THORNS 131 



The tonsure was originally instituted to 

 keep fresh in the memory the Saviour's Crown 

 of Thorns. And in the ' Paradise ' of Fra 

 Angelico ' the monks are crowned with roses. 

 Thus the emblem reverted to the original symbol. 

 The Crown of Thorns was the parody of the 

 rose-crown, symbol of rejoicing; the tonsure the 

 reverent imitation of the thorny wreath, and 

 angels at the entrance of Paradise change the 

 tonsure for a wreath of roses. 



In early German art the Virgin is often 

 found seated in a garden of which each flower 

 has its significance. Behind and around her 

 there is usually a sort of trellis or bower covered 

 with roses. The roses have very pronounced 

 thorns, and the thorns are accentuated to recall 

 that Mary is the lily and the bride of the 

 Canticles, the ' Lily among thorns.' In an 

 Assumption of Seghers^ one of the attend- 

 ant putti flies towards her with a single lily 

 enclosed in branches covered with long-spiked 

 thorns. 



On the other hand, when the rose is the direct 

 emblem, not the attribute of the Madonna, it 



' Accademia, Florence. ' Uffizi, Florence. 



