The Rose in History
A Brief Overview from Ancient Times to the Elizabethan Era: Part One
Mistress Arielle de Brabazon, O. L.
The cultivation of roses dates back 5,000 years and spreads across the world’s civilizations, from the ancient Chinese to the Greeks and Romans to Renaissance Europe, and continues to this day. Wild roses are the ancestors of all cultivated species. There are about two hundred species of wild rose in existence and they all share the following characteristics. All are single, hardy, have five petals, and self-pollinate, which means that they produce seedlings which duplicate the parent plant. European and North American varieties bloom once a season; Oriental varieties are repeat bloomers.
Of the historic classes, the China rose is the oldest, dating back 5,000 years. Gallica is the oldest European class and the oldest cultivated rose still available. They were grown by the Persians as early as the 12th century B.C. and were much prized by the Greeks and Romans. Gallicas, which have single or double blossoms in pink, red, or red and white stripes, have influenced the development of all other families of roses.
The earliest known representation of a rose in art is a fresco from Knossos in Minoan Crete and dates back to the second millennium B.C. It is possibly an Abyssinian rose from the Upper Nile. The rose is mentioned by the Greek historian Herodotus. The ancient Greeks believed that the red rose came from the blood of the goddess Aphrodite, whose foot was pricked by a thorn while trying to help Adonis. It was probably Greek colonists who first brought the rose to southern Italy. The Romans made lavish use of roses at their banquets. The term sub rosa, meaning literally “under the rose” dates back to this time. A rose hung in the room or over a table meant that any conversation that took place there was not to be repeated. Words spoken sub rosa should be kept in strictest confidence. Varro, in his book De Re Rustica, written in 40 B.C., describes the laying out of commercial nursery beds. The city of Paestum was particularly renowned for its rose gardens.
Roman colonization spread Rosa gallica throughout northern Europe, where dog roses and R. pimpinellifolia were already present. The Romans also introduced R. alba, a family of white and pale pink roses that are a natural hybrid between Damask roses and Rosa canina.
Damask roses, R. damascena, which date back to ancient times, were brought from the Middle East to Europe by the Crusaders. (The name “Damask” derives from the city of Damascus.) Egyptians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans grew the Damask, which is thought to be a natural hybrid between Rosa gallica and a wild rose species, possibly R. Phoenicia. They possess double or semi-double blooms and may be pink, white, or red.
In the Middle Ages the rose was revered as a symbol of the Virgin Mary, along with the lily. Used in church decoration, the rose signified the gift of the Holy Spirit. In Germany Saint Dorothy was always portrayed holding roses and wearing a coronet of roses. Religious symbolism aside, the rose was valued for its beauty, fragrance, and culinary and medicinal value. The apothecary rose, Rosa gallica officinalis, was the all-purpose rose of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Its blossoms are semidouble, flat cupped, and a deep pink. The apothecary rose was the red rose of the House of Lancaster. The white rose of the House of York was Alba Semi-Plena, whose soft white blossoms are semidouble and cupped. Damask roses were used to make rose oil, an industry that got its start in Provins, France when returning Crusaders introduced the Damask. (This same industry is now centered in Bulgaria.) Other roses in period include York and Lancaster, Rosa damascena versicolor, introduced before 1551, and Rosa Mundi, Rosa gallica versicolor, introduced before 1581. The blossoms of York and Lancaster are double and all white, all pink, or pink and white combined. Those of Rosa Mundi, which legend says was named for Rosamund, the mistress of Henry II of England, are semidouble with deep pink streaks on pale pink or soft white.
(Part Two will include period recipes and a bibliography for the entire article.)
Parterres and the Jardins Potager in the Current Middle Ages
by Baron Akim YaroslavichNearly thirty-five years after the beginning of the Current Middle Ages, many noble Lords and Ladies who survived years in student cells at universities or in crowded city housing have moved to country cottages, majestic manors or even comfortable castles. Finally, the gentle Lady can grow her own garden so her next Tudor feast will have everything seasoned just perfectly with her own herbs. Maybe, if she entreats her Lord to engage a few of his squires to good effort, the back gardens will be transformed into a stunning period "parterre" with knotted beds and all period plants. Perfect. Right? Welllll...
As one of these comfortably landed Lords, perhaps I can offer some helpful insights into the "Parterre" or pattern garden and its larger relative, the "Jardins Potager" or the kitchen pattern garden. First, and foremost, decide how much time and effort you are willing to invest in your garden. This venture is not quite as simple as making an embroidered corset or hammering out a barrel helm. A garden requires constant upkeep. Don't forget that while you are at the Pennsic Wars for the week, your poor garden is withering because you aren't there to water it! Once you have decided how much effort you will budget, then the concept has to be scaled to the physical size of the garden you will actually plant. For example, my Tudor herb garden in the back forty of my erstwhile residence was 70 feet wide and 145 feet long. This required (during the main planting season of March through June) my laboring an average of five hours every day and at least a 14 hour day every weekend. Initial construction, mainly digging and leveling, was executed under construction flood lights until almost midnight every day after work. This phase took over four months and I lost over fifty pounds! Of course, I used period methods (a shovel and wheelbarrow) and no power equipment whatsoever. Obviously, this scale of endeavor cuts into prime SCA event season very badly. Next, you must decide what you want to plant.
