ii6 FLORAL SYMBOLISM 



no novelty, no variety of subject, pose or action. 

 And their favourite symbol was the olive branch 

 of peace. The angel Gabriel almost invariably 

 carries olive," Saint John the Evangelist ^ and 

 Saint Ansano,3 their own saint, both hold 

 branches of it, and it crowns the blonde curls 

 of many a little angel. 



In representations of the first and third 

 persons of the Holy Trinity the olive branch is 

 very rare. Upon some ancient crucifixes, how- 

 ever, where a hand holding a wreath represents 

 the Eternal Father, the wreath, though usually 

 of laurel, in some instances is formed of ohve. 

 In the Crucifix of the tenth century, known as 

 the Crucifix of Lothair,'* the wreath is distinctly 

 of olive, but since it encircles the Holy Dove the 

 olive is perhaps equally the attribute of the 

 Holy Ghost. In the Crucifix upon the Manual 

 of Prayer of Charles the Bald,^ the wreath is of 

 laurel and there is no dove. 



Mabillon speaks of a group of the Trinity in 

 human form, sculptured by order of Abelard 



' Taddeo di Bartolo, Sano di Pietro, Francesco di Giorgio 

 Martini, Belle Arti, Siena. * No. i6o. Belle Arti, Siena. 



* Stefano di Giovanni, Belle Arti, Siena. 



* Trt'sor of Aix la Chapelle. ^ Tn'sor of the King of Bavaria, 



