The Tree of Jesse is a depiction in art of the ancestors of
Jesus Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
, shown in a branching tree which rises from
Jesse
Jesse may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Jesse (biblical figure), father of David in the Bible.
* Jesse (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Jesse (surname), a list of people
Music
* ''Jesse'' (a ...
of
Bethlehem
Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...
, the father of
King David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
. It is the original use of the
family tree
A family tree, also called a genealogy or a pedigree chart, is a chart representing family relationships in a conventional tree structure. More detailed family trees, used in medicine and social work, are known as genograms.
Representations of ...
as a schematic representation of a
genealogy
Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...
.
The Tree of Jesse originates in a passage in the biblical
Book of Isaiah
The Book of Isaiah ( he, ספר ישעיהו, ) is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible and the first of the Major Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. It is identified by a superscription as the words of the 8th-century BC ...
which describes metaphorically the descent of the
Messiah
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; ,
; ,
; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of ''mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach'' ...
and is accepted by Christians as referring to
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
. The various figures depicted in the lineage of Jesus are drawn from those names listed in the
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and for ...
and the
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Together with the Acts of the Apostles, it makes up a two-volu ...
.
The subject is often seen in
Christian art, particularly in that of the
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
period. The earliest example is an
illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, the ...
which dates from the 11th century. There are many examples in medieval
psalter
A psalter is a volume containing the Book of Psalms, often with other devotional material bound in as well, such as a liturgical calendar and litany of the Saints. Until the emergence of the book of hours in the Late Middle Ages, psalters we ...
s, because of the relation to King David, son of Jesse, and writer of the
Psalms
The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...
. Other examples include
stained glass
Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
windows, stone carvings around the portals of medieval cathedrals, and painting on walls and ceilings. The Tree of Jesse also appears in smaller art forms such as embroideries and ivories.
Origins
Depictions of the Jesse Tree are based on a passage from the
Book of Isaiah
The Book of Isaiah ( he, ספר ישעיהו, ) is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible and the first of the Major Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. It is identified by a superscription as the words of the 8th-century BC ...
.
From the Latin
Vulgate
The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible.
The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...
Bible used in the Middle Ages:
''Flos'', pl ''flores'' is Latin for flower. ''Virga'' is a "green twig", "rod" or "broom", as well as a convenient near-pun with ''Virgo'' or Virgin, which undoubtedly influenced the development of the image. Thus Jesus is the ''Virga Jesse'' or "stem of Jesse".
In the
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
the lineage of Jesus is traced by two of the
Gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...
writers,
Matthew
Matthew may refer to:
* Matthew (given name)
* Matthew (surname)
* ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497
* ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith
* Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Ch ...
in descending order, and
Luke
People
*Luke (given name), a masculine given name (including a list of people and characters with the name)
*Luke (surname) (including a list of people and characters with the name)
*Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luke. Also known as ...
in ascending order.
Luke's Gospel's description in chapter 3 begins with Jesus himself and is traced all the way back, via
Nathan
Nathan or Natan may refer to:
People
*Nathan (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name
*Nathan (surname)
*Nathan (prophet), a person in the Hebrew Bible
* Nathan (son of David), biblical figure, son of King David an ...
to
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
and then on to "
Adam
Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...
, which was ''
he son
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
' of God.". ()
Matthew's Gospel
The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and form ...
opens with the words: "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham." () With this beginning, Matthew shows the Abrahamic and royal descent, passing through
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
, but then through
Solomon
Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Modern Hebrew, Modern: , Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yahweh, Yah"), ...
.
See
Genealogy of Jesus
The New Testament provides two accounts of the genealogy of Jesus, one in the Gospel of Matthew and another in the Gospel of Luke. Matthew starts with Abraham, while Luke begins with Adam. The lists are identical between Abraham and David, but ...
for more explanation of the differences, but both lineages permit the interpretation that Jesus is the "stem of Jesse" by his descent from Jesse's son,
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
.
Use
Pictorial representations of the ''Jesse Tree'' show a symbolic tree or vine with spreading branches to represent the genealogy in accordance with
Isaiah
Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named.
Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...
's prophecy. The 12th-century monk
Hervaeus expressed the medieval understanding of the image, based on the
Vulgate
The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible.
The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...
text: "The patriarch Jesse belonged to the royal family, that is why the root of Jesse signifies the lineage of kings. As to the rod, it symbolises Mary as the flower symbolises Jesus Christ."
[ Émile Mâle, ''The Gothic Image, Religious Art in France of the Thirteenth Century'', p 165-8, English trans of 3rd edn, 1913, Collins, London (and many other editions)] In the medieval period, when heredity was all-important, much greater emphasis than today was placed on the actual royal descent of Jesus, especially by royalty and the nobility, including those who had joined the clergy. Between them, these groups were responsible for much of the patronage of the arts.
During the Medieval era the symbol of the tree as an expression of lineage was adopted by the nobility and has passed into common usage initially in the form of the
family tree
A family tree, also called a genealogy or a pedigree chart, is a chart representing family relationships in a conventional tree structure. More detailed family trees, used in medicine and social work, are known as genograms.
Representations of ...
and later as a mode of expressing any line of descent. The form is widely used as a table in such disciplines as
biology
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...
. It is also used to show lines of responsibility in personnel structures such as government departments.
Modes of depiction
The ''Jesse Tree'' has been depicted in almost every medium of Christian art. In particular, it is the subject of many
stained glass
Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
windows and
illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, the ...
s. It is also found in wall
painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...
s, architectural carvings, funerary monuments, floor tiles and
embroidery
Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen on c ...
. Generally only a few of the most well known individuals, like Kings David and Solomon, are represented on Jesse Trees, rather than an attempt to display the entire lineage.
The first representations of the passage in Isaiah, from about 1000 AD in the West, show a "shoot" in the form of a straight stem or a flowering branch held in the hand most often by the Virgin, or by Jesus when held by Mary, by the prophet Isaiah or by an ancestor figure. The shoot as an attribute acted as a reminder of the prophecy, see also the tradition, apparently older, of the ''Golden Rose'' given by the Pope. In the Byzantine world, the Tree figures only as a normal-looking tree in the background of some Nativity scenes, also a reminder to the viewer.
