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Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileThe crowned figure of Solomon lies horizontally on a decorative bed with a high, curved headboard featuring a diamond-grid motif. The base of the couch is adorned with medallions containing quatrefoil patterns, and a small footstool rests in the foreground. A short Latin inscription in the upper left corner provides an allegorical identification of the scene.
King Solomon is the biblical archetype of Divine Wisdom (Sapientia), a central figure in Western esoteric and philosophical traditions. In the context of the Hortus Deliciarum, his rest is an allegory for the peace of the Church (Ecclesia), drawing on medieval exegetical traditions surrounding the Song of Songs.
Rex Salomon requi- escit in lectulo idē eccl'a.
Translation
King Solomon rests in the bed of this same church.
Herrad of Landsberg
Author of the Hortus Deliciarum, the 12th-century encyclopedic manuscript from which this image originates.
Song of Songs
The biblical text providing the imagery of Solomon's couch, which medieval theologians interpreted as a symbol for the Church.
Object
Engraving
allegory
Digital Source
Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Dr. Otto Henne, Staatsarchivar in St. Gallen: Kulturgeschichte des deutschen Volkes. Verlag G. Grote'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Berlin 1886, Seite 193. Das Buch ist in der Württ. Landesbibliothek. Bildkopie aus der Collection G. & C. Franke.
Public domain
2006 × 1592 px
6c02f77cce3bdbba09e1f19fde6c968fda1dfedb
June 29, 2012
March 24, 2026
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3-flash-preview on April 2, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.