15-16C-Flowrs-art - 9/15/09 "Floral Arrangements of the 15th and 16th Century" by Senora Dorothea Manuela Ponce. NOTE: See also the files: flowers-msg, Gillyflower-art, p-seed-trade-msg, roses-art, A-Med-Garden-art. ************************************************************************ NOTICE - This article was submitted to me by the author for inclusion in this set of files, called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org Copyright to the contents of this file remains with the author or translator. While the author will likely give permission for this work to be reprinted in SCA type publications, please check with the author first or check for any permissions granted at the end of this file. Thank you, Mark S. Harris...AKA:..Stefan li Rous stefan at florilegium.org ************************************************************************ Floral Arrangements of the 15th and 16th Century by Senora Dorothea Manuela Ponce Floral decorations have played an important part in art. Flowers have been shown to be a never failing inspiration in Architecture, utensils, and other objects of daily use. There are floral vases dating clear back to 2500 B.C. Egypt. Egyptian stone relief tombs show these vases with Lotus Blossoms and buds. Flower arrangements, wreaths, and garlands have been used in religious ceremonies, like weddings, as well as to decorate and scent Churches and homes, as part of everyday life. Monks inside monastery walls maintained medieval gardens mostly for medicinal purposes. They used cut flowers in clay pottery jars and jugs that they brought indoors. We can see that the monks also painted pictures of their floral arrangements in illumination and scroll work. Art primarily belonged to the Church during the Renaissance period. It showed up in stained glass windows, mosaics, tapestries, sculpture, paintings and illuminated books to illustrate Christian faith. Nobility hired artists to decorate their castles and manor homes. By the beginning of the 13th Century, painters started including floral decorations in their paintings. The Master of Flemalle, believed to be Robert Campin, surrounded his subjects with everyday and natural looking objects, which included floral arrangements. German artist Hans Holbein the Younger, on his first visit to Britain in 1521 to 1529, painted a portrait of Sir Thomas More and his family which features 3 vases of identifiable flowers, decorating the room. Knowledgeable books on flowers and horticulture were first printed in mid 15th century and imported to Britain by the 16th century. A great example of this is Thomas Tusser's A Hundred Pointes of Good Husbandrie, published in 1557. This book provides the first ever written mention of flowers being used for decoration in the home. Bibliography Title: History of Flower Arrangement Author: Julia S. Berrall Publisher: The Studio Publication Title: A History of Flower Arranging Author: Dorothy Cooke & Pamela McNicol Publisher: Heinemann Professional Publishing Published in association with the National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies ISBN: 0-434-90252-7 Title: Flora Domestica: A History of British Flower Arranging 1500-1930 Author: Mary Rose Blacker Publisher: The National Trust Distributor: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Title: A Hundred Goode Points of Husbandrie Author: Thomas Tusser Publisher: Richard Tottel, The Sygne of the Hand and Starre, Temple Barre, Fleete Strete, London, England Title: The Culture of Flowers Author: Jack Goody Publisher: Cambridge University Press ISBN: 0 521 41441 5 Title: A Manual of Church Decoration and Symbolism Author: Rev. Ernest Geldart, Rector of Little Braxted Imported by Thomas Whittaker 2 & 3 Bible House, New York Title: Table Decoration: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow Author: Georgiana Reynolds Smith Publisher: Charles E. Tuttle, Inc Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 68-21113 Title: The Complete Guide to Flower & Foliage Arrangement Edited by Iris Webb Publisher: Webb & Bower Limited, Exeter, England ISBN 0-385-15119-5 Title: Glass Houses: A History of Greenhouses, Orangeries, & Conservatories Author: May Woods & Arete Swartz Warren Publisher: Rizzoli International Publications Inc. New York, NY ISBN: 0-8478-0906-4 Title: Europe and the New World History of Floral Design Website: http://aesop.rutgers.edu/- greenmachine/COMM_FL_DESIGN/HISTORYOFFLORALDESIGN Title: Historical Aspects of Floral Design Website: http:/www.hort.vt.edu/faculty/McDaniel/hort2164/R2HistoricalAspects.htm Title: Period Flower Arrangement Author: Margaret Fairbanks Marcus Publisher: M. Barrows & Co., New York Dianne Noland Horticulture Instructor Horticulture Advising Coordinator Academy of Excellence Host: WILL-TV Illinois Gardener University of Illinois 1027 Plant Sciences Lab12201 S. Dorner Drive Urbana, IL 61801 ------ Copyright 2008, 2009 by Dorothea Manuela Ponce. . Permission is granted for republication in SCA-related publications, provided the author is credited. Addresses change, but a reasonable attempt should be made to ensure that the author is notified of the publication and if possible receives a copy. If this article is reprinted in a publication, I would appreciate a notice in the publication that you found this article in the Florilegium. I would also appreciate an email to myself, so that I can track which articles are being reprinted. Thanks. -Stefan. Edited by Mark S. Harris 15-16C-Flowrs-art Page 3 of 3