medieval garden
The garden of nine squares
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| © Jérôme Johnson |
When landscape architect Olivier Damée created this garden in 2004, he designed it to showcase collections of plants that were to be periodically renewed.
The first theme of the exhibition was medicinal plants from the list drawn up in the 12th century by the abbess Hildegard von Bingen. The second theme of this exhibition, in 2007, was plants used for dying and weaving.
The third exhibition is about Magical plants, powers, symbols and virtues.
This is not intended as a reconstruction of a Cistercian garden at Royaumont, of which all trace has been lost. The landscape architect Olivier Damée designed 9 squares of plantings bordered by woven chestnut. Around this central area are distributed a table of knowledge, a garden of mother plants and a small orchard. A vine grows along the refectory gable. The landscape architect then selected ornamentation for the garden to make it a pleasant place in which to stroll, adding such elements as a woven live willow fence, a pergola… The garden is a living and changing space designed as a laboratory for observing plants and as a venue for temporary plant exhibitions, which constitutes an evocation of the medieval world.
Magical plants, powers, symbols and virtues
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| © Michel Chassat |
Human beings have always used plants
These plants are used to treat the ailments of the body and… the soul. Because medieval science was unable to explain the effects of plants, they were deemed to have magical properties and real power was vested in those who knew how to use them.
Plants were the object of superstition and were believed to possess supernatural powers. They were used to make unguents and also philtres, electuaries and other potions. The magical properties obtained through the more or less complex rituals and ceremonies of Black and White Magic bestowed both benefits and curses. The Church vigorously fought such magic during its great “witch hunts”.
From soothing angelica to toxic lily-of-the-valley
These practices involved both the familiar vegetables and plants grown in modest gardens and wild plants with undeniable potency that could have hallucinogenic effects and even cause death.At different times and places, the same plant could be used for either good or evil. We have nevertheless undertaken a classification:
Plants associated with love, such as common chicory, henbane and sweet violet…
Plants associated with white magic, such as wild angelica, colewort, foxtail amaranth and wild arum…
Plants associated with black magic, such as wild lettuce, white hellebore, and the famous mandrake…
And then there are “hypocritical” plants such as cannabis, cockle and lily-of-the-valley, and protective plants such as jovibarba.
Magical plants, used first and foremost for medicinal purposes, reflect the blurred boundary between belief and scientific knowledge. These plants reveal the history of the relationship between man and nature over the centuries.
The Yves Rocher-Institut de France Foundation, the main Garden of Nine Squares partner, has supported the heritage project from its inception in 2004.
The Yves Rocher-Institut de France Foundation was set up in 1991 at the instigation of Jacques Rocher, the son of Cosmétique Végétale creator Yves Rocher.
The Yves Rocher Foundation supports local and global conservation, solidarity and environmental activities in more than 50 countries around the world.
One of the Yves Rocher-Institut de France Foundation’s main priorities is to conserve the plant world. It provides advice, expertise and plants to help create and support botanical, historical and medicinal gardens in France and abroad. The Garden of Nine Squares at Royaumont exemplifies these gardens, which are laid out at major cultural and heritage sites and often inspired by the Middle Ages.
The table of knowledge
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| © Michel Chassat / Royaumont |
The table of knowledge presents a number of the textile plants from the 9 squares in pots.
The plants are arranged in the chronological order in which they came into massive use. The shape of the pot indicates the major period: the first period extends from the Middle Ages (and before) through the 18th century, the second covers the 19th century and the last covers the present and the future.
For the tinctorial plants, the colour of the pot indicates the colour of the dye obtained from the plant, with the exception of the terracotta pots, which contain fibre plants. Recent research has focused on large-scale promotion of plant dyes; a selection of these plants is presented here (goldenrod, madder, chamomile, dyer’s knotweed and woad). The plantsof the past are proving to be the plantsof the future.