The attitude of the Romans of the era of the decline of the empire towards the rose, of course, could not but inspire disgust for it in the first Christians, and they first looked at it as a flower of debauchery and death. Tertullian wrote a strict message against the use of rose wreaths, and Clement of Alexandria even considered it a sin to crown his head with such a wreath.
But over time, this hostility towards the rose softened, and thanks to its wondrous beauty and pleasant smell, it began to gradually gain the favor of Christians. Several centuries passed, and the holy fathers, having forgotten its significance in the days of the decline of Rome, declared it a flower of paradise and even dedicated it to the Most Holy Theotokos.
Then many sacred and historical legends began to be connected with the rose. For example, they say that St. Dorothea, torn to pieces by wild beasts in the Colosseum, sends a rose with an angel to the Antiochian Archbishop Theophilos in the middle of winter; that St. Dominic, wanting to be pleasing to God, searches for himself with thorns and these thorns turn into roses; that the Archangel Gabriel, taking white, yellow and red celestial roses, makes three wreaths from them for the Most Holy Theotokos. A wreath of white roses signifies her joy, red roses her suffering, and yellow roses her glory.
At that time, white roses were also called Magdalene roses, and they were said to have lost their color due to Magdalene’s tears of repentance shed on them.
Then, one of the legends about the Savior’s cross also speaks of a moss rose, which arose from drops of Christ’s blood that fell on the moss located at the foot of the cross.
This blood, streaming along the cross, was collected by the angels into golden bowls, but a few drops accidentally fell on the moss, which, in order to protect them from desecration, immediately greedily absorbed it.
And from these divine drops a wonderful red shaggy rose grew, the bright bloody color of which should serve us as an eternal reminder of the blood shed for our sins.
In addition, the rose is sometimes the heavenly protector of good deeds in Catholic legends. So, one of them tells about St. Nicholas. When one day, in the middle of a terribly cold winter, he was carrying bread taken from the monastery to feed the poor, and was stopped by the strict abbot of the monastery, this bread turned into roses - as a sign that this good deed was pleasing to the Lord himself. Similar legends exist about Roman Catholic saints: about St. Elizabeth of Thuringia, about St. Radegund and St. Casilda.
Finally, since the Middle Ages, golden, strewn precious stones The pope's rose commemorates an outstanding virtue.
On the day called "Dominica in rosa", the Pope blesses such a rose in the presence of full meeting cardinals in the church of St. Peter, fumigates it with incense, sprinkles it with holy water, dips it in myrrh and usually sends it to the royal person who turned out to be the most worthy for the past goal. This custom began in the 11th century and was established, as they say, by Pope Leo IX.
Such a rose costs dad about 10,000 rubles. The right to make it belongs to an artist from the same family, which enjoys the greatest respect.
Currently, this right belongs to the Santelli family, which dates back to the 14th century. This family lives permanently in the same house near the Vatican. And when the eldest of this family, Pietro Santelli, died a few years ago, his funeral was so brilliant that the Romans could not imagine that they were burying a simple artisan, and not some noble person. All the cardinals and bishops were present at these funerals, and, moreover, in their most solemn bright red vestments.
As for the rose itself, it is extremely original. Its stem, made of pure gold, is almost four feet long. The large flower is composed of single petals, on which are engraved the name of the pope and the various virtues of the person to whom the rose is assigned. In addition, countless tiny diamonds sparkle on the leaves, depicting heavenly dew.
This huge branch was previously placed in an elegant case, upholstered inside with blue satin, and outside lined with inlays in the form of lovely silver roses. But after the pope in 1892, when he sent a golden rose to Queen Amalia of Portugal, had to pay an even huge sum for an expensive case, he decided to be more economical in the future. And now the rose is wrapped only in a silk scarf and placed on a bed of cotton wool in a simple box.
Shipping a golden rose costs at least 24,000 liras (about 10,000 rubles). This amount is given to two persons selected from the most ancient Roman family to deliver the flower to its destination, as a reward for their work.
