Thelime tree, orlinden, (Tilia) is important in themythology, literature, andfolklore of a number of cultures.
In old paganSlavic mythology, the linden (lipa, as called in allSlavic languages) was considered a sacred tree.[1] In Poland, the village ofŚwięta Lipka, which literally means "Sacred Lime Tree", hasa shrine and is apilgrimage destination.[2] To this day, the tree is anational emblem of theCzech Republic,Slovakia,[3]Slovenia,[4] and of theSorbs inLusatia.[5]Lipa gave name to the traditional Slavic name for the month of June (Croatian,lipanj) or July (Polish,lipiec, Ukrainian "lypen'/липень"). It is also the root for the German city ofLeipzig, taken from theSorbian namelipsk.[6] The formerCroatian currency,kuna, consisted of 100 lipa (Tilia). "Lipa" was also a proposed name for Slovenian currency in 1990, however the name "tolar" ultimately prevailed.[7] In the SlavicOrthodox Christian world, limewood was the preferred wood for panelicon painting. The icons by the hand ofAndrei Rublev, including theHoly Trinity (Hospitality of Abraham), andThe Savior, now in theState Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, are painted on linden wood. Its wood was chosen for its ability to be sanded very smooth and for its resistance to warping onceseasoned. The southern Slovenian village of "Lipica" signifies little Lime tree and has given its name to theLipizzan horse breed.[8]
InBaltic mythology, there is an important goddess of fate by the name ofLaima /laɪma/, whose sacred tree is the lime. Laima's dwelling was alime-tree, where she made her decisions as acuckoo. For this reason Lithuanian women prayed and gave sacrifices under lime-trees asking for luck and fertility. They treated lime-trees with respect and talked with them as if they were human beings.
The linden was also a highly symbolic and hallowed tree to theGermanic peoples in their nativepre-ChristianGermanic mythology.
Originally, local communities assembled not only to celebrate and dance under a linden tree, but to hold their judicialthing meetings there in order to restore justice and peace. It was believed that the tree would help unearth the truth. Thus the tree became associated withjurisprudence even afterChristianization, such as in the case of theGerichtslinde, and verdicts in rural Germany were frequently returnedsub tilia (Unter der linden) until theAge of Enlightenment.
In theNibelungenlied, a medieval German work ultimately based on oral tradition recounting events amongst the Germanic tribes in the 5th and 6th centuries,Siegfried gains his invulnerability by bathing in the blood of a dragon. While he did so, a single linden leaf sticks to him, leaving a spot on his body untouched by the blood and he thus has a single point of vulnerability.
The most notable street in Berlin, Germany, is calledUnter den Linden, named after the trees lining theavenue. It leads from the center of Berlin toPotsdam, the country residence of the Prussian kings.
In German folklore, the linden tree is the "tree of lovers". The well-knownMiddle High German poemUnder der linden byWalther von der Vogelweide (c. 1200) describes a tryst between a maid and a knight under a linden tree. Commentary on the folk song "Liebesprobe" states, "The linden tree plays a key role in these songs; at eventide, the lovers caress in its shade, it is their favourite tree, and perhaps for the reason that the linden leaf has the shape of a human heart."[9]
Hohenlinden (translated as "High linden") is a community in the upper Bavarian district ofEbersberg in which theBattle of Hohenlinden took place;Thomas Campbell wrote the poem "Hohenlinden" about said battle.
Homer,Horace,Virgil, andPliny mention the linden tree and its virtues. AsOvid tells the old story ofBaucis and Philemon, she was changed into a linden and he into anoak when the time came for them both to die.Herodotus says: "TheScythian diviners take also the leaf of the linden tree, which, dividing into three parts, they twine round their fingers; they then unbind it and exercise the art to which they pretend.[10]Philyra, mother of the centaurChiron, turned into a linden tree after bearing Chiron.
