34 FLORAL SYMBOLISM 



of the world, and there are the thorns of sin and 

 death. Some of the early Flemish and German 

 artists painted certain bitter herbs, notably the 

 dandelion, in scenes from the Passion, but 

 Christian iconography has concerned itself chiefly 

 with those plants and flowers which, with the 

 approval of theologians, represent the attributes 

 of the Divinity, of the Virgin Mary and of angels, 

 saints and prophets. 



It may be noticed that while the sacred 

 flowers are not unfrequently introduced into 

 profane scenes, the non-sacred flowers, for in- 

 stance the daffodils and foxglov^es of the hunting 

 scenes on old Flemish tapestry, are never intro- 

 duced as symbols, and rarely as details, in devo- 

 tional subjects. 



The same symbolism holds good within the 

 whole Western Church, and those Reformed 

 Churches which have rejected painted and carved 

 images have preserved a good man}^ of the 

 older symbols in the details of church decoration. 

 The most important symbols of Christianity, 

 the Lamb, the Dove, the Cross, the Glory, the 

 Halo, remain always unchanged. It is the 

 lesser, and more especially the flower symbols, 