The ceremony of presenting the papal gift is very complex. The ceremonial court carriage, decorated with a garland of live or artificial white roses, awaits the pope's deputies at the station. In the courtyard of the palace, the noble Roman guests of the queen, who is offered a rose, are greeted by the beating of drums by a regiment lined up in ceremonial uniforms. Then the eldest of the papal ambassadors carries the rose in a high hand to the reception hall, where he places it on a prepared table covered with a white silk tablecloth. Following this, the palace bishop serves a prayer service, at which the queen is present, sitting under a white canopy. Then everyone goes to the throne room, and here Her Majesty sits in a chair standing on a dais. The senior ambassador takes a place next to her, while the younger one, standing in front of her, reads the pope’s message loudly. At the same time, he slowly waves the golden branch three times and finally hands it to the prelate.
He touches the queen’s heart with a rose and says the following words: “Here is the mysterious rose-gift holy father". The queen kisses the golden flower and replies: “I thank the Lord.” Following this, the king or queen bestows on the ambassadors the highest order of their state.
Of the historical persons, such a rose was received in 1160 by Louis the Young, to whom it was sent by Pope Alexander III for the honor that was shown to him while passing through France; Joanna Sicilian, to whom Pope Urban V sent a rose for ridding Italy of the Hungarians; Frederick of Saxony before the Reformation; The German Emperor Henry III, and in more recent times, the Empress Eugenie, the unfortunate Mexican Empress Charlotte and the Spanish Queen Isabella.
Speaking about this rose, we cannot ignore another one that plays an important role in Catholic tradition - about the rosary, which in French is also called roses, since the balls that made them up were at first made from grated rose petals bound with gum arabic.
Among Catholics, the rosary was introduced into use by the founder of the Dominican Order, Dominic de Guzman, but dates back to eastern peoples, where they were first used by Lamaist monks, and then from them were transferred to the Turks, among whom, strangely, they also bear the name of roses, although they are made from balls of earth taken in Mecca or Medina.
Rose in France
Here she was so highly revered and valued that not everyone was even allowed to breed her. And the one who received this privilege was obliged to annually deliver three wreaths to the city council on the day of the Annunciation, and on the day of the Ascension - a basket of roses, from which they then prepared rose water, which was expensive at that time, which was mixed, according to custom, on almost all holidays. food
In the 13th century, a custom arose in France for ladies to wear wreaths of roses, which were called “chapels,” and those who knit them were called “chapeliers,” a word that now denotes hat manufacturers; so, apparently, the current French word “chapo” - hat - came from these wreaths.
This custom soon spread so much that even the poorest person considered it an obligation to give his daughter a similar capel on her wedding day, which she put on her head during the wedding.
Let us say, by the way, that baptism was carried out at this time, often with an admixture of rose water, which was almost constantly brought to the church.
Bayeux says that, for example, the famous medieval French poet Ronsard was baptized with such water, and when, having become a famous poet during the reign of Henry II, he received the first award at a poets' competition in Toulouse, instead of the usual golden wild rose (rose hips), he was presented a silver statue of Minerva, wanting thereby to indicate that, having been baptized with rose water, he was already recognized as a poet while still in diapers.
Having received this award, Ronsard, as they say, sent it as a gift to his admirer, Queen Mary Stuart, and she responded by sending him a wreath of silver roses, on each leaf of which wonderful diamonds sparkled in the form of dewdrops. On the ribbon that wrapped around him was the following inscription: “Ronsard to Apollo, the source of the muses.”
In the 14th century, another new original custom associated with the rose arose in France. In the chamber, which constituted the so-called royal council and consisted of 6 spiritual and 6 secular peers, it became customary for each of the peers, as soon as he had any business in court, to present roses to all members of the chamber. And at the chamber, even a special position was established for the court supplier of roses, whose seat was assigned to the town of Fontenay-aux-roses, already famous then for its rose culture.
But in the 16th century, this custom, due to constant quarrels between members of the chamber over places, ceased, and the innocent rose was subjected to such disgrace that the spiritual court in Nîmes ordered that it henceforth serve as a sign of difference between Christians and Jews, who are obliged to wear it. on the chest.
But such persecution of the rose in France was temporary and limited to certain areas, as a few years later the custom arose among the gardeners of the small town of Provins, located not far from Paris, to annually choose the king of roses. This choice was made on St. Fiachra. The reign of such a king lasted a year and was accompanied by various kinds of honors.
