The Carmelite background to the icon of the enthroned Virgin Mary in Nicosia

Abstract

The recent restoration of the icon with with the Virgin Mary with Carmelites preserved in Nicosia has enabled the Carmelite  background of the painting and the content of the miracle pictures to be identified. This article explains how the icon was inspired by  the miracle which took place in Toulouse in 1264 and the subsequent cures which were reported by pilgrims who prayed before the  statue of the Virgin Mary there. From the striped cloaks of the Carmelites, the icon must be dated before 1287, probably c1270-1275. It  is argued that the icon was originally commissioned to be placed in the chapel in Toulouse but, due to various events in the Order and  elsewhere, it was left in Cyprus and adorned the Carmelite church in Nicosia.