pPant l3ore, "Isegcl^t)/, on el Tsijric/. 41 



Iris, or Fleur de Luce {see Iris), as being the representative flower 

 of the French nation. He says : — 



"With Lilies our French monarchs grace their crown, 

 lirnufjht hither by the valiant Hector's son, 

 From Trojan coasts, when Francus forcM by fate 

 Old Priam's kingdom did to France translate : 

 Or, if we may lielieve what legends tell, 

 I, ike Rome's Ancilia, once from heav'n they fell. 

 Ciovis, first Christian of our regal line. 

 Of heav'n approved, received the gift (livine 

 With his unblemished hands, and by decree 

 Ordained this shield giv'n by the gods should be 

 Preserved, the nation's guard to late posterity." 



The Roman CathoHcs assigned to the Madonna, as Queen of 

 Heaven, the Wliite Lily {Lilium candidum), the symbol of purity, and 

 it is the flower appropriated to the Annunciation and to the Visita- 

 tion of Our Lady. According to the Romish legend, St, Thomas, 

 who was absent at the death of the Virgin, would not believe in 

 her resurrecftion, and desired that her tomb should be opened before 

 him ; and when this was done, it was found to be full of Lilies and 

 Roses. Then the astonished Thomas, looking up to heaven, beheld 

 the Virgin ascending, and she, for the assurance of his faith, flun"- 



down to him her girdle. In a picture by Gozzoli, in the National 



Gallery, representing St. Jerome and St. Francis kneeling at the 

 foot of the Virgin, a red Rose-bud has sprung up at the knees of 

 St. Jerome, and a tall White Lily at those of St. Francis — these 

 flowers typifying the love and purity of the Virgin Mother. In the 

 works of Italian masters, a vase of Lilies stands by the Virgin's 

 side, with three flowers crowning three stems. St. Joseph, husband 

 of the Virgin Mary, is depicfted with the Lily in his hand ; his 

 staff, according to the legend, having put forth Lilies. Later 

 painters of this school depidt the angel Gabriel with a branch of 

 White Lilies. — As the emblem of purity and chastity, the Lily 

 is associated with numbers of saints, male and female ; but, beino- 

 consecrated to the Virgin, it is always placed, in the paintings of 

 the early Italian masters, near those saints who were distinguished 

 by their devotion to the Mother of Jesus, as in the pictures of 



St. Bernard. As protecHior of youth, St. Louis de Gonzague 



bears a Lily in his hand, and the flower is also dedicated to St. 

 Anthony, as a guardian of marriages. The flower is likewise the 

 characteristic of St. Clara, St. Dominick, and St. Katherine of 

 Siena. The crucifix twined with the Lily signifies devotion and 

 purity of heart : it is given particularly to St. Nicholas of Solen- 

 tine. Lilies being emblematic of the Virgin, an order of knight- 

 hood was instituted by Ferdinand of Aragon, in 1 403, called the 

 " Order of the Lily," the collar of which was composed of Lilies and 



gryphons. From the Virgin being the patron Saint of Dundee, 



that town bears Lilies on its arms. To dream of Lilies during 



their blooming season is reputed to foretell marriage, happiness, 



