Arbre ou fleur de lys : semblance et senefiance d’une plante miraculeuse dans le miroir de la botanique
Tree or lily: semblance and senefiance of a marvelous plant in the mirror of botany

Summary/Abstract: In the well-known exemplum about the simple man who constantly repeated the Ave Maria, a plant playsa central role in the narrative: it is a sign that reveals to witnesses and readers the spiritual value of themain character. In some versions this plant is a lily flower, in others–a tree of unknown species. The articleis an attempt to read this motif and its variants through the prism of medieval botanical texts and to findin it some elements of the medieval imagery of the plant.

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