In both the Eastern and the Western churches we find miraculous images of the Virgin Mary, which served as shields in battle. In the lands where the Turkish threat was imminent (the Austrian lands and Hungary), the subject of the miraculous intercession of the Virgin Mary in battle comes up quite oþen. This is also the case in the legend associated with the miraculous statue and image in Mariazell and in the case of the cult of the Virgin Mary the Helper — from Passau, where anti-Reformation motifs predominated (as criticism of Hussite iconoclasm and to help repulse the Swedes).