Download Gardens of the Middle Ages

Gardens of the Middle Ages
Outline of Notes from Hort/Lar 3524
characterized by:
Profound religious dedication
Mysticism and superstition
Orientation was inward
Pattern of settlement: small villages, walled cities
Travel difficult and dangerous
Rise of fear
The Black Death (mid 1300’s)
Cloister Gardens
Covered walkway joining cubicles around open space
Central area
Sometimes all paved
Sometimes with garden for growing herbs
Nearly always a well in the center
Form
Usually square or rectangular
Sometimes round or oval
Began with medicinal herbs, evolved to include trees,
flowers--more ornamental in nature
Cloister was only part of larger church community
Meant to be self-sufficient
Secular Gardens
Cloister was the model
Square, enclosed
Was basis for future formal gardens in Europe
Contained:
Hedges
Grass
Turf Seats
Trees
The Mount
Raised Beds
The Middle Ages
8/29/07 4:38 PM
Medieval Horticulture/Agriculture
The period of time between the collapse of the Roman Empire and the Rennaisance has been characterized
as somewhat 'static' in terms of development of Horticulture, much as it was in terms of other arts and
sciences. In fact, some describe this period as characterized by 'stifling dogmatism.' These so-called 'Dark
Ages' were restricted to what we term as the 'West.' There were fluorishing horticultural (and other cultural
activities) in the 'East' (The Islamic Empire, India, China, Japan, etc)
After the fall of Rome and the emergence of the Byzantine Empire, much of Western Europe plunged into a
period characteized by strife, lack of cultural development, and domination by feudal lords.
Important Features
Monasteries became important reservoirs for horticultural and agricultural skills perfected by the
Romans.
Here's what the Encyclopedia Brittanica says about monateries:
Monasteries originally developed in the Middle East and Greece from the earlier streets
of hermits' huts, or lauras. Walls were built for defense, and the cells were later
constructed against the walls, leaving a central space for church, chapels, fountain, and
dining hall, or refectory.... An important building within the inner walls housed the
novitiate and the infirmary. In the manner of an early isolation hospital, it had its own
chapel, bathhouse, refectory, kitchen, and garden. The doctor's house, with its physic
garden of essential medicinal herbs and with small sickrooms, was nearby. Buildings for
the intensive agriculture practiced by most orders were to the south of the other buildings.
The monasteries cultivated fields of grains and vegetables as well as orchards nearby and maintained
an important collection of medicinal plans. Monks were experts with herbs. Many unique plants were
kept in cultivation only in monasteries and these would become important later in the Renaissance.
Perhaps the most remarkable abbey was established by the Benedictines
on the rocky island of Mont-Saint-Michel in 966.
The Manorial System (derived from the 'manor') was an important
feature of the social structure of the Middle Ages. It also resulted in the
http://hcs.osu.edu/hcs/TMI/HCS210/HortOrigins/MiddleAges.html
Page 1 of 5
The Middle Ages
8/29/07 4:38 PM
division of plant cultivation practices into what we now recognize as
horticulture (gardens close to the manor house and enclosed for
protection, containing fruits, vegetables, and herbs), agronomy (the
cultivation of grains and forages in open fields farther away from the
manor house), and forestry (the wild lands that contained game and forests and were not managed to
any extent)
Here's a description of the MANORIAL SYSTEM:
political, economic, and social system by which the peasants of medieval Europe were
rendered dependent on their land and on their lord. Its basic unit was the manor, a selfsufficient landed estate, or fief, that was under the control of a lord who enjoyed a variety
of rights over it and the peasants attached to it by means of serfdom... The manorial
system was the most convenient device for organizing the estates of the aristocracy and
the clergy in the European Middle Ages, and it made feudalism possible. Under other
names the manorial system was found not only in France, England, Germany, Italy, and
Spain but also in varying degrees, in the Byzantine Empire, Russia, Japan, and elsewhere.
