CHAPTER II 
THIRTEENTH CENTURY 
“The rose rayl eth hire rode 
The leues on the lyhte wode 
Waxen al with wille 
The mone mande/A hire bleo 
The lilie is lossom to seo 
The fenyl and the fille.” 
Springtime, MS., c. 1300. 
D URING the years which succeeded the Norman Conquest, 
the country was constantly plunged in wars abroad and 
troubles at home. There could be little thought of the quiet 
pleasures of a garden while William I. and his sons ruled the 
conquered English with a rod of iron; while Stephen was 
fighting for the crown against “ the Empress Maud ” ; while 
men's minds were occupied by Crusades to the Holy Land ; 
or while the Constitution of England was being slowly built 
up, and her liberties gradually secured by bloodshed and 
ceaseless struggles. 
It was necessary, in these troublous times, for security of 
life and property, to live in as inaccessible a position as possible. 
Castles were built on the tops of hills, or protection was sought 
by placing the dwelling behind some river or marsh, when 
no high ground or escarpments of steep rocks afforded a 
suitable defence. This was the opposite course from that 
pursued by the monks, who as a rule chose a fertile valley 
in which to place their cloister, and plant their orchards, 
gardens, and vineyards. There was no room for much garden 
within the glacis of a feudal castle, and as it was not safe for 
any of the inmates to venture beyond, it was scarcely worth 
while making any garden or orchard outside, merely to see it 
30 
