The rose

The Servant Madonna is a Gothic masterpiece if nothing else because of her lifelike detail. A relaxed Mary watches as her gleeful son reaches for the large brooch holding her robes together at her bosom. The brooch is in the shape of a rose. Since ancient times the rose has been a symbol for love, joy and youth. But the rose with its thorns has equally stood for pain, transience and death. Christianity is quick embraces this symbolism; Sedulius compares the Mother of God to a thornless rose in the 5th century. And in the Middle Ages a whole rose mysticism develops around Jesus and Mary. Mary is honoured as rosa mystica (mysterious rose). There is well-known German-language Christmas carol - Es ist ein Ros entsprungen – which is a poetic ode to Jesus’ birth. And let’s not forget the rosary, the name given to the Christian prayer beads and the prayer that goes with them.