NABUGODONOSOR. Nebuchadnezzar III, fl. 605-562 B.C., was the Chaldean king of Babylon. He dreamed that a great tree grew in the middle of the earth. Its branches reached to heaven, and the tree filled the whole earth. Laden with fruit, the tree provided food for birds and beasts. Then a holy being came from heaven and commanded that the tree be cut down but that the roots be left in the earth, bound with bands of iron and brass. The tree that filled the earth was now as low as the grass. Daniel interpreted the dream as a warning of coming calamity for the Babylonian kingdom. Nebuchadnezzar later went mad, ate grass, and lived with the beasts, but subsequently recovered (Daniel 1-4). Gower tells the story to illustrate pride, Confessio Amantis I.2786-3066.
The Monk narrates Nabugodonosor's story to define tragedy, MkT 2143-2182. The Parson says that penitence is the tree the king sees in his dream, ParsT 125. Not even King Nabugodonosor has had as wonderful a dream as the poet's dream, HF II.515. [Balthasar: Daniel: Darius1]
Nabugodonosor, the ME variant found also in Gower, appears once initially, MkT 2562, and twice in final rhyming position, MkT 2145; HF II 515.