[G Schiller, ''Iconography of Christian Art, Vol. I'',1971 (English trans from German), Lund Humphries, London, p15-22 & figs 17-42, ] Indeed, the Tree was always far more common in Northern Europe, where it may have
originated, than Italy.
There exist also other forms of representation of the
Genealogy of Jesus
The New Testament provides two accounts of the genealogy of Jesus, one in the Gospel of Matthew and another in the Gospel of Luke. Matthew starts with Abraham, while Luke begins with Adam. The lists are identical between Abraham and David, but ...
which do not employ the ''Jesse Tree'', the most famous being that painted in the
Sistine Chapel by
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...
.
The typical form of the image
The most typical form which the ''Jesse Tree'' takes is to show the figure of
Jesse
Jesse may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Jesse (biblical figure), father of David in the Bible.
* Jesse (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Jesse (surname), a list of people
Music
* ''Jesse'' (a ...
, often larger than all the rest, reclining or sleeping (perhaps by analogy to Adam when his rib was taken) at the foot of the pictorial space. From his side or his navel springs the trunk of a tree or vine which ascends, branching to either side. On the branches, usually surrounded by formally scrolling tendrils of foliage, are figures representing the ancestors of Christ. The trunk generally ascends vertically to Mary and then Christ at the top.
The number of figures depicted varies greatly, depending on the amount of room available for the design. As a maximum, if the longer ancestry from Luke is used, there are 43 generations between Jesse and Jesus. The identity of the figures also varies, and may not be specified, but
Solomon
Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Modern Hebrew, Modern: , Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yahweh, Yah"), ...
and
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
are usually included, and often all shown wear crowns. Most Jesse Trees include Mary immediately beneath the figure of Jesus (or, in the Gothic period, show a Virgin and Child), emphasising that she was the means by which the ''shoot of Jesse'' was born. See for example, Sermon 24 of
St Leo the Great: "In which rod, no doubt the blessed Virgin Mary is predicted, who sprung from the stock of Jesse and David and fecundated by the Holy Ghost, brought forth a new flower of human flesh, becoming a virgin-mother".
Saint Joseph
Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers of ...
is rarely shown, although unlike Mary he is a link in the Gospel genealogies. It was believed in the Middle Ages that the
House of David could only marry within itself, and that she was independently descended from Jesse. Sometimes Jesus and other figures are shown in the cups of flowers, as the fruit or blossom of the Tree.
The Jesse Tree was the only prophecy in the Old Testament to be so literally and frequently illustrated, and so came also to stand for the Prophets, and their foretelling of Christ, in general. Both the St-Denis and Chartres windows include columns of prophets, as do many depictions. Often they carry
banderoles with a quotation from their writings, and they may point to Christ, as the foretold Messiah.
The inclusion of kings and prophets was also an assertion of the inclusion and relevance in the biblical canon of books that some groups had rejected in the past.
While particularly popular in the
Medieval era, there were also many depictions of the ''Jesse Tree'' in
Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
art of the 19th century. The 20th century has also produced a number of fine examples.
Illuminated manuscripts
The Vysehrad Codex and Lambeth Palace Bible
The earliest known representation of the ''Jesse Tree'' can be firmly dated to 1086 and is in the ''
Vyšehrad Codex'', the Coronation Gospels of
Vratislav II
Vratislaus II (or Wratislaus II) ( cs, Vratislav II.) (c. 1032 – 14 January 1092), the son of Bretislaus I and Judith of Schweinfurt, was the first King of Bohemia as of 15 June 1085, his royal title granted as a lifetime honorific from Holy R ...
, the first monarch of
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
, which was previously a dukedom.
In a paper analysing this image, J.A. Hayes Williams points out that the iconography employed is very different from that usually found in such images, which she argues relates to an assertion of the rightful kingship of the royal patron. The page showing the ''Jesse Tree'' is accompanied by a number of other
illuminated pages of which four depict the
Ancestors of Christ
The New Testament provides two accounts of the genealogy of Jesus, one in the Gospel of Matthew and another in the Gospel of Luke. Matthew starts with Abraham, while Luke begins with Adam. The lists are identical between Abraham and David, but ...
. The ''Jesse Tree'' has not been used to support a number of figures, as is usual. Instead, the passage from Isaiah has been depicted in a very literal way. In the picture, the prophet
Isaiah
Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named.
Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...
approaches
Jesse
Jesse may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Jesse (biblical figure), father of David in the Bible.
* Jesse (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Jesse (surname), a list of people
Music
* ''Jesse'' (a ...
from beneath whose feet is springing a tree, and wraps around him a banner with words upon it which translate literally as:- "A little rod from Jesse gives rise to a splendid flower", following the language of the Vulgate. Instead of the ancestors seen in later depictions, seven doves (with
haloes) perch in the branches. These, in a motif from
Byzantine art
Byzantine art comprises the body of Christian Greek artistic products of the Eastern Roman Empire, as well as the nations and states that inherited culturally from the empire. Though the empire itself emerged from the decline of Rome and lasted ...
, represent the
Seven gifts of the Holy Spirit as described by the
Apostle Paul
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
.
Williams goes on to compare it with two other famous images, the ''Tree of Jesse'' window at
Chartres Cathedral and the ''
Lambeth Bible
The Lambeth Bible is a 12th-century illuminated manuscript (perhaps produced circa 1150–1170), among the finest surviving giant Bibles from Romanesque England. It exists in two volumes; the first is in Lambeth Palace Library (MS 3) and cov ...
'' in England.
Williams says:-
However this claim of Bohemian origin may be somewhat overstated, as there is an incipient version in an Anglo-Norman manuscript of similar date to the Vysehrad Codex.
In the first decades of the 12th century, the early
Cistercian
The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
illuminators of
Cîteaux Abbey played an important part in the development of the image of the Tree of Jesse, which was used to counter renewed tendencies to deny the humanity of Mary, which culminated in
Catharism
Catharism (; from the grc, καθαροί, katharoi, "the pure ones") was a Christian dualist or Gnostic movement between the 12th and 14th centuries which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France. Follow ...
