THE ROSE IN THE MIDDLE AGES. 181 



It appears that, in the Middle Ages, roses were much 

 more abundantly cultivated in certain provinces than they 

 have been since ; for the following passage is found in 

 Marchangy's History of France in the 14th century : 

 " For the ornament of certain festivals, they cultivate, in 

 the vicinity of Rouen, fields of flowers of several rods ; 

 and the annual sale of bouquets and wreaths of roses is 

 valued at 50,000 francs. The business of maker of 

 wreaths, and that of rose merchant, is in France very 

 common and very profitable. The above sum will not 

 seem surprising, when Ave think of the enormous consump- 

 tion of rose-water at that time. In all family parties, 

 companies, and associations, many bouquets were present- 

 ed ; at table, during festivals, they crowned themselves 

 with flowers, and scattered them on the table-cloth and 

 the floor." 



The Marquis de Chesnel, in his History of the Rose, 

 mentions tliat, among the old customs of Auvergne, An- 

 jou, Tours, Lodunois, and Maine, there was one in the no- 

 ble fimilios, that a father who had sons, frequently gave 

 to his daughters, on their marriage, only a wreath of 

 roses. In Normandy, also, the daughters received, for 

 their legitimate j^ortion, a hat adorned with the same 

 flowers. Among the ancient seigniorial rights in France, 

 in the 14th century, was one by which each tenant was 

 obliged to furnish a bushel of roses for the manufacture 

 of rose-water for the lord of the soil. Madame de Genlis 

 mentions, however, that about the same period, every one 

 was not allowed to cultivate these flowers; but permission 

 to do so was granted to privileged persons. "Whether it 

 was ever a royal monopoly she does not state ; but it 

 would certainly be no more singular than the monopoly 

 of the sale of butter by the King of Xaples. 



"We have already mentioned the wars of the White and 

 Red Rose, which during so long a time deluged England 

 with blood. There is also an instance in French history, 