Here the SCA gardener must make some very realistic decisions in order to avoid some big disappointments. All of those lovely gardens in Europe grow beautifully..... in Europe. If you want to make an absolute period-to-the hilt garden in an unreasonable climate, I have no pity for you (I bet you wear full Tudor in mid-August in Ansteorra, too!). Assuming there are at least some rational proto-gardeners reading this treatise, for purpose of illustration, assume a moderate size parterre (pattern) garden of 36 feet by 50 feet (I have never claimed that I was a rational gardener.) Research the main plants you wish to grow. If you are fortunate to live in Caid or Meridies, you have an advantage of having a climate that can accept a large variety of period species and further, they will be perennial rather than annual. Research the pattern style that is pleasing to you and adapt it to your needs. In dry climates, sink the garden a few feet below the general level of the surrounding yard and slope it so that precious rainfall pools in it. If you have poor drainage and lots of rainfall, mound the beds up. Good drainage is essential to almost every period herb species. Design your pathways so that any bedding area can be worked comfortably without having to get into the bedded areas. That is one of the main reasons this kind of garden evolved in the first place. Each very special and valuable plant in these gardens got the care it required to bountifully produce its product. One must realize that herbs and spices in period times were wealth, Parterres and the Jardins Potager in the Current Middle Ages, cont.
health and sustenance not merely for taste. Beds should be double or even triple spaded; paths on the other hand should remain fairly dry and serviceable. To outline my large (sunken) potager pathway system required 7,000 bricks: another 20,000 were used to pave it with a herringbone pattern. If you decide to rely on gravel or even grass paths, make sure that your paths are at least 30 inches wide. Three feet is better. Plants will tend to overhang and grass paths should allow access for small power mowers (masochists can ignore this point.) At each turn, there should be some larger area, either radii or squares, to allow equipment (like wheelbarrows) to turn around. My new gardens on my 50 acre home site will definitely take advantage of all the experience I gained in my previous one. The new gardens will be similar in pattern except that they will be SIX times the size of my previous effort and will be defined by a 1000 foot long avenue and formal border of trees (Carpathian zelkovas) on both sides. The new theme is late period Italian and will incorporate symmetrically designed vistas one- half mile long (on site). As I am older (and mayhap wiser), I will use major earthmoving equipment and every modern trick of landscape science to make maintenance feasible for such an ambitious project. This will include a new polymer (sprayed on packed earth) for paths; they will look exactly like clay-lined period paths, but will perform like they are asphalt. Authentic appearance can be established with far less effort than just using a shovel and wheelbarrow or being plagued with constant weeding. Determine just how period you are willing to go before you begin. Remember, absolutely period methods will be best utilized in small projects; high tech help is needed to replace the virtual army of gardeners that were required to build and maintain large period gardens originally.
(Originally published in Stephan’s Florilegium)
Bibliography of Period Gardening
Raisya Khorivovna
This is a partial bibliography of gardening books. Don't overlook - Period
herbals, illuminations and miniatures (these frequently include identifiable plants)A. Good general books:
THE MEDIEVAL GARDEN, Landsberg, Sylvia, New York: Thames and Hudson - an
excellent and well researched book, she emphasized English gardens.SWEET HERBS AND SUNDRY FLOWERS, Bayard, Tania, 1985, New York: The
Metropolitan Museum of Art - This focuses mostly on herbs, it appears to be based on good research.A HISTORY OF GARDENS AND GARDENING, Hyam, Edward, 1971, New York: Praeger
Publishers, Inc. - this is an older book, and not one of my favorites, but there are some excellent copies of period drawings and paintings.GARDENING THROUGH THE AGES, Hobhouse, Penelope, 1997, New York, Barnes and
Noble Books - this is a wonderful overview of gardening, wonderful introduction to the history of gardening.MEDIAEVAL GARDENS, John Harvey, 1981 (ISBN 0-7134-2396-x) - this one was
highly recommended to me, but I have to admit I haven't looked through t.THE COUNTRYSIDE OF MEDIEVAL ENGLAND, Astill, Grenville, and Grant, Annie,
1988, Oxford: Blackwell Pulbishers - This is a collection of essays from specialists, a very scholarly book with lots of tables and charts. An outstanding source with material that contradicts some commonly held notions. _____________________B. Period sources
THE ARTE OF GARDENING, Hill, Thomas, 1978, Norwood: Walter Johnson, Inc. -