. However, as Bernard of Clairvaux, strongly hostile to imagery, increased in influence in the order, their use of imagery ceased. The ''Lambeth Bible'' is dated between 1140 and 1150. The ''Jesse Tree'' illustration comes at the start of Isaiah and differs greatly from the earlier one, having much more the form that is familiar from both manuscript and stained glass versions. In it, Jesse lies at the border of the page with the tree springing from his side. The branches of the tree are depicted as highly formalised circular tendrils which enclose six pairs or trios of figures. At the centre, tall and highly stylised in the same manner as 12th-century columnar statues, stands a full-length
Blessed Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...
from whose head spring tendrils which enclose a bust of her Son,
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
. He is encircled by the seven doves, with outspread wings; this became the usual depiction of them. Four Prophets with scrolls occupy medallions in the corners.
Other illuminated manuscripts
The Tree appears in several other Romanesque Bibles apart from the ''Lambeth Bible'', usually as a large
historiated initial at the start of either Isaiah or Matthew. The
Saint-Bénigne Bible is perhaps the earliest appearance, with just Jesse and the doves of the "Seven Gifts". The
Capuchin's Bible (see picture) is a later example, c. 1180, in which a Jesse Tree forms the L of ''Liber generationis..'' at the start of the
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and for ...
.
The Tree is also often found in
Psalter
A psalter is a volume containing the Book of Psalms, often with other devotional material bound in as well, such as a liturgical calendar and litany of the Saints. Until the emergence of the book of hours in the Late Middle Ages, psalters we ...
s, especially English manuscripts, illustrating the B initial of ''
Beatus Vir
Beatus vir (; "Blessed is the man...") are the first words in the Latin Vulgate Bible of both Psalm 1 and Psalm 112 (in the general modern numbering; it is Psalm 111 in the Greek Septuagint and the Vulgate). In each case, the words are used to r ...
'', the beginning of
Psalm 1, which often occupies a whole page. Sometimes this is the only fully illuminated page, and if it is historiated (i.e. contains a pictured scene) the Tree is the usual subject. When not historiated, the initial had for about two hundred years been most often made up of, or filled with, spiraling plant tendrils, often with animals or men caught up in them, so the development to the tree was a relatively easy step. Indeed, although Jesse's son David was believed to be the author of the
Psalms, it has been suggested that the tradition of using a Jesse Tree here arose largely because it was an imposing design that worked well filling a large B shape.
An early example is the late 12th-century
Huntingfield Psalter, and an especially splendid one from the early 14th century is the
Gorleston Psalter
The Gorleston Psalter (British Library Add MS 49622) is a 14th-century manuscript notable for containing early music instruction and for its humorous marginalia.
It is named for the town of Gorleston in Norfolk.
Description
The Gorleston ...
in the
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
. In these and most other examples Jesse lies at the bottom of the B, and the Virgin is no larger than other figures. In the recently re-discovered
Macclesfield Psalter
The Macclesfield Psalter is a lavishly illuminated manuscript probably produced c. 1320–30 in East Anglia. The psalter, or book of Psalms, contains 252 beautifully illustrated pages and is named after its most recent owner, the Earl of ...
of about 1320 another very elaborate Tree grows beyond the B, sending branches round the sides and bottom of the text. In the Psalter and Hours of
John, Duke of Bedford
John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford KG (20 June 138914 September 1435) was a medieval English prince, general and statesman who commanded England's armies in France during a critical phase of the Hundred Years' War. Bedford was the third son of ...
(British Library Add MS 42131), of about 1420–23, the Tree frames the bottom and both sides of the page, while the initial B at the top of the page contains the ''anointing of King David''.
Some continental manuscripts give the scene a whole page with no initial. "Various selections" of the elements appear, and prophets and sometimes even the
Cumaean Sybil
The Cumaean Sibyl was the priestess presiding over the Apollonian oracle at Cumae, a Greek colony located near Naples, Italy. The word ''sibyl'' comes (via Latin) from the ancient Greek word ''sibylla'', meaning prophetess. There were many sibyl ...
(Ingeburg Psalter c. 1210) stand in the corners or to the side. A
Lectionary
A lectionary ( la, lectionarium) is a book or listing that contains a collection of scripture readings appointed for Christianity, Christian or Judaic worship on a given day or occasion. There are sub-types such as a "gospel lectionary" or evang ...
of before 1164 from Cologne unusually shows Jesse dead in a tomb or coffin, from which the tree grows.
Romanesque depictions usually show Jesse asleep on open ground or on a simple couch - all that can be told from the Bible about his circumstances is that he had sheep, which David herded. By the Gothic period small Trees are found in many types of manuscript, and Jesse is often more comfortably accommodated in a large bed.
Stained glass
Stained glass was a popular medium used in many eras to illuminate the sacred mysteries of the Old Covenant's relationship with the genealogy of Christ in the New Covenant.
Medieval
Jesse Tree at Chartres Cathedral
Among the famous stained glass windows of
Chartres Cathedral in Northern France is the ''Jesse Tree'' window, of 1140–50, the far right of three windows above the ''Royal Portal'' and beneath the western
rose window
Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' w ...
. It derives from the oldest known (and almost certainly the original) complex form of the ''Jesse Tree'', with the tree rising from a sleeping Jesse, a window placed in the
Saint-Denis Basilica
The Basilica of Saint-Denis (french: Basilique royale de Saint-Denis, links=no, now formally known as the ) is a large former medieval abbey church and present cathedral in the commune of Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. The building ...
by
Abbot Suger
Suger (; la, Sugerius; 1081 – 13 January 1151) was a French abbot, statesman, and historian. He once lived at the court of Pope Calixtus II in Maguelonne, France. He later became abbot of St-Denis, and became a close confidant to King Lo ...
in about 1140, which is now heavily restored.
The Chartres window comprises eight square central panels, with seven rectangular ones on either side, separated, as is usual in 12th-century windows with no stone tracery, by heavy iron armatures. In the lowest central panel reclines the figure of Jesse, with the tree rising from his middle. In each of the seven sections it branches out into a regular pattern of scrolling branches, each bearing a bunch of leaves that take on the heraldic form of the
Fleur de Lys, very common in French stained glass. Central to each panel is a figure:-
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
,
Solomon
Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Modern Hebrew, Modern: , Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yahweh, Yah"), ...