A similar election, but not of a king, but of a queen, or, as she was called, “rosiers,” was also carried out in the town of Salensi on July 8th - St. Medara.
Rosiera was chosen from among the three most virtuous and chaste girls in the entire province. And in order that no mistake could occur and that this honor would actually go to the most virtuous, the names of those proposed for election were first announced from the church porch, where everyone could express their opinion about them and, in turn, offer, if only knows, even more worthy.
As soon as the choice was made, the chosen one, accompanied by 12 pairs of festively dressed girls, was led to the manor's castle to the sound of music, and from there to the church of St. Medara, where there was a wreath prepared for the rosiera, or, better to say, a warrior of wonderful roses. This warrior, in the presence of all those praying, was placed with prayer by the priest on the head of the chosen one. Then followed whole line festivities The girl awarded this honor received 25 livres as a reward for her impeccable behavior and often used her title of rosier for many years (usually until she got married).
This celebration, as legend says, was established back in the 7th century AD. e. St. Medard, the archbishop of Salensi, who, in order to perpetuate him, even left 12 acres of land in his will, from the income of which the bonus given to the rosiere is made up.
The first rosier was his own sister, and the image of this celebration has been preserved to this day on a fresco located in the church of St. Medara in Salensi.
On the other hand, there is an opinion that this festival was established only under Louis XIII, as evidenced by the silver buckle which is worn as an ornament on a wreath of roses and which is said to have been donated by that king.
Over time, similar celebrations began to be held in many other places in France. Particularly famous were the festivities in memory of Malzerbe, the minister of Louis XVI, who, like this king, died on the scaffold.
Let us say by the way that, in addition to such a number of celebrations, the rose also played a prominent role in the holidays, which, it seems, represented the beginning of our battles of flowers.
Thus, in the town of Treviso, there has been a holiday since time immemorial, during which a fortress was built in the middle of the city, its ramparts and walls consisted of precious carpets and silk fabrics. The noble girls of the city defended the fortress, and the noble young men besieged it. At the same time, the weapons of siege and defense were apples, almonds and flowers, mainly roses, which were thrown at each other, as well as streams of rose water, which were doused by the defenders of the fortress of the besiegers.
Thousands of spectators flocked to this holiday from everywhere, and Frederick Barbarossa, who was once present at it, even found that he had never seen anything more fun than this holiday.
This holiday was especially famous for the fact that the boys and young girls who met there chose their brides and grooms, and after it there were always many marriages.
But the rose did not always play such a pleasant role in the morals of France. The difficult drama of life is connected with her on the basis of love in the days of Henry IV’s youth. At that time he still bore the title of Prince of Béarn.
Distinguished by his remarkable skill in archery, he took part in an archery competition held at the court of Charles IX, King of Navarre, at the Nerac Castle in 1566. This is how the legend tells about it.
The target was an orange. The Duke of Guise, who should start, knocks him down the first time. Then Henry approaches one lovely peasant girl present at the competition, asks her for a rose pinned on her chest and offers to make it the object of the goal. Guise misses. Henry pierces it through and solemnly presents it, along with an arrow pierced into it, to the one who lent it to him.
But the arrow that pierces the rose also pierces the heart of young Henry. He falls head over heels in love with this lovely peasant girl and in every possible way seeks an opportunity to make a closer acquaintance with her. It turns out that this is the daughter of the palace gardener Fleurette.
From the very next day, gardening becomes Henry's favorite pastime. He plants flower beds near the pool, where, as he learns, Fleurette often comes for water and, together with his father, diligently cares for the plants.
An acquaintance is made. Flattered by the attention of the high-ranking prince and fascinated by his beauty and youth, Fleurette falls in love with him. The young people are in seventh heaven, blissful... But the prince’s stern teacher, de la Gaucherie, intervenes in the matter. Finding that this kind of acquaintance is indecent for the prince, he tries in every possible way to convince him to leave Fleurette, and when he does not agree, he arranges for him to go home to Pau. There is nothing to do, they have to part, but the prince swears to Fleurette that he will never forget her and will return to Nerac at the first opportunity. Poor Fleurette does not believe this, wrings her hands in despair, sheds bitter tears and says that she has only one thing left - to die.
