Roses

Roses have a variety of meanings in Medieval and Renaissance Europe. These meanings are often context-dependent on the color of the rose. Primarily roses symbolized the three virtues: white as faith, green as hope, and red as love. The Virgin Mary was considered the “rose without a thorn” and so roses are frequently used in the marginalia of texts associated with Mary alongside illustrations of her image. In ancient Greece, red roses were associated with the goddess Aphrodite and this symbolism carried into the middle ages and beyond. Red roses also symbolized the shedding of Christ’s blood and sometimes referred to the charity of the Virgin Mary. Dante uses a white rose for his description of paradise in his comedy, “with God’s glory at the golden center and the blessed sitting in tiers of white petals” Fisher pg. 106.

Additionally, roses were used as a medicinal astringent tonic, perfume, and oil.

Resources Used

Bravinder, Tristan. “7 Favorite Flowers from Renaissance Manuscripts and Their Christian Symbolism.” Getty, 20 Dec. 2017, https://blogs.getty.edu/iris/7-favorite-flowers-from-renaissance-manuscripts-and-their-christian-symbolism/.

Burnett, Charles. “Liber Florum Celestis Doctrine: The Flowers of Heavenly Teaching, by John of Morigny.” Aries, vol. 18, no. 1, Jan. 2018, pp. 137–40. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1163/15700593-01801007.

Fisher, Celia. Flowers in Medieval Manuscripts. 1. publ, British Library, 2004.

---. The Medieval Flower Book. British Library, 2007.