, two more crowned figures,
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
and, surrounded by the doves bearing the gifts of the Spirit, a majestic figure of
Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...
, larger than the rest. In each of the narrower panels, edged by richly patterned borders, are the figures of fourteen
prophet
In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...
s bearing scrolls.
Apart from the theological importance the design is one of the few subjects that works very well as a unified composition for one of the tall vertical spaces of the windows of Romanesque and Gothic churches; most other tall windows were divided into separate scenes. Saint-Denis and Chartres provided a model for many other such windows, notably the Jesse Tree windows of
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the ...
, c. 1200, probably also made in France, and St. Kunibert,
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
of 1220–35.
Section references:- Brown,
[Sarah Brown, ''Stained Glass, an Illustrated History'', Bracken books, ] Lee, Seddon and Stephens.
York Minster, England
A small and much fragmented panel from a ''Jesse Tree'' window, at
York Minster is thought to be the oldest surviving stained glass in England, dating from perhaps as early as 1150.
Canterbury Cathedral, England
This window, dating from c. 1200, had an unfortunate history. Having survived the
Dissolution of the Monasteries, the depredations of the
Puritans
The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. P ...
and the ravages of time, it was dismantled and removed, with many other original windows during the 19th and early 20th centuries, and replaced by a copy. Fortunately two surviving panels were later returned and are in place in the ''Corona Chapel'' at the eastern end of the building.
Wells Cathedral
Wells Cathedral has a rare example of an intact 14th-century Jesse Tree window which survived the iconoclasm of the 17th-century and the losses of World War II.
[Wells Cathedral website]
Jesse Tree window
, (retrieved 21-11-2013) The window is located high up in the eastern end of the choir. The colours of this window are red, yellow, green, white and brown, with very little blue. The window is wide for its height, having seven lights, and being topped by tracery. Consequently, the tendrils of the Tree spread out sideways and the central panel has only three figures: the reclining Jesse at the bottom; the Blessed Virgin holding the Christ Child in her arms and above, the crucified Christ. There are fourteen more figures in the window, identifiable in some cases by their attributes, such as David's harp and Solomon's model of the Temple of Jerusalem. As well as the tendrils, the figures are framed by typical 14th-century canopies and bases displaying the name of each person. The window is currently undergoing extensive conservation.
[
]
St Mary's Church, Shrewsbury
St Mary's Church in Shrewsbury, England contains an enormous 14th-century depiction of the Jesse Tree. By tradition, it was made for the Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
church in Shrewsbury, moved to St Chad's Church after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and then to St Mary's in 1792. Although it was much restored
''Restored'' is the fourth
studio album by American contemporary Christian music musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004 by BEC Recordings.
Track listing
Standard release
Enhanced edition
Deluxe gold edition
Standard ...
in 1858 by David and Charles Evans, much of the original glass remains and is dated between 1327 and 1353.
Other examples are at the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris (1247), the Cathedral of Le Mans (13th century) and Evreux Cathedral in Normandy (15th century).
Renaissance and classical
Dorchester Abbey, Dorchester, Oxfordshire
The north window in the sanctuary is unique as it combines tracery and sculpture with stained glass in a single theme. It shows the ascent of Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...
from Jesse
Jesse may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Jesse (biblical figure), father of David in the Bible.
* Jesse (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Jesse (surname), a list of people
Music
* ''Jesse'' (a ...
. The tree with five undulating branches carved in foliage rises from the sculptured recumbent form of Jesse. Much of the 14th-century glass is fragmentary, but still in its original tracery. The figures of Christ and the Virgin and Child
In art, a Madonna () is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word is (archaic). The Madonna and Child type is very prevalent in ...
with other figures are intact. The glass contains figures from a Tree of Jesse and additional figures are carved on stone mullions.
St. Leonard's Church, Leverington
Leverington is a village and civil parish in the Fenland District of Cambridgeshire, England. The settlement is to the north of Wisbech.
At the time of the 2001 Census, the parish's population was 2,914 people, including Four Gotes, increasing ...
, Cambridgeshire
A 15th-century restored Tree of Jesse window in the chapel of the east end of the church. Thirteen of the figures are original, seventeen are partly restored and thirty-one are modern. The kings are dressed in short doublets which are compared with similar figures in the manuscript of 1640 representing the victories of Edward IV which is in the British Library at Harley MS 7353.
Holy Well and St. Dyfnog's Church, Llanrhaeadr, Denbighshire, Wales.
The Tree of Jesse window was made in 1533. The window depicts Jesse asleep in a walled garden, from him springs a many branched family tree, in which can be seen the ancestor kings of christ. The figures resemble 'court' playing cards, which took their form at about the time the window was made.
Saint-Étienne church, Beauvais
Beauvais ( , ; pcd, Bieuvais) is a city and commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise département, in the Hauts-de-France region, north of Paris.
The commune of Beauvais had a population of 56,020 , making it the most populous ...
, France
A magnificent Renaissance three-light window by Engrand Le Prince (1522–1524), with the royal ancestors richly dressed in fashionable garments, rising from large flower-pods. Jesse has a splendid four-poster bed. In the tracery, the central section has the form of a Sacred Heart
The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devo ...
and contains the Virgin and Christ Child rising from a lily and surrounded by radiant light.
Cathedral Notre-Dame, Moulins, Central France
Tree of Jesse window above Jesse can be seen a king on horseback from the 15th or 16th century.
19th and early 20th century
St. Bartholomew's Church, Rogate, West Sussex.
The Jesse window of 1892 by Lavers & Westlake is a colourful design. All the figures are seated in the vine except for the Virgin Mary who is seated within a flowering virga, outside the vine. Above her head are seven doves representing the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. The figures in the window are; in the first light – Hezekiah, Solomon
Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Modern Hebrew, Modern: , Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yahweh, Yah"), ...
, Melchizedek
In the Bible, Melchizedek (, hbo, , malkī-ṣeḏeq, "king of righteousness" or "my king is righteousness"), also transliterated Melchisedech or Malki Tzedek, was the king of Salem and priest of (often translated as "most high God"). He is f ...
