Caesarsboom (Caesar's Tree) is a very old tree whose precise age is unknown but is believed to be over 2000 years in age. The ancient tree grows in Lo, a town in Lo-Reninge, a municipality of the province of West-Vlaanderen of Belgium. Its species is Taxus baccata , common name European Yew. [1] [2] [3] The tree is designated a national monument of Belgium. [4]
Lo is a place in the Belgian province of West Flanders in Belgium and a borough of the municipality Lo-Reninge. Lo is a small medieval town and the community Lo-Reninge of which it is a part obtained the city title in 1985. in Lo-Reninge.
Lo-Reninge is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Lo, Noordschote, Pollinkhove and Reninge. On January 1, 2006, Lo-Reninge had a total population of 3,306. The total area is 62.94 km² which gives a population density of 53 inhabitants per km².
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a sovereign state in Western Europe. It is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the southwest, and the North Sea to the northwest. It covers an area of 30,688 km2 (11,849 sq mi) and has a population of more than 11.4 million. The capital and largest city is Brussels; other major cities are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi and Liège.
According to a long-held local legend, Julius Caesar stopped at this tree during his military campaign in the area en route to Britannia in 55 BC, tied his horse to it, and took a nap in the shadow of its foliage. [5] [1] [2] [3] [4] [6] [7] According to one source, although the road passing by the tree might date from the era of Imperial Rome, it is not likely that Julius Caesar came to this area. [4]
Legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions perceived or believed both by teller and listeners to have taken place within human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude. Legend, for its active and passive participants, includes no happenings that are outside the realm of "possibility," but may include miracles. Legends may be transformed over time, in order to keep them fresh, vital, and realistic. Many legends operate within the realm of uncertainty, never being entirely believed by the participants, but also never being resolutely doubted.
Gaius Julius Caesar, known by his nomen and cognomen Julius Caesar, was a populist Roman dictator, politician, military general, and historian who played a critical role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire. He also wrote Latin prose.
The term military campaign applies to large scale, long duration, significant military strategy plans incorporating a series of inter-related military operations or battles forming a distinct part of a larger conflict often called a war. The term derives from the plain of Campania, a place of annual wartime operations by the armies of the Roman Republic.
The tree grows beside the last extant city gate, of four medieval arches built in the 14th century (and restored both in 1852 and 1991); at the time the town was less than 400 meters in diameter. Caesarsboom stands adjacent to a house called "Het Damberd" ("The Draught-board House") which written sources from 1499 show once housed the oldest of the four breweries which used to exist in the town of Lo. [1] [2] [3] [7]
A gate or gateway is a point of entry to a space which is enclosed by walls. Gates may prevent or control the entry or exit of individuals, or they may be merely decorative. Other terms for gate include yett and port. The word is derived from old Norse "gat", meaning road or path, and originally referred to the gap in the wall or fence, rather than the barrier which closed it. The moving part or parts of a gateway may be considered "doors", as they are fixed at one side whilst opening and closing like one.