“Do you see,” she adds at the moment when the palace bell rings, announcing that everything is ready for departure, “do you see this pool formed from the backwaters of the Garonne? Wherever and whenever you come from, you will always find me here!”... The prince leaves. Several months pass. Flighty by nature, he soon forgets Fleurette and begins to court others. All this reaches Fleurette. He comes to Nérac more than once, but is always carried away by someone else, forgetting about poor Fleurette.
But then one day, while walking in the garden of the castle, he accidentally meets Fleurette, who during this time has become even more charming. Love instantly flares up in him with the same intensity. He caresses her, begs her to forgive his forgetfulness and come to him on a date at the pool, where they met before. “Okay,” Fleurette replies, “I’ll be there at 8 o’clock.” Overjoyed, the prince rushes to his date at 8 o'clock. He comes, but finds no one.
He waits for half an hour, waits for an hour. Then, disappointed, irritated, he wants to return to the castle, when suddenly he notices in the place where he always met with Fleurette, a small peg, and on it a note. But it’s already evening, it’s dark - you can’t make out anything.
“I told you that you will always find me in the pool. Look carefully... maybe you will find me... You don’t love me anymore. What should I do, apparently, this is my fate. Merciful God, forgive me, a sinner!”
Having guessed the meaning of the note, the prince is in despair. They ring the bell and call people. Everyone runs to the pool with lanterns and torches and actually finds the body of the drowned Fleurette in it.
The poor thing chose death over the torment of love. Henry's grief was indescribable. No matter how many times after that he courted the first beauties, no matter how many times he fell in love, he could not forget Fleurette.
Her invisible shadow haunted him always and everywhere; and even, already an old man, he more than once remembered his pure-hearted, charming village rose and bitterly, bitterly mourned her.
The rose appeared as the same flower of grief at the beginning and in the history of England.
Almost unknown here until the 14th century, it appeared at the court of the English kings shortly before the start of the bloody feud between the houses of York and Lancaster and so captivated them with its beauty that both placed it in their coat of arms, the first choosing white, and the second scarlet. As a result of this, the feud that arose under Henry VI Lancaster for the right to the English throne with Edward of York is called the War of the Scarlet and White Roses.
And the minute Richard Plantagenet ascends the throne, King Henry appears with his retinue - all with a red rose on their hats.
Then, beside himself with anger, Richard exclaims: “No, I will not rest until my White Rose will not turn red with the warm blood of Lancaster...
And so, under the banner of these two peaceful roses, a terrible, fierce fraternal war flared up, which lasted, as we know, more than 30 years, was extremely bloody and distinguished by great cruelty on both sides.
Subsequently, in memory of this feud, English gardeners even developed a special variety of rose, called “Lancaster-York” and distinguished by the fact that this rose produced both white and scarlet flowers on the same bush.
However, having celebrated her entry into England so sadly, the Queen of Flowers soon became everyone's favorite.
Serving at first only as a distinctive sign of the actors, who, according to the instructions of Queen Elizabeth, could appear outside the theater in an ordinary dress, but with a rose on their shoes, it soon became part of the costume of all the dandies and dandies of England. The dandies wore it behind the ear, and the larger the flower, the more chic it was considered. The rose was worn not only in summer, but also in winter, and since in winter time In those days, a living rose was even more rare, so people with average means had to replace a living one with an artificial one. Soon, Queen Elizabeth herself began to appear with a living rose behind her ear, and even with such a rose her image was minted on silver coins at one time.
Finally, the rose also played an interesting role in the life of the late Queen Victoria.
They say that when Prince Albert of Coburg, who came to England to woo Queen Victoria and, let’s say by the way, really liked her, appeared at the court ball given in his honor, the queen, as a sign of her favor, pinched a rose from her corsage and gave it to him.
Charmed by such attention, the prince was delighted and, not finding a loop on his tailcoat where he could attach the precious gift, without thinking for a minute, he made a cross-shaped cut with a penknife on his tailcoat, just opposite the heart, and stuck the gifted rose into it.
