The Rest on the Flight into Egypt: A motif in Scandanavian folk art

Although there is no biblical account of the 'Rest on the Flight into Egypt', the story is well known in the Christian world. In pseudo-Matthew the story has developed into legend form. He tells about the Christ-Child commanding the date palm Mary is resting beneath to bend down so that she can eat the fruit. It is found in literary sources from the twelfth century onwards. 'The Rest on the Flight into Egypt' had become an independent pictorial theme by the fourteenth century and it was mainly by means of pictures that it became part of our cultural heritage. This paper traces the introduction of the motif into Scandinavia and its pictorial dissemination through various media, including printing, chest-prints and wall-hangings.