This was first published in about 1568, it's a wonderful source of 16th century English gardening techniques.FIVE HUNDRED POINTS OF GOOD HUSBANDRY, Tusser, Thomas, (1580) 1984, Oxford:
Oxford University Press - This is all done in rhyme, a calender of an English farmer's year.FOUR SEASONS OF THE HOUSE OF CERUTTI, Arano, Luisa Cogliati, 1976, New York:
Facts on File - This is a reprint of a medieval health manual, about 14th century Italian. While it's not actually about gardening, the miniatures depict the plants and many details of their care and harvest.A MEDIEVAL HOME COMPANION, Bayard, Tania, 1991, New York: Harper Collins
Publ. Inc. - A translation of excerpts from a 14th century French manuscript, it includes a chapter on gardening.HORTULUS, Strabo, Walahfrid, translated by Raef Payne, 1966, Pittsburgh:
The Hunt Botanical Library - 9th century poems about gardening (Swiss).THE PLAN OF ST. GALL, Horn, Born, and Price, 1982, Berkeley: University of
California Press - This analysis of a 9th century Swiss monastery plan includes details of the vegetable garden, the orchard, and the medicinal garden. __________________C. Period books that I can't locate
FOURE BOOKES OF HUSBANDRY or possibly THE WHOLE ART AND TRADE OF HUSBANDRY,
1577, Conrad Heresbach (Eng. trans - 1614, Barnaby Googe)MAISON RUSTIQUE OR THE COUNTREY FARME, 1554, Charles Estienne (Eng. trans -
1600, Richard Surflet)THE MANOR FARM, 1589, Francis Henry Cripps-Day (?possibly printed by Walter
de Henley or James Bellot, 1931, London: B. Quartich Ltd.)ON HUSBANDRY, Rutilius Passadius, from the unique ms. of about 1420 A.D. in
Colchester Castle, possible edition by Barton Lodgel in 1873 and/or 1879,
London: N. Tribner Co. Several other possible editions.A BOOKE OF THE ARTE AND MANNER..., 1569 and/or 1596, Leonard Mascall
DE HISTORIA STIRPIUM, 1542, Leonhart FuchFITZHERBERTS BOOKE OF HUSBANDRIE, 1598, John Fitx-Herbert, London
_________________
D. General books I know nothing about
THE HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH HERB GARDEN, Kay Sanecki, 1992 (ISBN
0-7063-6990-4)BROTHER CADFAEL'S HERB GARDEN, Robin Whitemar
MEDIEVAL ENGLISH GARDENS, Teresa McLean, 1981(ISBN 0-7126-3537-8)
IN A MONASTERY GARDEN, Peplow, Elizabeth and Reginald, 1988 (ISBN
0-7153-8966-1)ROMAN GARDENS, Woodman, Marian, 1987, Corinium Museum
(originally published in Stephan’s Florilegium)
|
The Barony of Grey Niche |
| Come join us for a
weekend of gaming, feasting, dancing, reveling, and (of course)
fighting, as we celebrate the festival of Beltaine. There will be
period board games available for all to enjoy in the hall, as well as
bocce and shuttlecocke tourneys outdoors. There will be a period board
games tourney with a different game played each round, so brush up on
your Nine men's Morris and your Fox and Geese (rules will be available
at Troll and in the hall). After feast you can dance the evening away
at the ball or while away the hours playing Byzantine chess at the
coffeehouse. The A&S competition will likewise take a gaming
theme. Bring those period golf clubs you've been dying to show off, or
your new leather chess sets. Heck - if it's gaming, bring it. The
annual Silver Torc tourney will be a crest tourney, with an additional
prize awarded for "best crest" as voted by the ladies of the
gallery.
Dessert Competition: Bring your favorite dessert to Beltaine 2001! The dessert table at the ball will be a
competition. We will have period and non-period categories.
Prizes will be given to best presentation and to most delectable. |
|
But that's not all, because for one low price you get 3 (that's right, three) events in one. |
| The Principality of Gleann Abhann will be honing its warriors into a fearsome and deadly army. While the non-fighters among us are playing games or attending classes in the afternoon, the warriors among us will be training on the field. Let's make the Gleann Abhann contingent of the Meridian Army a force to be feared. |
| Prices | ||
| Postmarked before 15 Mar 2001 $20 Adults / $13 Children 12 & under |
||
| Postmarked on 15 Mar & thereafter
("At The Door") $25 Adults / $15 Children 12 and under |
||
| Day-Trip: $15 Adults / $10 Children 12
& under Off-Board: deduct $5 Adults / $3 Children 12 & under |
||
|
||
| No family shall pay more than the
equivalent of three adult prices.
All Members (Adult & Children) deduct $5 |
| Autocrat: | Lord Caedmon of
Jorvik mka Roy Tyler Zadavant@aol.com LdySeafood@aol.com (901)332-4347 |
| Feastcrat: | Lady Zofia Borek mka Jennifer Marshall zofiahborek@netzero.net |
| Co-Feastcrat: | THL Ida de Lorca mka Ida Gieseler |
| For those gentles with special dietary requirements, please notify the Feastcrat no later than 3/31/01. Feast is limited to 175, and bed space is considerably less, so reserve early. |
| Directions: Take best route to I-40 in Memphis. Take the Watkins St exit (exit 3), and turn north. Go until the road ends (about 13 miles). Turn left and go the the 1st Stop sign, then turn right. Continue to Meeman Shelby State Park. Entrance will be on the left. Follow signs to Mississippi Group Camp. |
|
Per Tennessee State Law this is a DRY
site. |
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