The Tree of Jesse is an iconographical element in medieval art that refers to the genealogy of Christ, represented by a tree springing from the loins of Jesse, the father of David. The trunk and branches are occupied by other ancestors, with Christ or the Virgin Mary at the top. This symbolic representation appears to have been created by the French artist Suger, and certainly the artists of St.-Denis gave it its perfected form, the form that would prevail for centuries. The creation of the tree was part of a revival of biblical learning in art, and the Tree of Jesse refers to a prophecy by Isaiah that would be transformed by the symbolism into a lasting icon symbolizing certain Christian doctrines.
The prophecy of Isaiah states the following:
And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse: and a flower shall rise up out of his root. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and of godliness. And he shall be filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord. . . In that day, the root of Jesse, will be displayed before all as an ensign.
The image of the rod or shoot springing from the stem is intended to express the idea of the Messiah, who would come from the royal house of David. The prophecy presumes a knowledge of the story of how David was anointed miraculously by Samuel, as told in I Samuel 16. Just as a king had come in the form of David, so again would come a king from the house of Jesse. The spirit of Yahweh would rest on this second David as well. The church found a way of interpreting this text allegorically. At the beginning of the third century, Tertullian applied the prophecy to Christ and equated the stem with Jesse, father of David; the rod or shoot with Mary; and the fruit or flower of the rod with Christ.
In terms of the visual rendering of this symbolic image, it is ne...