upper portion is dominated by a crowned figure of Christ the King posed with open arms blessing the Earth. Poetry and music The symbolic device of the Tree of Jesse has featured in Christian hymns since at least the 8th century, when Cosmas the Melodist wrote a hymn about the Virgin Mary flowering from the Root of Jesse, (translated in 1862 by John Mason Neale as "Rod of the Root of Jesse"). Virga Jesse floruit, an expression referring to the Virgin Mary and the birth of Christ, put to music, e.g., As a Gradual: (Alleluja, alleluja.) Virga Jesse floruit: Virgo Deum et hominem genuit: pacem Deus reddidit, in se reconcilians ima summis. Alleluja. William Byrd, included in his first book of Gradualia. Virga Jesse by Anton Bruckner As part of a longer Christmas hymn, the text of which is given by Vopelius and Spitta: Virga Jesse floruit Emanuel noster apparuit Induit carnem hominis Fit puer delectabilis. Alleluja used in a Christmas cantata by Johann Kuhnau included in Magnificat in E-flat major, BWV 243a by Johann Sebastian Bach In addition, the Tree of Jesse is also referenced in the medieval series of lyrical poems known as the Cantigas de Santa Maria, written during the reign of Alfonso X in the thirteenth century. Cantiga 20, "Virga de Jesse" makes use of the Tree of Jesse in the refrain of the song, further demonstrating its influence on medieval culture and thought: Virga de Jésse quen te soubésse loar como mereces e sen ouvésse per que dissésse quanto por nós padeces. The symbol of the Virgin Mary as a rose flowering from the Tree of Jesse forms the central image of the 15th-century German hymn, Es ist ein Ros entsprungen, commonly sung to a melody by Michael Praetorius. Various translations exist of this popular hymn, including Theodore Baker's "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming"(1894) and "A Spotless Rose" by Catherine Winkworth. Popular musical settings include works by Johannes Brahms and Herbert Howells. Modern use The Chrismon tree and the Advent calendar have been used by Christians, who may use the term "Jesse Tree" to refer to these, although the tree does not usually show Jesse or the Ancestors of Christ, and so may have little or no relation to the traditional Tree of Jesse. This form is a poster or a real tree in the church or home, which over the course of Advent