Page:A History of Domestic Manners and Sentiments in England During the Middle Ages.djvu/318

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298 Uijlory of Dome (lie Manners for the golden apples of the Hefperides, ihould not have known that the malum aureuvi of the middle ages was the orange. Pomegranates, citrons, oranges, almonds, dates, and figs, are known to have been cultivated in England at different periods, but it is not probable that the fruit came often to perfection. It may be remarked that Neckam gives a feparate chapter to the cultivation of the vine, which belonged to the vineyard, and not to the garden. After an enumeration of plants which were not grown in Weftern Europe, Neckam gives a lill of others, known for their medicinal qualities, fome of which can hardly have been planted in a garden, unlefs it belonged to a phyfician 3 although it appears to have been the cuftom to devote a corner of the garden to the medicinal plants moft in ufe, in order that they might be ready at hand when wanted. The gardener's tools in the twelfth century, as enumerated by Neckam in his treatife Dc Utenjilihus, were few and fimple ; he had an axe, or twibill, a knife for grafting, a fpade, and a pruning-hook. John de Garlande lived during the firft half of the thirteenth century. He was an Englifliman, but had eftablillied himfelf as a fcholar in the univerfity of Paris, fo that the defcription of his garden which he gives in his " Didionarius" may be confidered as that of a garden in the neigh- bourhood of Paris, which, however, probably hardly differed from a garden in England. It may be confidered as the garden of a refpc6table burgher. "In mailer John's garden are thefe plants, fage, pariley, dittany, hylfop, celandine, fennel, pellitory, the rofe, the lily, and the violet ; and at the fide (i. e. in the hedge), the nettle, the thillle, and foxgloves. His garden alio contains medicinal herbs, namely, mercury and the mallow, agrimony, with nightlliade, and the marigold." Mafler John's gardener had aUb a garden for his potherbs, in which grew borage, leeks, garlic, muftard, onions, cibols, and fcallions ; and in his llirubbery grew pimpernel, moufeare, felfheal, buglos, adderftongue, and " other herbs good for men's bodies."* Matler John had in his fruit-garden, cherry-trees, pear-trees, apple-trees, plum-trees, quinces, medlars, peaches, cheftnuts, nuts, wall-

  • It may be well to remark, once for all, that it is almost impossible to identify

some of these mediaeval names of plants. nuts.