The manorial system's importance as an institution varied in different parts of Europe at
different times. In western Europe it was flourishing by the 8th century and had begun to
decline by the 13th century, while in eastern Europe it achieved its greatest strength after
the 15th century.
Manorialism had its origins in the late Roman Empire, when large landowners had to
consolidate their hold over both their lands and the labourers who worked them. This was
a necessity in the midst of the civil disorders, enfeebled governments, and barbarian
invasions that wracked Europe in the 5th and 6th centuries AD. In such conditions, small
farmers and landless labourers exchanged their land or their freedom and pledged their
services in return for the protection of powerful landowners who had the military strength
to defend them. In this way, the poor, defenseless, and landless were ensured permanent
access to plots of land which they could work in return for the rendering of economic
services to the lord who held that land. This arrangement developed into the manorial
system, which in turn supported the feudal aristocracy of kings, lords, and vassals.
The typical western European manor in the 13th century consisted partly of the cottages,
huts, and barns and gardens of its peasants, which were usually clustered together to form
a small village. There might also be a church, a mill, and a wine or oil press in the
village. Close by was the fortified dwelling, or manor house, of the lord, which might be
inhabited by him or merely by his steward if the lord happened to hold more than one
manor. The village was surrounded by arable land that was divided into three large fields
that were farmed in rotation, with one allowed to lie fallow each year. There were also
usually meadows for supplying hay, pastures for livestock, pools and streams for fishing,
and forests and waste lands for wood gathering and foraging...
From the Encyclopedia Brittanica, 1995.
Contacts with the East
http://hcs.osu.edu/hcs/TMI/HCS210/HortOrigins/MiddleAges.html
Page 2 of 5
The Middle Ages
8/29/07 4:38 PM
Western Europe began to emerge from the Dark Ages when a series of events led to changes in political and
social structure. One event that influenced horticultural developments was the Crusades; this campaign
established routine contact with the ideas and concepts of the East. Another prelude to the Renaissance and
the Age of Discovery can be found in the activities of an Italian family, the Polo's. The land journeys of
Italian missionaries and merchants such as the Polo's linked the Mediterranean coasts to the China Sea.
Exchange of goods (including plants) soon began to awaken Western Europe.
Marco Polo (1254-1324), a Venetian merchant and adventurer, journeyed from Europe to
Asia in 1271-95, remaining in China for 17 of those years, and whose 'Il milione' ("The
Million"), known in English as the Travels of Marco Polo, became a geographical classic...
the great contribution of Marco Polo to the geographical knowledge of the West lay in his
vivid descriptions of the East. He had tremendous opportunities of seeing China and
appreciating its life, for he was taken into the service of the Khan and was sent as an
administrator to great cities, busy ports, and remote provinces, with instructions to write full
reports. In his book he described how, upon every main highroad, at a distance apart of 25 or
30 miles (40 to 50 kilometres), there were stations, with houses of accommodation for travellers, with 400
good horses kept in constant readiness at each station. He also reported that, along the roads, the Great Khan
had caused trees to be planted, both to provide shade in summer and to mark the route in winter when the
ground was covered with snow. [ Brittanica, 1995]
A Medieval Courtyard
The cloister courtyard as the 'paradise garden
Though mostly utilitarian, it provided domestic pleasure and
privacy
Features:
lattice or wattle fencing
arbors for plants
ornamental shrubs
fruit trees
lawn with grasses and wild flowers
The image at right is 'The Garden of Eden', by the
Oberrheinescher Meister, from the Stadelssches Kunstinstitut,
Frankfurt. Paradise as seen through the observant eyes of an early 15th century painter was a walled
meadow with a fruit tree, flowers, and a water source. Strawberries, roses, lilies, columbines, daisies,
and lilies-of-the-valley dot the flowering lawn; iris and hollyhocks are specially grown in a raised
bed. Birds and beasts also populate the protected garden. [From Douglas, et al. 1984 'Garden Design'
Simon & Schuster, NY p. 27]
Herbals and Herbalists
Herbals are ancient manuals of mostly medicinal plants. Their origin traces to the Greek interest in
cataloguing and describing plants. As originators of the study of Botany (see Theophrastus in Hellenistic
prominence) the Greeks produced writings that listed common plants and often specified their medicinal
properties. For much of the Middle Ages, there was little distinction between Medicine and Botany, as
http://hcs.osu.edu/hcs/TMI/HCS210/HortOrigins/MiddleAges.html
Page 3 of 5
The Middle Ages
8/29/07 4:38 PM
plants were used to (attempt to) cure all ills. The greatest authority of medicinal plants up to the
Renaissance was the Greek physician, Dioscorides, and his work, 'De Materia Medica.'
