#106 Thurs (10/6/22) - The Dry Tree, symbols of Christianity in Tolkien's Middle Earth

   Another symbol of resurrection is the White Tree, the symbol of Gondor. It stood dry and lifeless in the Court of the Fountain at the top of the city of Minas Tirith throughout the centuries that Gondor was ruled by the Stewards; Aragorn brought a sapling of the White Tree into the city on his return as King.[39] The White Tree has been likened to the Dry Tree of the 14th century Travels of Sir John Mandeville.[40][33] The tale runs that the Dry Tree has been lifeless since the crucifixion of Christ, but that it will flower afresh when "a prince of the west side of the world should sing a mass beneath it",[33] while the apples of the trees allow people to live for 500 years.[34]

The Dry Tree (or Solitary tree) is a legendary tree. It was first recorded by Marco Polo, somewhere in the wastelands of northern Persia. According to Polo, it was the only tree within hundreds of kilometres of desert. According to legend, the Dry Tree marked the exact spot of a great battle between Alexander the Great and Darius. It is not clear whether this "great battle" refers to the Battle of Issus or the Battle of Gaugamela. The purported location—somewhere in Khorasan, near the border with present day Turkmenistan—is also impossible to ascertain, because Darius had already been assassinated when Alexander reached these regions.


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