Arbor genealogiae: Manifestations of the Tree in French Royal Genealogies
Marigold Anne Norbye
With its vital character - growing, flowering, extending roots into the ground, and branches leaves to sky tree is a polyvalent metaphor, suggestive symbol, an allegorical subject. During Middle Ages, number of iconographic schemata were based on image structure tree, including Tree Jesse Virtues Vices. From late eleventh century onwards such formulae increasingly used as devices for organizing knowledge representing theoretical concepts. Despite abstraction inherent in these schemata, however, semantic qualities trees persist their usage.
International medieval research