MONASTIC GARDENS 57 



produced the ornamental effect which in this connec- 

 tion we are apt to consider as modern. Mentioned as 

 growing there were apple, pear, plum, service medlar, 

 fig, quince, peach, hazelnut, almond, chestnut, w r alnut, 

 laurel, and pine trees. Amidst such a luxuriance of 

 foliage the graves must have been almost hidden 

 from view. 



Alexander Neckam, an Augustinian monk living in Alexander 

 the twelfth century, is the earliest English writer on gardens, 

 gardens. In his " De Naturis Rerum " he describes 

 the herbs, trees, and flowers growing in a noble 

 garden ; but his list can hardly be taken to apply 

 literally to plants then flourishing in England, for 

 neither the pomegranates, almonds, dates, oranges, nor 

 lemons mentioned by him could have survived there 

 out of doors. On the other hand, " the drowsy poppy," 

 the daffodil, and brank ursin (acanthus), peony, violet, 

 rose, marigold, and lily, among other flowers he cites, 

 we may well believe were grown in many gardens, as 

 they are also described in the oldest English herbaries. 



Battle Abbey, the first great monastery in England Battle 

 founded after the Norman Conquest, belonged to the 

 Benedictine order, and was originally called " La 

 Bataille." William the Conqueror ordered it to be 

 built on the site of the decisive conflict between the 

 Norman and Anglo-Saxon armies, in fulfilment of his 

 vow, made as the battle raged, that if God should 