. Middle light – Jesse, David, the Virgin and Christchild on her knee. Third light – Jehoshaphat
Jehoshaphat (; alternatively spelled Jehosaphat, Josaphat, or Yehoshafat; ; el, Ἰωσαφάτ, Iosafát; la, Josaphat), according to 1 Kings 22:41, was the son of Asa, and the fourth king of the Kingdom of Judah, in succession to his father ...
, Asa
ASA as an abbreviation or initialism may refer to:
Biology and medicine
* Accessible surface area of a biomolecule, accessible to a solvent
* Acetylsalicylic acid, aspirin
* Advanced surface ablation, refractive eye surgery
* Anterior spinal ar ...
, and Isaiah
Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named.
Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...
. The three light window is dedicated to the Honourable J J Carnagie born 8 July 1807 died 18 January 1892, placed in the church by Henry Allen Rolls (brother of the co-founder of Rolls-Royce Limited
Rolls-Royce was a British luxury car and later an aero-engine manufacturing business established in 1904 in Manchester by the partnership of Charles Rolls and Henry Royce. Building on Royce's good reputation established with his cranes, they ...
) in 1892.
Pusey House Chapel, Oxford, Oxfordshire.
In the east window there is a Tree of Jesse commemorating Pusey, who was one of the leaders of the 19th-century Oxford Movement
The Oxford Movement was a movement of high church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the University of O ...
in the Church of England. Pusey died in 1882 and Pusey House
Pusey House is an Anglican religious institution located on St Giles', Oxford, United Kingdom, immediately to the south of Pusey Street. It is firmly rooted in the Anglo-Catholic Prayer Book tradition of the Church of England, and was founded ...
was established as his memorial. The window is by Sir Ninian Comper
Sir John Ninian Comper (10 June 1864 – 22 December 1960) was a Scottish architect; one of the last of the great Gothic Revival architects.
His work almost entirely focused on the design, restoration and embellishment of churches, and the des ...
and contains figures of Old Testament
The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
prophets, and fathers of the Church, representing some of the areas of his study, surrounding Christ in Majesty
Christ in Majesty or Christ in Glory ( la, Maiestas Domini) is the Western Christian image of Christ seated on a throne as ruler of the world, always seen frontally in the centre of the composition, and often flanked by other sacred figures, whos ...
and the Virgin and Child. The figure of Pusey can be seen, kneeling at the base of the second light from the right.
St. Mary of the Assumption Church, Froyle, Hampshire
The Tree of Jesse 5 light east window is by Kempe/Burlison & Grylls 1896. Nineteen figures can be seen including Jesse, King David, King Solomon, the Blessed Virgin Mary and Child.
St. Matthew's Church, Newcastle, Northumberland.
Tree of Jesse window by Kempe 1899.
St. Peter's Church, Stonegate, Wadhurst, E.Sussex
The 5 light west window is a Tree of Jesse window made by James Powell & Sons, London in 1910. Depicting 21 characters including Jesse, King David, King Solomon, The Virgin Mary and Child.
All Saints Church, Hove, East Sussex
The Tree of Jesse window at the west end of the south aisle is by Clement Bell, installed by the firm Clayton & Bell in 1924. The window embodies a profusion of rich deep colours, reds, blues, dark green, mauve and gold. It has four upright sections, surmounted by quatrefoil insets depicting the Mother & Child, flanked by Joseph
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
and Jacob
Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...
. Below, shown in kingly attire is the genealogical lineage of Joseph
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
with some of his forebears from the house of David, Salathiel
Shealtiel ( he, שְׁאַלְתִּיאֵל, ''Shəʾaltīʾēl''), transliterated in Greek as Salathiel (Greek: Σαλαθιηλ, ''Salăthiēl''), was the son of Jehoiachin, king of Judah. (1 Chronicles, ) The Gospel of Matthew 1:12 also list S ...
, Zorobabel, Sadoc
Zadok (or Zadok HaKohen, also spelled Ṣadok, Ṣadoc, Zadoq, Tzadok, or Tsadoq; he, צָדוֹק הַכֹּהֵן, meaning "Righteous, Justified") was a Kohen (priest), biblically recorded to be a descendant from Eleazar the son of Aaron (). ...
, Matthan, Ozias, Jehoshaphat
Jehoshaphat (; alternatively spelled Jehosaphat, Josaphat, or Yehoshafat; ; el, Ἰωσαφάτ, Iosafát; la, Josaphat), according to 1 Kings 22:41, was the son of Asa, and the fourth king of the Kingdom of Judah, in succession to his father ...
, Ezekias, Josias
Josiah ( or ) or Yoshiyahu; la, Iosias was the 16th king of Judah (–609 BCE) who, according to the Hebrew Bible, instituted major religious reforms by removing official worship of gods other than Yahweh. Josiah is credited by most biblical s ...
, Roboam, King David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
, Solomon
Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Modern Hebrew, Modern: , Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yahweh, Yah"), ...
and Asa
ASA as an abbreviation or initialism may refer to:
Biology and medicine
* Accessible surface area of a biomolecule, accessible to a solvent
* Acetylsalicylic acid, aspirin
* Advanced surface ablation, refractive eye surgery
* Anterior spinal ar ...
. Below these are the prophet Isaiah
Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named.
Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...
a recumbent Jesse, and in the bottom corner Matthew
Matthew may refer to:
* Matthew (given name)
* Matthew (surname)
* ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497
* ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith
* Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Ch ...
recording these details in the opening of his gospel.
St. George's Church, Slough, Britwell, Berkshire.
A five light Tree of Jesse window is mentioned in the church inventory. A huge and spectacular window in glass, set in concrete, and made by James Powell & Sons and John Baker in 1960, it was demolished in October 2004.
St. John the Baptist Church, Claines, Worcester
This church has a fine 19th-century mosaic paving depicting the Tree of Jesse. It was designed and executed by Aston Webb
Sir Aston Webb (22 May 1849 – 21 August 1930) was a British architect who designed the principal facade of Buckingham Palace and the main building of the Victoria and Albert Museum, among other major works around England, many of them in par ...
.