For a long time, in northernChina, because there is noBodhi tree, the sacred tree ofBuddhism, and the leaf shape of the "椴樹/Tilia" tree is similar to that of Bodhi tree, it was planted in temples to replace the sacred Bodhi tree. They are also often called Bodhi trees, just like the twoTilia trees next to the 英華殿/Yinghua Dian—the place where the empress dowager, empress and concubinesworship Buddha—in theForbidden City in Beijing, planted by Empress Dowager Li, the biological mother ofWanli Emperor about five hundred years ago.[11]Qianlong Emperor of theQing dynasty even wrote two poems for them: "菩提树诗/The Poem of the Bodhi Tree (in the Yinghua Dian)" and "菩提树歌/The Song of the Bodhi Tree (in the Yinghua Dian)", and carved them on stone tablets and placed them in the stele pavilion in front of the Yinghua Dian.[11]
Scythian diviners used wood in their rituals, and in particular theEnarei priests used linden bark. The Enarei wereandrogynous priests for the goddessesArtimpasa and the Snake-headed Goddess. In addition to its ritual use, linden became a symbol ofthird gender to Scythians living in Russia.[12]
J. R. R. Tolkien composed the poem "Light as Leaf on Lindentree" which was originally published in 1925 in volume 6 ofThe Gryphon magazine. After many emendations it was later included inThe Lord of the Rings as a song sung byAragorn about the tale ofBeren and Lúthien.
A play calledThe Linden Tree (1947) was written by Bradford-born English novelist, playwright and broadcasterJ. B. Priestley.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge features linden trees as an important symbol in his poem "This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison" (written 1797; first published 1800).
Several of the short poems (Fraszki) of Polish poetJan Kochanowski feature the linden. His "Na Lipę" ("To The Tilia Tree"), published in 1584, was inspired by a much-favoured tree on his country estate atCzarnolas. Kochanowski contemplated, rested and wrote in its shade, and offered refreshment to guests under its shelter, and these moments were all represented in his poetry.[13]
A poem fromWilhelm Müller'sWinterreise cycle of poems is called "Der Lindenbaum" ("The Linden Tree"). In 1827,Franz Schubert wrote the famoussong cycle "Winterreise" (D 911) based on these poems. InThomas Mann's novelThe Magic Mountain, a recording of this song cycle is an important plot device and philosophical touchstone.
Hans Christian Andersen's short story "The Elf of the Rose" mentions a linden tree and its leaves frequently.
InThe Grimm Brothers' fairy taleThe Frog Prince, the princess drops her golden ball into the pond while sitting under a linden tree.
Goethe'sThe Sorrows of Young Werther features a linden tree throughout the novel, and the protagonist, Werther, is buried under the tree after his suicide.
InSwann's Way, the first book ofProust'sIn Search of Lost Time, the narrator dips apetite madeleine into a cup of lime-blossom tea. The aroma and taste of cake and tea triggers his first conscious involuntary memory.
"The Three Linden Trees" is a 1912 fairy tale byHermann Hesse strongly influenced by the Greek legend ofDamon and Pythias. The story, set in the medieval period, tries to explain three huge linden trees whose branches intertwine to cover the entire cemetery of the Hospital of the Holy Spirit in Berlin (seeThe Complete Fairy Tales of Hermann Hesse).
John Updike's novelThe Centaur, likeJames Joyce inUlysses, uses myth in an attempt to turn a modern and common scene into something more profound, a meditation on life and man's relationship to nature and eternity. In it Updike parallels the lives of modern characters with theGreek myth in whichChiron's motherPhilyra transforms into a linden tree to escape the shame of giving birth to a seemingly mutant half-horse, half-man as a result of her being raped byCronus.[14]
The lime tree is referred to in the 1953 story "The Man Who Planted Trees" byJean Giono. The unnamed narrator of the story re-visits a once abandoned and desolate village around which the man referenced by the books title (Elzéard Bouffier) has planted a forest over a period of 40 years. He returns to find by the fountain: "I saw that there was indeed a fountain, that it was abundant, and, which touched me most, that someone had planted a lime tree next to it, which might already have been four years old, already thick; an undeniable symbol of resurrection.[15]
Eminescu's Linden Tree (Romanian:Teiul lui Eminescu) is a 500-year-old silver lime situated inIași, Romania.Mihai Eminescu reportedly wrote some of his best works underneath this lime, rendering the tree one of Romania's most important natural monuments and an Iași landmark.[16]
Ralph Vaughan Williams wrote the song"Linden Lea" in the 1900s.
The coat of arms ofMariehamn features lime tree leaves, referring to the local tree plant.[17][18][19][20]
O-Zone's 2003 song "Dragostea din tei" (Love from the Linden) is titled after the tree.
Trevor Hall's 2009 song "The Lime Tree" was named for the tree and is based onOvid's narration ofBaucis and Philemon and the poem "Under der linden" byWalther von der Vogelweide.
In Sweden, where the lime tree is named "Lind", the 100 most common surnames in 2015 included at 17 Lindberg (Lime-hill), at 21 Lindström (Lime-stream), at 22 Lindqvist (Lime-twig), at 23 Lindgren (Lime-branch), and at 99 Lindholm (Lime-island).[21]