medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
> There is a consistent tradition in 15th century Welsh religious verse that
> the Crown of Thorns was made from what in Welsh is called ysbaddaden, namely
> `whitethorn' or `hawthorn'. This may merely be some local peculiarity, but
> Grigson does note that `the hawthorn has slightly sinister associations in
> folklore: above most plants in the far west of Europe (it is) a supernatural
> tree'.
I have been investigating numerous tales throughout Europe recently of miraculous
images of the Virgin Mary which were found in various sorts of trees, but the
hawthorn is prominent among them. According to William A. Christian, Apparitions
in Late Medieval and Renaissance Spain (Princeton, 1981), there is a relation in this
to the Burning Bush at Mt Sinai, and typologically, to the Immaculate Conception.
Thanks to Martin Howley for his reference to Robert Graves, and to others who
have proffered references to tree mythology.
Cheers,
Jim Bugslag
**********************************************************************
To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
to: [log in to unmask]
To send a message to the list, address it to:
[log in to unmask]
To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
to: [log in to unmask]
In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
[log in to unmask]
For further information, visit our web site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
|