This resourcefulness and the price he attached to her small sign of attention finally captivated Victoria and decided her fate. She agreed to the proposal made to her by the prince and became his wife.
Finally, the rose was the last flower taken away from this world by the rose-loving King Edward VII. Saying goodbye to him forever, when he was already lying in the coffin, all in tears, Queen Alexandra placed a wonderful white rose in his hand.
Roses in assortment
Origin: Siberia,Holland, the Netherlands, England, Poland, Germany, Serbia, Kyrgyzstan .
Ivory, pale apricot, salmon, peach, champagne are just some of the colors used to describe pastel shades Osiana. World famous cut variety! The buds are distinguished by their perfect shape. Flowers of perfect color Ivory, densely double, 8-10 cm in diameter, open slowly, resistant to weather changes.
Olivia hybrid tea.
Bicolor flowers with wavy petals, unusual colors, white at the base with a wide lilac-crimson border. Densely double, large. Medium-sized bush, flowerbed rose. Tantau. Year of introduction: 2003.
Noblesse hybrid tea.
The flowers are pink with a salmon tint, pale yellow at the base, large (10-11 cm), double. (50 lp.). The buds are slightly pointed. Flowering is abundant. Winter-hardy. Ideal for groups. Cut rose for industrial production. (Tantau)
Meilland Decor Harlequin park.
Bicolor color, orange with strawberry red, yellow base of petals. Double flowers with wavy edges, 10 cm. Flowering is abundant and long-lasting. Smell: very weak. Bush: powerful, with straight strong shoots, 150-170 cm. Foliage: green, glossy.
Lydia rose spray.
One branch ends with a huge number of buds. The flowers stay on the branch for a very long time. The flowers are pale pink, densely double, medium-sized, in inflorescences of 8-10 pieces, of different flowering periods and located almost at the same level. Height 60-70 cm. Good for cutting. Cut rose variety. Landscaping.
Leonidas hybrid tea.
Color: brown-reddish brick with golden cream reverse side petals. Flower: double, classic shape, slightly wavy petals, 10 cm. Flowering: almost continuous. Smell: very weak. Bush: with straight shoots, good for cutting. 80 cm. Foliage: large, dark green, glossy (Meilland 1995)
Lawinia climbing.
Flowers with a diameter of 9-11 cm, double, wonderful, bright pure pink color, which does not change during the entire flowering time. Elegant buds open into cup-shaped flowers in large clusters of up to 7 pcs. Flowering is very abundant, so that the plant in bloom is completely covered with large, fragrant flowers. The rose blooms profusely again, and there is practically no break in flowering; the bush is branched, reaches 2.5-3 m. Pruning method: cut out dead and weak shoots. (Tantay 1980)
Lavender Jewel floribunda lilac.
Perhaps everyone will agree that Lavender Jewel is the most beautiful miniature rose lilac color, and also excellent for the garden. It blooms almost continuously and goes well with other pastel-colored plants. The flowers are attractive, usually in racemes (3-7 pieces), sometimes one at a time. At first they have the shape of a hybrid tea rose, but when they open up they look like a miniature floribunda. The color is a beautiful, clean lavender with hints of lilac and purple. Once the flowers open they begin to fade to a very pale violet color around the edges. The Lavender jewel bush is very strong, neat and compact in cold climates, and much more spreading in hot conditions. The leaves are usually disease resistant.
Canary hybrid tea
The flowers are golden-yellow with a slight reddish tinge, elegant in shape, large (11-12 cm), densely double (55-60 lp.), single and in inflorescences on strong peduncles. The leaves are large, leathery, disease resistant. The bushes are tall, dense, strong, straight, 60-80 cm high. Flowering is abundant. The aroma is pleasant, soft. For groups, cutting, standard culture. (Tantay 1976)
Queen Elizabeth floribunda.
The buds are sharp, the flowers are pure pink, bright, with a high center to cup-shaped, large 10 cm, double 30 lp., mostly collected in inflorescences. The bush is tall, straight, with strong shoots. Flowering is very abundant. For groups, forcing, standard culture. (National Rose Society of Great Britain, Golden medal 1955)
