A Reattribution of the Tree of Jesse Tomb Slab in Lincoln Cathedral

Abstract

In the north-east corner of the nave of Lincoln Cathedral is a tomb slab made of Tournai marble emblazoned with the iconography of the Tree of Jesse. A Victorian inscription proclaims that it belongs to the building’s founder, Bishop Remigius de Fécamp (r. 1072–92). Since its ‘rediscovery’ in the cloister in 1857 scholars have examined the tomb slab’s material significance and its placement within the greater network of incised funerary monuments of the 12th century. This article re-examines the tomb’s possible patron and occupant, challenging earlier assumptions about its date and placing it within the context of Saint Hugh’s reconstruction of the cathedral’s east end. In so doing, it reassesses the importance of the Lincoln tomb slab and the iconography of the Tree of Jesse in medieval England.