Modern
St. James's Church, Portsmouth, Milton, Hampshire
The consecration of St. James Church took place in 1913, built on a north–south axis in Gothic form. The addition of the Tree of Jesse stained glass east window, inserted to mark the church's 21st anniversary (1954). The window by Sir Ninian Comper
Sir John Ninian Comper (10 June 1864 – 22 December 1960) was a Scottish architect; one of the last of the great Gothic Revival architects.
His work almost entirely focused on the design, restoration and embellishment of churches, and the des ...
shows the descent of Jesus, through Mary, from King David, the youngest son of Jesse, the Bethlehem
Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...
ite.
St. Andrew's Church, Swavesey
Swavesey is a village lying on the Prime Meridian in Cambridgeshire, England, with a population of 2,463. The village is situated 9 miles to the north west of Cambridge and 3 miles south east of St Ives.
Listed as ''Suauesye'' in the Domesday ...
, Cambridgeshire
The east window in the Lady Chapel contains a 1967 Tree of Jesse by Francis Skeat. In the letters to the incumbent and the churchwardens Skeat writes:
Jesse appears in the right hand light and is in a standing position facing left. The figures in the window are:- first light, Boaz; second light, Ruth and above her Jacob
Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...
; middle light, Abraham
Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...
and Isaac
Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was the ...
; above them, the Blessed Virgin Mary and Child; at the top, Asa
ASA as an abbreviation or initialism may refer to:
Biology and medicine
* Accessible surface area of a biomolecule, accessible to a solvent
* Acetylsalicylic acid, aspirin
* Advanced surface ablation, refractive eye surgery
* Anterior spinal ar ...
; fourth light, David with Solomon above him; fifth light, Jesse.
The text at the bottom of the window reads:-
Cathedral Notre-Dame, Clermont-Ferrand, France
''Tree of Jesse'' rose window
Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' w ...
1992; with at the centre the Virgin seated, crowned, and on her lap the Christ-child with his arms extended. Eight glass medallions surrounding contain Jesse lying in the lower medallion, other figures including David and Solomon each holding scrolls, and in the top medallion the Holy Spirit
In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...
represented by a Dove.
Saint Louis Abbey, St. Louis. United States
This newly built abbey has a Jesse Tree window, a fine arts project by students who made the window over a period of 4½ years. Twenty-one panels make up the 16’ × 5’ Jesse Tree window, based on the 12th-century Jesse Tree from Chartres Cathedral. Inspired by the design, the students have begun creating their own stained glass window depicting the lineage of St. Louis Priory School.
Llandaff Cathedral, Cardiff, Wales
The Tree of Jesse window by Geoffrey Webb
Geoffrey Fairbank Webb CBE (9 May 1898 – 17 July 1970) was a British art historian, Slade Professor of Fine Art and head of the Monuments and Fine Arts section of the Allied Control Commission during World War II.
Early life
Webb was born in ...
is a feature of the Lady Chapel and marks the first stage in the restoration of the cathedral following damage in the Second World War.
Virga Jesse Basilica
The Virga Jesse Basilica () is a basilica, formerly known as the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk, in Hasselt, Hasselt, Belgium. It dates back to the 14th century, approximately 1334. The original chapel was replaced with the current church, which was comple ...
, Hasselt
Hasselt (, , ; la, Hasseletum, Hasselatum) is a Belgian city and municipality, and capital and largest city of the province of Limburg in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is known for its former branding as "the city of taste", as well as its ...
After World War II destruction of the building.
Collégiale de Romont (Fribourg), Switzerland
Series of stained glass windows by Franco-Argentinian painter Sergio de Castro on the subject The Prophets, featuring the Tree of Jesse, 1980.
Painting
The large flat wooden ceiling in the Church of St Michael, Hildesheim of c. 1200 has the space to include a complex iconographic scheme based around the tree, which encompasses Adam
Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...
and Eve
Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the ...
, the Prophets and the Four Evangelists. Panel paintings are rare, but a German example of c. 1470 (Darmstadt
Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...
) shows a Tree on the outside of the wings of a triptych. A large Polish baroque oil by Michael Willmann (1678, Kościół Wniebowzięcia NMP, Krzeszów) shows a typically crowded Baroque apotheosis scene, with thin tendrils lacing round the figures, but not supporting them.
The nave ceiling of Ely Cathedral
Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is an Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England.
The cathedral has its origins in AD 672 when St Etheldreda built an abbey church. The presen ...
was painted with a scheme rather similar to Hildesheim by the gentleman artist Henry Styleman Le Strange
Henry L'Estrange Styleman Le Strange (1815–1862), in early life Henry Styleman, was an English decorative painter. He is now remembered as the developer of the town of Hunstanton, Norfolk, as a coastal resort.
Life
Born on 25 January 1815, he ...
, who began in 1858. After his death (leaving no detailed drawings for the remainder) in 1862, it was completed by another amateur artist, Thomas Gambier Parry
Thomas Gambier Parry, J.P., D.L., (22 February 1816 – 28 September 1888) was a British artist and art collector. He is best remembered for his development of the Gambier Parry process of fresco painting, and for forming the significant col ...
using his special Gambier Parry process
The Gambier Parry process is a development of the classical technique of fresco for painting murals, named for Thomas Gambier Parry.
True fresco is the technique of painting on fresh lime plaster whereby the pigments are fixed by the carbonatati ...
with lavender oil.
Architectural stone-carving
Relatively small-scale Jesse Trees feature in prominent positions in many medieval churches, most notably under a statue of St James on the central column of the famous main entrance (the ''Portico de la Gloria'' of 1168–88) of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Another masterpiece of Romanesque stone-carving, the cloister of the Monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos
Santo Domingo de Silos Abbey ( es, Abadía del Monasterio de Santo Domingo de Silos) is a Benedictine monastery in the village of Santo Domingo de Silos in the southern part of Burgos Province in northern Spain. The monastery is named after the e ...
, has a Tree on a flat panel carved in relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
. Several 13th-century French cathedrals have Trees in the arches of doorways: Notre-Dame of Laon
Laon Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Laon) is a Roman Catholic church located in Laon, Aisne, Hauts-de-France, France. Built in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, it is one of the most important and stylistically unified exam ...
