THE IRIS 67 



the crowns of flowers to be symbolical of the 

 purity of the doctrine found within the books, 

 holding a * fiordaUso ' to equal the white lily 

 as a symbol, but it is possible that the poet 

 meant the formal fleur-de-lys upon a golden 

 crown or the fresh iris blooms which would also 

 form a crown of honour. 



The iris is sometimes used symbolically in 

 Italy, and there is in the Church of S. Spirito 

 in Florence an ' Annunciation ' now usually 

 ascribed to Pesello. Between Mary and the 

 angel stands a vase from which spring three 

 purple iris. This vase, on either side of which 

 the figures bend, is not merely a variation of 

 the vase of white lilies indicating the virginity 

 of Mary which is seen in so many early Annun- 

 ciations, but it is the same symbol developed 

 and enriched, till it represents the dogma of 

 the immaculate birth of Christ. The vase, in 

 many cases transparent, typifies Mary, and the 

 upspringing flower is the emblem of the incarnate 

 Godhead." 



Ghirlandaio places the iris, violet and daisy, 

 each growing up strongly and freshly from the 



' See Chapter XIV., ' The Lily of the Annunciation.' 



