The tree

The significance of the tree is as complex as the number of annual rings. As a natural monument, it shapes landscapes, is an important raw material and is considered a symbol of life. In myths, sacred writings, fairy tales, in music, literature, the fine arts, philosophy, in all cultures and times, the tree has an overriding importance. Moreover, it is associated with numerous customs: the tree planted for the birth of a child, the maypole, the Christmas tree. Historian Alexander Demandt treats tree, forest, and wood in religions, customs, and written material, in thought and speech, and in all fields of literature and art from antiquity to the present. This book, rich in material, is the long-awaited, expanded, and in-depth new edition of his standard work Über allen Wipfeln. The Tree in Cultural History (2002).