Chapter 9
300 Words
The wild roses that are native to Europe are flat with five petals, much like wild roses elsewhere in the world, and bloom in shades of white and pink. Roses with more petals derive from flowers that originated in the Middle East. Rolfe is a bit before his time in bringing roses back from Outremer—it was Thibaud IV who brought the red Apothecary Rose, or Rose de Provins, to France on his return from the Seventh Crusade in 1250.
These roses were cultivated extensively near Thibaud’s château in Provins, outside Paris, and were renowned for their strong fragrance and rich color. Although not as rounded as the cabbage roses bred in the nineteenth century, Provins roses are sufficiently different from the native wild rose in hue, scent and shape that Annelise—not a gardener, by any means!—would not have realized they were the same flowers. The shrub grows about knee high and these roses spread with enthusiasm by underground suckers. They are hardy and I grow them in Canada.
A medicinal preserve was also made from Provins roses in the Middle Ages, leading to their name Apothecary Rose. There is also a striped variety, with deep pink and white stripes, named for Henry II’s mistress Rosamunde. A tisane is still made from the hips—which are the seed pods that ripen in the fall—and it is an excellent source of Vitamin C.
In the late thirteenth century the red rose was associated with the Virgin Mary and the purity of her love. As her cult grew in popularity throughout the Middle Ages, so did that of the Provins rose. Eventually, the troubadours linked the blossom to more secular love, and the red rose evolved into a symbol of romance still recognized today.
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