At the funeral of the Virgin Mary, Peter gave John a palm branch, saying: "It becometh one who is celibate to bear the Virgin's palm."[776] [Footnote 776: Voragine, _La legende doree_ (Assomption de la Vierge).] Throughout western Christendom the Virgin Mary--the Virgin _par excellence_--had been the object of zealous devout worship[777] ever since the twelfth century.

The great cathedrals of northern France, dedicated to Our Lady, celebrated the feast of their patron saint on the day of the Assumption.

On the sculptured pillar of the central porch was the Virgin, with her divine Child and the Virgin's lily.
Sometimes Eve figured beneath, in order to represent at once sin and its redemption: the second Eve redeeming the first, the Virgin exalted the woman humbled.

Marvellous scenes are portrayed on the tympanums of porches.

The Virgin is kneeling; at her side is a flowering lily in a vase.