THE ROSE IN THE MIDDLE AGES. 35 



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 Naples at the 

 present day. 



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, where this flower, 

 associated as it is with innocence and pleasant thoughts, served, 

 under the reign of Charles VI., as the rallying sign of the faction 

 of Burgundy against that of Armagnac, The Parisians, urged 

 by the agents of the Duke of Burgundy, established the order of 

 St. Andre for their partisans, in order to manage them more 

 easily ; and the church of St. Eustache was chosen as their ren- 

 dezvous. Each church member wore a crown of red roses, of 

 which more than seven hundred were made in the space of 

 twelve hours, and the flowers were sufficiently abundant to per- 

 fume the whole church. 



According to an ancient custom, the dukes and peers of France 

 were formerly obliged to present roses to the Parliament of Paris, 

 at certain periods of its session. The peer who was chosen to 

 do the honors of this ceremony, caused all the chambers of Par- 

 liament to be scattered with roses, flowers, and fragrant herbs ; 

 and entertained at a splendid breakfast the presidents, councilors, 

 and even the notaries and door-keepers of the court. He after- 

 wards went into each chamber, accompanied by a page with a 

 large silver basin, which contained as many bouquets of roses 

 and other flowers as there were public officers, with an equal 

 number of crowns composed of the same flowers. The Parlia- 

 ment also had its cultivator of roses, called the Rosier de la 

 Cour^ from whom the peers could obtain the roses for their 

 presents. 



Under the reign of Fi-ancis I., in 1541, there was a dispute 

 between the Due de Montpensier and the Due de Nevers respect- 

 ing the presentage of the roses to Parliament. It was decided 

 that the Due de Montpensier, from his rank as prince of the 



