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Visualising the Incarnation in Medieval Christianity

Universal Botanical Metaphors and Local Cult Practices

Institute for Art History, University of Marburg, Germany. E-mail: sakhan703{at}hotmail.com

Within Christian iconography and in medieval Christian cult practices, floral depictions play a major role. The genesis of such floral pictorial signs has not been addressed in art historical writing. This article attempts to trace the origins of the Christian floral iconography, investigates the perceptions and usages of such motifs in cult practices and proceeds to demonstrate the extent to which Christian sources shared a common under-standing with world religions such as Buddhism. Buddhist and Christian sources appear to have taken recourse to similar iconographic formulae in order to make abstract, invisible deities perceptible to the believer. Floral iconography in Christian cult practices was an effective medium to communicate Christ's birth through the Virgin Mary and the story of his unique Passion. By transcending common allusions to Incarnations, it is even able to transport meanings which help the believer to find consolation in his quest of the Christian afterlife.

The Medieval History Journal, Vol. 12, No. 1, 113-140 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/097194580901200105


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