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Pre-1650 language of flowers
Jun. 28th, 2007 11:17 amSomeone asked me about this, and this is what I replied:
Wow, that's a tough question. Nobody, to my knowledge, has come up with a comprehensive listing of medieval flower meanings, especially because standardized meanings are really a Victorian convention. Rosetta Clarkson's Green Enchantment has some things, as does Teresa MacLean,
Medieval English Gardens. Seaton's The Language of Flowers, a History gives some clues and suggests some early 17th c. texts, as does Goody's The Culture of Flowers. It's very messy because by the Renaissance they are mixing the symbolism of the Greeks and Romans with some of their own interpretations, and as Goody says, "The written code is largely a literary conceit in which the meanings are shaped or constructed to fit the poem's form." (p. 181)
16th c. Emblem books might be a place to look, if you wanted a good coverage-- there's some here: http://emblem.libraries.psu.edu/, but unfortunately the ones digitized here don't have many flowers.
The only single book that I can suggest with useful pictures is probably Werner Telesko, The Wisdom of Nature: The Healing Powers and Symbolism of Plants and Animals in the Middle Ages which is illustrated from the Tacuinum Sanitatis illuminations.
Here's some useful Shakespearian quotes:
http://shakespeare.about.com/od/studentresources/a/shkflowers.htm
Goody, in The Culture of Flowers, excerpts from Clement Robinson's A Handefull of Pleasant Delites, 1584:
I've also seen sage used to denote age and wisdom; lilies are used often to denote virginity, Roses for both love and martyrdom, Violets for humility, and rosemary for remembrance, borage for courage.
I'm sorry I can't give you better information!
Wow, that's a tough question. Nobody, to my knowledge, has come up with a comprehensive listing of medieval flower meanings, especially because standardized meanings are really a Victorian convention. Rosetta Clarkson's Green Enchantment has some things, as does Teresa MacLean,
Medieval English Gardens. Seaton's The Language of Flowers, a History gives some clues and suggests some early 17th c. texts, as does Goody's The Culture of Flowers. It's very messy because by the Renaissance they are mixing the symbolism of the Greeks and Romans with some of their own interpretations, and as Goody says, "The written code is largely a literary conceit in which the meanings are shaped or constructed to fit the poem's form." (p. 181)
16th c. Emblem books might be a place to look, if you wanted a good coverage-- there's some here: http://emblem.libraries.psu.edu/, but unfortunately the ones digitized here don't have many flowers.
The only single book that I can suggest with useful pictures is probably Werner Telesko, The Wisdom of Nature: The Healing Powers and Symbolism of Plants and Animals in the Middle Ages which is illustrated from the Tacuinum Sanitatis illuminations.
Here's some useful Shakespearian quotes:
http://shakespeare.about.com/od/studentresources/a/shkflowers.htm
Goody, in The Culture of Flowers, excerpts from Clement Robinson's A Handefull of Pleasant Delites, 1584:
"A Nosegaie, lacking flowers fresh,
To you now do I send ...
Lavander is for lovers true ...
Rosemarie is for remembrance ...
Sage is for Sustenance ...
Fennel is for Flatterers ...
Violet is for faithfulness ...
Thyme is to trie me ...
Roses is to rule me ...
Leliflowers is for gentlenesse ...
Marigolds is for Marriage ...
Penniriall is to print your love ...
Cowsloppes is for counsel ..."
I've also seen sage used to denote age and wisdom; lilies are used often to denote virginity, Roses for both love and martyrdom, Violets for humility, and rosemary for remembrance, borage for courage.
I'm sorry I can't give you better information!
