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The end of internal warfare in Norman England permitted the precincts of the castle to become less restricted without loss of security. At the close of the thirteenth and the beginning of the fourteenth century the connection between France and England was very intimate. The French language was spoken by the upper classes in both countries; and as to manners and customs in general, and their gardens, fountains and statuary in particular, the same fashions prevailed, although the French were somewhat more advanced than the English, especially when it came to water fountains. Frequently at home there was leisure to give attention to domestic comfort and to engage in the peaceful contests of chivalry, and enhance the simple functionality of the outdoor fountains. Then the castle, becoming more than a bare fortress, was treated as a commodious residence for the lord and the little court of retainers living under his protection.

The description of a French garden in the twelfth century would answer for an English one during the two following centuries; the basics of a fountain, fragrant plants, and adorned with statuary. During this era, the pleasure garden (developing from the terrace walk containing little collections of herbs) began to enjoy a less precarious existence, and extravagance in fountains and décor was accepted. In France, earlier than in England, its form became more clearly defined, and, by covering more area, answered more varied requirements, and leading to ever larger fountains, statuary, and garden planters.
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The Anglo-Saxon ways of living were greatly altered by the advent of the Normans in the latter half of the eleventh century. In architecture, as well as horticulture, the Normans excelled the Anglo-Saxons at the time of the Conquest. But, until the Normans had subdued the entire country, home life was an impossibility, and there was no occasion for domestic architecture or decoration. Thus, while the early monasteries were substantial stone buildings, commonly situated in the broadest and most fertile valleys, castles were ruder structures, generally erected on windy hilltops, where their inmates devoted both time and space to projects for offence and defense. These bare strongholds were impractical for such a peaceful pursuit as gardening.

After a few years, the danger of insurrection having lessened, the Normans replaced their first wooden structures by permanent castles built of stone. Of the early Anglo-Norman style of architecture, Berkeley Castle is perhaps the most complete example now existing. The keep is said to date from the time of William the Conqueror. Around the massive building runs a terrace intended both for a walk and to prevent the walls from being mined by besiegers. One of these terraces, covered with grass and flanked by an ancient yew hedge clipped in the shape of rude battlements, forms a quaint bowling green. Read the rest of this entry »

In the tenth century, the darkest of the Dark Ages, a period of great industrial depression reached its lowest ebb in Europe. Monasticism, for the previous two centuries on the decline, almost ceased to exist, and horticulture, as early in the Christian era, practically became a lost art. Lush gardens, elegant statuary, and decorative water fountains were no longer to be found in good repair.

In the eleventh century, however, a revival of religious zeal, in England as elsewhere, brought about an improvement in the condition of these outdoor areas. Europe was under either religious or military rule, and the common people turned to the former for security. As a result, the monasteries acquired more influence and more riches than the castles. Religious houses were the place of refuge for sick souls, for great repentances, for hopes deceived, for work and meditation, for feebleness and poverty, at a time when the first condition of earthly existence was a strong arm and a shoulder capable of carrying a coat of mail.

William the Conqueror and his followers brought new styles in architecture for the castles, gardens, and monasteries they established to subjugate England. The rage for founding monasteries, then at its height in Normandy, spread across the conquered nation. William himself began this movement by erecting and richly endowing several superb abbeys with large and lush gardens, adorned with fountains and large statues, and many of his subjects of means followed his example. Read the rest of this entry »

Monasteries with dramatic gardens, adorned with garden statues and water fountains, flourished throughout Europe in the first half of the first millennium, and along with cross, monks carried the plough. Hard work, which had fallen into disfavor, was raised from the dust by the monks. “It was the special glory of St. Benedict [the founder of the order to which St. Augustine belonged] to teach the men of his day that work in the garden, sanctified by prayer, is the best thing a man can do, and this lesson has never been lost sight of since his time, as reflected in the beauty of the garden grounds.”

Within the walls of Benedictine monasteries, therefore, were large gardens with dramatic statuary, water features, and hanging wall fountain gardens cultivated by all the resident monks, often along with smaller ones assigned to the abbot and the chief almoner of the community. Formerly despised by the earliest Christians as symbols of paganism, flowers were now grown to decorate the church. The roses were often grown in large stone garden planters and was held in the highest esteem. At Subiaco is still preserved the roseto, a little rose garden set with a large stone statue of St. Benedict. The rose bushes it contains are said to be the same as those whose beauty delighted his senses, and with whose thorns he was accustomed to mortify his flesh.
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