, Amiens Cathedral
, image = 0 Amiens - Cathédrale Notre-Dame (1).JPG
, imagesize = 200px
, img capt = Amiens Cathedral
, pushpin map = France
, pushpin label position = below
, coordinates =
, country ...
, and Chartres (central arch, North portal - as well as the window). However these mostly show the ancestors in archivolts on both sides of an arch, and although they are connected by tendrils, the coherence of the image is rather lost. Another popular way of showing the ancestry of Christ was to have a row or gallery of statues of the Kings of Judah (part of the ancestral line from Jesse) on the facade, as at Notre Dame de Paris, but these too go beyond the image of the Tree. In a shorthand version, a statue of the Virgin and Child on an entrance trumeau to Freiburg Minster is supported by a Jesse sleeping on a chair (c. 1300).
Church of St Cuthbert, Wells, Somerset.
St Cuthbert's Church formerly held a sculpted Tree of Jesse forming the reredos
A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images.
The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for ex ...
in its south transept, its components arranged around the east window. The contract survives, and shows that it was made in 1470 by John Stowell. It was destroyed during the Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
or Interregnum
An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one monarch and the next (coming from Latin '' ...
, but the outline of the figure of Jesse is still visible, and many fragments of sculpture also survive.
Christchurch Priory, Dorset.
Christchurch Priory contains a boldly carved reredos
A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images.
The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for ex ...
in high-relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
of the 1350s in the form of the Tree of Jesse. The figures of Jesse, King David and another prophet all survive; and Christ is represented as part of a nativity scene.
Wood carving
Priory Church of St Mary, Abergavenny, Wales.
The Priory Church of St Mary, Abergavenny, formerly held a 15th-century composition, described by Thomas Churchyard
Thomas Churchyard (c. 1523 – 1604) was an English author and soldier. He is chiefly remembered for a series of autobiographical or semi-autobiographical verse collections, including ''Churchyardes Chippes'' (1575); ''Churchyard's Choise'' (157 ...
in 1587 as "a most famous worke in maner of a genealogie of Kings, called the roote of Jesse". By this date it had been destroyed during the Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
, but what survives is the larger than life-sized recumbent figure of Jesse himself, carved from a single piece of oak. It has been described by Andrew Graham-Dixon
Andrew Michael Graham-Dixon (born 26 December 1960) is a British art historian and broadcaster.
Life and career
Early life and education
Andrew Graham-Dixon is a son of the barrister Anthony Philip Graham-Dixon (1929–2012), Q.C., and (M ...
as "the most impressive wood carving to have escaped the bonfires of the Reformation in Wales"; and by Phillip Lindley as "without doubt one of the finest pieces of fifteenth-century wood sculpture remaining in England or Wales". It is unclear what form the rest of the tree originally took, but in 2016 a new stained-glass Jesse window designed by Helen Whittaker was installed in the church, incorporating the wooden Jesse at its foot.
Abbotsford House Chapel, Abbotsford, Nr Melrose, Borders, Scotland.
The Chapel
A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
of Abbotsford House, built in 1855 by Sir Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...
's granddaughter Charlotte, houses a Flemish
Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
carved and painted wooden altar front of c. 1480, depicting the Tree of Jesse. It was purchased by her husband, James Hope-Scott.
Church of Saint Francis, Porto, Portugal.
An 18th-century Tree of Jesse carved in wood in Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
style, it is three-dimensional and has coloured and gilded figures perched among its branches. Thirteen figures with the black bearded figure of Jesse
Jesse may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Jesse (biblical figure), father of David in the Bible.
* Jesse (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Jesse (surname), a list of people
Music
* ''Jesse'' (a ...
lying on the bottom. The tree culminates with a picture of the Madonna and Child and a dove above them. On either side of the tree are other figures who appear to be either singing or reading from an open book which they are holding.
Other pictural art
Ivory from Bavaria
The rectangular back of an ivory comb (right) from Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
, from about 1200, is delicately carved with a ''Tree of Jesse'' scene, showing Jesse lying with the tree emerging from his navel. Two branches form a mandorla around the Blessed Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...
who raises one hand to support the infant Christ, while with her other, she holds a scroll. A prophet stands to either side.
San Zeno, Verona
A bronze west door from the Basilica of St Zeno in Verona
Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...
has a Tree in relief of about 1138 on a single panel, with Jesse, Christ and four ancestors.
St Mark's Basilica
The Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark ( it, Basilica Cattedrale Patriarcale di San Marco), commonly known as St Mark's Basilica ( it, Basilica di San Marco; vec, Baxéłega de San Marco), is the cathedral church of the Catholic Chu ...
, Venice
A large mosaic Tree was put on the north wall of the north transept in the 1540s, by the Bianchini brothers as mosaicists, following a design by Salviati.
Monstrance from Augsburg
A late 17th-century monstrance
A monstrance, also known as an ostensorium (or an ostensory), is a vessel used in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, High Church Lutheran and Anglican churches for the display on an altar of some object of piety, such as the consecrated Eucharistic Sa ...
from Augsburg incorporates a version of the traditional design, with Jesse asleep on the base, the tree as the stem, and Christ and twelve ancestors arranged around the holder for the host.
Cathedral Notre-Dame, Antwerp, Belgium.
An embroidered cope depicting the Tree of Jesse.
Abbey Church, Buckfast Abbey
Buckfast Abbey forms part of an active Benedictine monastery at Buckfast, near Buckfastleigh, Devon, England. Buckfast first became home to an abbey in 1018. The first Benedictine abbey was followed by a Savignac (later Cistercian) abbey cons ...
, Devon
The church was rebuilt on medieval foundations between 1905 and 1937. The marble floor of the Lady chapel depicts the Tree of Jesse made in the Abbey's own workshops in Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
style mosaic.
The Church of the Nativity
The Church of the Nativity, or Basilica of the Nativity,; ar, كَنِيسَةُ ٱلْمَهْد; el, Βασιλική της Γεννήσεως; hy, Սուրբ Ծննդեան տաճար; la, Basilica Nativitatis is a basilica located in B ...
, Bethlehem, Palestinian Territories
A large bas-relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
of the Tree of Jesse by religious sculptor Czesław Dźwigaj
Czesław Dźwigaj (born 18 June 1950 in Nowy Wiśnicz) is a Polish artist, sculptor, and professor. Creator of numerous monuments, he is most often associated with monuments of Pope John Paul II, almost 50 of which have left his workshop.
