Dear Malcom,
This reply will probably be rather vague. I suppose that the crux
floridus motif may be related to the legend of the Holy Cross, ie.
that it was made from a tree which grew from an apple seed planted in
Adam's mouth (I believe). I also wonder whether it anticipates and
relates to the iconography of the Lily Crucifix, found in later
medieval depictions of the Annunciation. The imagery of the cross
as a tree bearing fruit is also found in iconography associated with
St Bonaventura, where the fruit are associated with virtues or
(sometimes) with incidents from the life of Christ. This type of
depiction is satirised in a fourteenth-century anti-Franciscan satire
from England, for which see, B.Brian, 'Franciscan scenes in a
fourteenth-century satire', Medium Aevum, 41 (1972). I have the
impression that the motif of the cross as a tree is an ancient one;
is it not found in the pange lingua? I am sure that my erudite
colleagues on the list can add to my confused attempt at an answer.
With Best Wishes
Miriam Gill
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