The illustration at left is taken from one of the many reproductions (with
embellishments) of the book. The image is reproduced form the Vatican Exhibit and
is accompanied with the following description: 'For practical reasons, illustrations-whether stylized or naturalistic--were an important part of some medieval herbals or
works on medicinal substances. The interaction of textual and iconographic traditions
has a complicated history. This picture book, with no narrative text, is probably
associated with a Salernitan herbal compiled at the medical school at Salerno in the
twelfth century and known as the "Circa instans." Plants, animals, and minerals are
arranged in alphabetical order with plant lists and captions in Latin. Here, a highly
naturalistic rose appears side by side with some much less realistically rendered
plants.'
'Many manuscript herbals, drawing largely from Dioscorides and Pliny, were published in medieval Europe;
during the 15th century several were printed, a notable one being Konrad von Megenberg's Das puch der
natur (or Buch der natur, "Book of Nature"). When printed in 1475, it included the first known woodcuts for
botanical illustrations. Very few original drawings were prepared for herbals before the 16th century:
illustrations were copies and copies of copies. They became highly stylized, not only ceasing to resemble the
plants depicted but also incorporating mythological notions. "Narcissus," for example, in Jacob
Meidenbach's Hortus sanitatis (1491), is unidentifiable: a human figure, instead of the plant's sex organs,
emerges from each perianth (sepals and petals of a flower).' [ From Brittanica ]
Other famous Herbalists included:
Otto Brunfels
Hieronymus Bock
Leonhard Fuchs
Nicol‡s Monardes
Conrad Gesner
Gaspard Bauhin
John Gerard(1545-1612)
Best known English herbalist
Compiled (copied) 'The Herball' or 'A General History of Plants'
Describes 1800 plants known at the time
As a young man, Gerard became interested in plants and started a garden in
his home near London. As his garden developed, it became rather popular and
soon Gerard was recognized as a masterful gardener. He began to manage the
gardens on noblemen and as his fame grew, he was able to obtain rare and
unsual plants from many parts of the world. He compiled a list of his plants
and published it in 1597; the list included: 'common and botanical names,
descriptions of habitats, time of flowering, and the virtues, or uses, of plants
of the entire plant kingdom. It also contained a large amount of folklore.' ( Brittanica ). It is now believed
that many of the illustrations and descriptions were not truly his and were actually copied from an
earlier, Flemish work. However, the Herball became very popular and it sealed the reputation of
Gerard.
http://hcs.osu.edu/hcs/TMI/HCS210/HortOrigins/MiddleAges.html
Page 4 of 5
The Middle Ages
8/29/07 4:38 PM
Fluorishing of Islamic culture
Although much of Europe went through a long period of cultural stagnation that was finally shaken with the
Renaissance, other parts of the world, especially the Middle East and Asia, fluorished with the development
of sophisticated civilizations. The Empire of Islam contributed tremendously to developments in Western
Europe (including those in Horticulture). Arab merchants were:
major conduit for far eastern technology (e.g. gunpowder, paper, compass, etc)
introduced useful plants
influenced Spanish architecture, language, and culture; these were also transferred to the New World
with the Age of Discovery.
Return to the Chronology of Horticulture
http://hcs.osu.edu/hcs/TMI/HCS210/HortOrigins/MiddleAges.html
Page 5 of 5