple
• The Wedding Feast at Cana - Mary gently persuades her Son to work his first miracle, when the supply of wine is exhausted, presumably because many unexpected guests crashed the party in order to get a look at the newly acclaimed preacher - Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus obliges by turning water into wine.
• There is one reference, during Jesus’s time of public ministry, where He is informed that his mother is at the gate.
• Mary is present during Jesus’s crucifixion and referred to later in the Acts of the Apostles.
All in all, we know very little of Mary, and this would have been totally unacceptable to medieval minds, which thrived on detail. The basis for most of the extended picture long predates the Middle Ages, since the apocryphal books, condemned by Church authorities well before, date to the earliest Christian centuries. Their depiction in medieval art, and their use in sermons delivered by many saints, caused them to have great popularity.
A complete overview would be beyond the scope of its page, but I should like to present you with a sampler of the elaborate family tree with which our medieval friends were well acquainted.