Abstract
Though we now tend to consider roses only as subjects for horticulture and perfumery, there were times when their significance extended far beyond that. Their religious symbolism among the Christian Europeans merits a section to itself; and the section on their practical significance in medicine occupies almost half of the present article. Yet it is not because roses were less important in perfumery and horticulture that the latter two are eclipsed in this way, but only because they were so much more important in areas where they are now forgotten.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Albertus Magnus (ca. 1250), E. Meyer, ed. 1867. De Vegetabilibus. Georg Reimer, Berlin.
Apuleius Barbaras (ca. 600) ca. 1483. Incipit Herbarium Apulei Platonici Joannes Philippus de Lignamine, Rome.
Best, M. R., and F. H. Brightman. 1973. The Book of Secrets of Albertus Magnus. Clarendon Press, Oxford.
Cornides, E. 1967. Rose und Schwert im Päpstlichen Zeremoniell. Verlag des Wissenschaftlichen Antiquariats H. Geyer, Wien.
Damm, W., ed. 1938. Circa Instans (de simplicibus [etc.]) [German version from the 1400s] by ‘Platearius.’ Ph.D. thesis, Friedrich-Wilhelms Univ., Berlin.
Darlington, C. D. 1963. Chromosome Botany and the Origins of Cultivated Plants. George Allen and Unwin, London.
Eastwick, E. B., trans. 1974. The Rose Garden of Shekh Muslihu’d—Din Sadi of Shiraz. Octagon Press, London.
Fischer, H. 1929. Mittelalterliche Pflanzenkunde. Münchner Drucke, München.
Frisk, G., ed. 1949. Macer Floridus, “De Viribus Herbarum,” a Middle English translation. Almquist & Wiksells Boktryckeri AB, Uppsala.
Gordon, J. 1953. Pageant of the Rose. Studio Publications, New York, in association with Thomas Y. Crowell.
Guenther, E. 1952. The Essential Oils. Vol. 5. Van Nostrand, New York.
Gunther, R. T., trans. 1959. Greek Herbal of Dioscorides. Hafner, New York.
Hendrickson, R. 1974. Lewd Food. Chilton, Radnor, PA.
An Herbal (1525) 1941. S. V. Larkey and T. Pyles, eds. Facsimile of 1525 edition in the British Museum. New York Botanical Garden, New York. Scholars’ Facsimiles and Reprints.
Hort, A., trans. 1916. Theophrastus (ca. 300 B.C.). Enquiry into Plants and Minor Works on Odours and Weather Signs. William Heinemann, London.
Joret, C. 1892. La Rose dans l’antiquité et au moyen âge. Emile Bouillon, Paris.
Krüssmann, G. 1977. The rose in art and history. Rose Annual p. 67–77.
-. 1980. Roses in the Middle Ages. Rose Annual p. 117–125.
Lehner, E., and J. Lehner. 1960. Folklore and Symbolism of Flowers, Plants and Trees. Tudor, New York.
Linsley, L. 1977. Rose petal beads. Garden 5: 24–25.
Meyer, E. 1855. Geschichte der Botanik. Gebruder Bornträger, Königsberg.
Meydenbach, J. (1491). Bernhardinus Benalius and Joannes Tacuinus de Cereto de Tridino, eds. 1511. Hortus Sanitatis, De Herbis et Plantis [etc.]. Venice.
Moldenke, H. N., and A. L. Moldenke. 1952. Plants of the Bible. Ronald, New York.
Mordmann, E. D., trans. 1845. Schech Ebu Ishak el Farsi el Isctachri [Sheik Abūu Ishāak al-Fārisī el Istakrī] Das Buch der Länder. Rauhes Haus, Hamburg.
Opitz, K. 1939. Avicenna: das Lehrgedicht über die Heilkunde. Quellen Gesch. Naturwiss. Med. 7: 304–374.
Pansier, P., ed. 1909-1933. Constantini Monachi Monticassini, Liber de Oculis; [and] Galieni, Littiere ad Corisium, De Morbus Oculorum et eorum Curis. Librairie J. B. Baillière et Fils, Paris.
Parkinson, J. (1629) 1904. Paradisi in Sole, Paradisi Terrestris. Methuen, London. Reprint of 1629 ed.
Parry, E. J. 1925. Cyclopedia of Perfumery. Blakiston’s Son, Philadelphia, PA.
Payne, R., trans. 1966. Walahfried Strabo, Hortulus. Hunt Botanical Library, Pittsburgh, PA.
Ranke, K. [1951]. Rosengarten: Recht und Totenkult. Hansischer Gildenverlag, Hamburg.
Riethe, P., ed. and trans. 1959. Hildegard von Bingen, Naturkunde. Otto Muller Verl., Salzburg.
Rimmel, E. 1865. The Book of Perfumes. Chapman & Hall, London.
Rowley, G. D. 1967. Chromosome studies and evolution inRosa. Bull. Jard. Bot. Nat. Belg. 37: 45–52.
Sayers, D. L., and B. Reynolds, trans. 1964. The Comedy of Dante Alighieri; Cantica III; Paradise. Penguin Books, London,
de Slane, M. G., trans. 1862. Prolégomènes d’Ibn Khaldoun. Notices et Extraits des Manuscripts de la Bibliothèque Impérial. Tome 19. Paris.
Sutherland, R., ed. 1967. The Romaunt of the Rose and Le Roman de la Rose: a Parallel Text Edition. Basil Blackwell, Oxford.
Thompson, C. J. S. 1927. The Mystery and Lure of Perfumes. Lippincott, Philadelphia, PA.
Thorndike, L. 1946. The Herbal of Rufinus [late 1200s]. Univ. Chicago Press, Chicago.
Turner, W. (1548) 1965. The Names of Herbes. Facsimile of 1548 edition. Ray Society, London.
Woodward, M., ed. (1636) 1964. Gerard’s Herball. Johnson edition of 1636. Spring Books, London.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Touw, M. Roses in the middle ages. Econ Bot 36, 71–83 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02858701
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02858701