LITMIR.BIZ

      Lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria majalis), according to myth, given to the healer Aesclepius by Apollo.

      Elena Elisseeva

      The Roman knowledge of herbs and aromatic plants was derived mainly from the Greeks, in particular from Dioscorides. Their horticultural knowledge also spread throughout the Roman Empire and much of this knowledge was later preserved in the monasteries. With the conquest of Britain, the Romans brought with them a number of flowering fragrant fruit trees, such as the cherry, pear, quince and peach, and introduced many other familiar plants from their colonies along the Mediterranean coast. Amongst these were such well-known ones as chervil, chives, parsley, rue, onion, fennel, rosemary, southernwood, borage, sage and thyme. Such plants adapted well to more temperate climates and formed the basis for the ‘herbaries’ or herb gardens of the great monasteries which sprang up all over Europe in medieval times. This herbal legacy bequeathed by the Romans also proved invaluable for the development of herbal medicine in Britain. The earliest English herbal, written about the time of the Norman conquest and still preserved in the British Museum, owes its origin to a book written by a Roman doctor, Apuleius Platonicus.

       THE MEDIEVAL MONASTIC GARDEN

      During the Middle Ages, the monasteries not only served as spiritual centres to the community but they were also seats of learning. The study of plants was one of the main areas of intellectual endeavour since herbal medicine was the most common method of treating illness. Concern for physical healing was a mark of Christian philosophy and thus based primarily on practical considerations. Thus the ‘cloister’ garden developed which was devoted to growing useful medicinal herbs and aromatic plants, as well as providing a place of contemplation for the monks.

      This style of garden, known in medieval England as the ‘cloister garth’, was a large, enclosed garden with a beautifully kept green lawn in the centre of the monastery or cathedral. Surrounded by stone cloisters with a covered arcade, it provided a place where the monks could stroll in leisurely contemplation or sit at peaceful leisure and view the passing day.

      These cloister garths were formally laid out, and often divided into four sections similar to Roman villa gardens. It was originally as a reaction against urbanised Rome that monastic Christianity had arisen with its keen interest in agriculture and gardening – yet Rome still proved pivotal in its horticultural influence in Britain. Water was frequently found in these gardens, as in the early Islamic paradise gardens, and the monks could meditate on the elements. The formal ordering of the cloister garden was also conducive to a state of restful ease – a tranquil haven where the monks or nuns could find the peace that ‘passeth all understanding’. Sometimes an orchard was planted at the sacred eastern end and was used as a place for contemplation on death and the eternal life. The ‘physic’ garden was generally found to the north of the eastern end of the church or sometimes in the cloisters or courtyards besides the church. The famous Benedictine monastery of St Gall in Switzerland, founded in the year 610 AD, served for centuries as an ideal model for monastic gardens throughout Europe. Here, the cloister garth provides the central feature or focal point of the whole design and was divided into four equal sections by footpaths:

       The garth is square, an ideal plan based on the description of the Temple built by the Israelites.

      (Aben and de Wit, The Enclosed Garden)

      Traditional cloister garths can still be found throughout Europe and America, for example at Wells Cathedral, Somerset, in England; at the Basilica of St Francis, Assisi, in Italy; and at the National Cathedral, Washington, in the USA. Within the enclosure, as at St Galls, there were generally two herb gardens: one was the physic garden or infirmary garden, planted with healing medicinal herbs; the second was the kitchen garden. Here, culinary herbs for the table would be grown such as thyme, parsley, rosemary and mint, as well as vegetables – see Chapter 2. Information about medicinal and culinary herbs was exchanged extensively between monasteries over this period. Abbot Benedict of Aniane, in Languedoc, France, is known to have corresponded with his colleagues in Germany and England and exchanged medicinal plants with Alcuin of York around the year 800. In a letter to Charlemagne of France, Alcuin wrote of his hope that:

       The French may learn the wonders of gardening from the British, so that a paradise – ‘a garden enclosed’ – may flourish not just in York but also in Tours, and that there might be ‘the plants of paradise’ with the fruits of the orchard.

      (Palmer and Manning, Sacred Gardens)