Abstract

This article presents a historical overview of Marian compositions structured on the scheme of chairetism and polionimia, which combines the repetition of the greeting χαῖρε with the multiplication of the symbolic names of the Virgin. In our study we start with the oldest pieces that share this structure as Marian homilies, hymns and prayers of the Eastern and Roman rites in order to examine their influence on the Hispanic religious literature. Our analysis focuses on both the evolution of this particular compositional model and its different variants, as well as the liturgical and paraliturgical use that the Church has made of it over the centuries.