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Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileA highly stylized green tree grows from a central figure at the base, branching into circular medallions that frame the heads of biblical kings and prophets. At the top of the central axis sits the Virgin Mary, surmounted by Christ and the Dove of the Holy Spirit. To the lower right, an angel points toward a cluster of red stars, referencing the promise made to Abraham regarding his numerous descendants.
As part of the Hortus Deliciarum, this work represents the medieval encyclopedic tradition where visual diagrams were used to organize sacred history and theological concepts. The 'Arbor' (tree) motif used here as a mnemonic and structural device prefigures the complex symbolic trees used in later Kabbalistic and Hermetic traditions to map cosmic hierarchies.
Dominus Deus plantator Arbor generationis Jhesu Christi filii David filii Abraham Abraham genuit Isaac Isaac genuit Jacob Jesse autem genuit David regem David rex genuit Salomonem Mathan genuit Jacob, Jacob autem genuit Joseph virum Marie de qua natus est Jhesus qui vocatur Christus Jhesus Christus flos floru gignit ecclesia per baptismu & ceteroru sacramentoru cultu Dixit Dominus Abram Suspice celum & numera stellas sic erit semen tuum
Translation
Lord God the planter Tree of the generation of Jesus Christ son of David, son of Abraham Abraham begat Isaac, Isaac begat Jacob Jesse also begat David the king King David begat Solomon Mathan begat Jacob, and Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ Jesus Christ the flower of flowers begets the church through baptism and the worship of other sacraments The Lord said to Abram Look up to the heaven and count the stars so shall thy seed be
Herrad of Landsberg
The artist and author of the Hortus Deliciarum, the 12th-century manuscript from which this diagram originates.
Object
Engraving
religious
Digital Source
Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Hortus Deliciarum
Public domain
3558 × 4942 px
41da26e86f0c0e599b5d0f95e9a29f6ec59608cf
March 7, 2014
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.