Artisti ...
was incorporated into the Church of St. Catherine within the Church of the Nativity
The Church of the Nativity, or Basilica of the Nativity,; ar, كَنِيسَةُ ٱلْمَهْد; el, Βασιλική της Γεννήσεως; hy, Սուրբ Ծննդեան տաճար; la, Basilica Nativitatis is a basilica located in B ...
in Bethlehem
Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...
in 2009, as the gift of Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...
during his trip to the Holy Land. Measuring 3.25 metres wide by 4 metres high, its focus is an olive tree
The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' 'M ...
representing the Tree of Jesse, which displays Christ's lineage from Abraham
Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...
to St. Joseph
Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers ...
and other biblical motifs. Situated in the passage used by pilgrims making their way to the Grotto of the Nativity, the bas-relief also incorporates symbolism from the Old Testament
The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
. The 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 of Maiuma, 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 List of compositions by William Byrd#Marian Masses, first book of ''Gradualia''.
** ''Virga Jesse (Bruckner), Virga Jesse'' by Anton Bruckner
*As part of a longer Christmas hymn, the text of which is given by Gottfried Vopelius, Vopelius and Spitta's Johann Sebastian Bach, 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 is decorated with symbols (Chrismons) to represent stories leading up to the Nativity of Christ, Christmas story, for the benefit of children. The symbols are simple, for example a burning bush for Moses and a ram for Isaac
Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was the ...
.
Image gallery
File:FecampBibleFol419vInipitMatt.jpg, The beginning of the Gospel of Matthew from the Fécamp Bible shows the initial letter decorated with a Jesse Tree
File:Cod_St_Peter_perg_139_Scherenberg-Psalter_7v.jpg, Scherenberg Psalter, c. 1260. Mary and Child, David and Solomon above, Isaiah and Jeremiah below. Note the doves in the medallions.
File:Torun SS Johns painting Crucifixion on Tree of Jesse straight.jpg, Wall painting c. 1380–90 from Toruń in Poland. Unusually, a Crucifixion occupies the middle of the Tree, with Christ in Glory above.
File:Wurzel Jesse Wormser-Dom.jpg, The bottom of a large stone relief from Worms Cathedral, end of the 15th century, previously in the demolished cloister.
File:Ahnenreihe Jesu im Limburger Dom.jpg, 16th (?)-century painting from the Limburger Dom, Cathedral at Limburg
File:Rodowod_Chrystusa.jpg, Michael Willmann 1678, Polish, oil on canvas, "Family tree of Christ", Church Of The Assumption Of The Blessed Virgin Mary, Krzeszów, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Krzeszów.English translation of Polish source - church in Krzeszów
"one of the finest Baroque churches in Europe."
File:St quentin Basilica 005.JPG, Basilique Saint-Quentin, France
File:The north transept rose window at St-Denis.png, Rose window from the Basilica of St Denis, Paris, showing Jesse at the centre. This is not the earliest St Denis Jesse window, which is vertical like Chartres.
File:rootofjesse.jpg, Plaster cast of the "Root of Jesse", originally from Westminster Abbey, Royal Architectural Museum, UK. Albumen print, c. 1874
File:Hasselt Virga Jessebasiliek 44.JPG, Tree of Jesse on stained glass windows of Virga Jesse Basilica,
Hasselt
Hasselt (, , ; la, Hasseletum, Hasselatum) is a Belgian city and municipality, and capital and largest city of the province of Limburg in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is known for its former branding as "the city of taste", as well as its ...
(Belgium)
File:Sergio de Castro, vitrail de l'arbre de Jessé.jpg, Tree of Jesse on stained glass windows by Sergio de Castro (artist), Sergio de Castro for the Collégiale de Romont, Fribourg, Romont (Switzerland), 1980.
File:Árbol de Jesé. Iglesia Santa María del Castillo, Olivenza.jpg, Holy church Maria of the Castle, Olivenza (Spain)
File:Master of James IV of Scotland getty Ms ludwig IX 18 f65 1510-20.jpg, The Jesse Tree from the Spinola Hours. Master of James IV of Scotland Flemish, Bruges and Ghent or Mechelen, 1510-1520
See also
*
Genealogy of Jesus
The New Testament provides two accounts of the genealogy of Jesus, one in the Gospel of Matthew and another in the Gospel of Luke. Matthew starts with Abraham, while Luke begins with Adam. The lists are identical between Abraham and David, but ...
* Medieval art
* ''Poor Man's Bible''
* Stained glass
* British and Irish stained glass (1811–1918)
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*: mainly photographs
*
*
External links
The Jesse TreeJesse Tree: Ingeborg Psalter on "All About Mary"The University of Dayton's Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute (IMRI) is the world's largest repository of books, artwork and artifacts devoted to Mary, the mother of Christ, and a pontifical center of research and scholarship with a vast presence in cyberspace.
Bibliotheque nationale de France Mandragore database12 illuminated examples at a good size. Press "Images" at right.
British Library manuscript image search10 examples found by putting "Jesse" in "Image description" box. Many famous ones not included, & most enlargements seem not to work
University of Cambridge(search on "Tree of Jesse")
*[http://images.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/i/image/image-idx?sid=645ddf2d8512bd77151c63cf1358f7d4&q1=jesse&rgn1=chartres_all&op2=And&q2=&rgn2=chartres_all&type=boolean&view=thumbnail&c=chartres Chartres Cathedral; many good images of glass and portal]
Various medieval works, including the original Saint Denis window, with many photos showing which parts are restored (click "France S. Denis")The Tree of Election: On the Symbolization of Spiritual Progress in Joachim of FioreA text on medieval interpretations of the Jesse Tree by Matthias Riedl
Tree of Jesse Directory approx 300 references to the Tree of Jesse listed.
Tree of Jesseplaster ceiling in Dartmouth Museum, believed to be a unique example
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tree Of Jesse
Christian symbols
Iconography of illuminated manuscripts
Medieval art
Christian iconography
Stained glass
Trees in Christianity
Book of Isaiah
Family trees