Rosa Mundi was first described in 1583, and according to 'The Garden Book' of Sir Thomas Hanmer (published in England in 1659) it was originally found in Norfolk '..upon a branch of the common red rose...' . However there is an earlier legend which states that the ‘Rosa Mundi’ was named after Rosamund Clifford, the mistress of King Henry II who reigned as England’s monarch from 1154 to 1189. Rosamund Clifford (1150-1176), also known as the "The Fair Rosamund" or "Rose of the World", was the long-time mistress of King Henry II. Henry was forced to marry Princess Eleanor who, jealous of her husbands relationship with the fair Rosamund, is said to have had her murdered by poison.
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After her death, Henry and Rosamund's family paid for a tomb at Godstow Nunnery near Oxford and put an endowment in place for it to be attended by nuns who were instructed to place Rosa Mundi flowers upon it on the anniversary of her death. This became a popular local shrine until 1191 (two years after Henry died) until St. Hugh of Avalon - Bishop of Lincoln happened to visit Godstow Nunnery and saw Rosumund's tomb right in front of the high altar. It was covered with rose flowers and lit candles, and upon calling Rosamund a harlot, ordered her remains to be removed from the church. Her tomb was taken to the cemetery at the nuns' chapter house close by but it eventually became destroyed during the 'Dissolution of the Monasteries' between 1536 and 1540.
Today, being Valentine's Day, I will make some rose tea
by steeping 3 teaspoons of rose petals in 2 cups of boiling
water for 5 mins, sweetened with honey.
Part of History
In the Renaissance art of the 15th and 16th centuries, the Apothecary's Rose was one of the two most often painted roses — Rosa alba being the other. As such, its red color (really a deep pink) represented the blood of Christian martyrs. In fact, the petals of this rose were dried and rolled into beads, then strung into what became the rosary and from which the rosary received its name.
The Apothecary’s Rose, known to botanists as Rosa gallica officinalis, is one of the most celebrated of all ancient roses.
The rose came to Europe, depending upon whose text you read, either in the 12th or 13th century. Everyone agrees, however, it came via noble knights returning from the Crusades.
One story, the English side and by far the more colorful, says that the rose was returned to King Louis VII after the Second Crusade in Syria. Since England, in those days, also included Normandy, Brittany and Aquitaine, the rose made its way to King Henry II. (Henry II, as you may remember, was the first to implement the jury system in adjudication.) Henry had married Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, but had done so probably out of need to solidify the kingdom. As it sometimes happens, Henry had a mistress named Jane Clifford, later renamed (according to legend) The Fair Rosamond. Queen Eleanor got wind of this affair, concocted a poison to give her husband’s mistress, and disguised the deadly potion with the oil of the Apothecary’s Rose and R. alba. After Rosamond’s death, so the legend goes, a new rose sprouted outside the castle — one of both red and white stripes — called Rosa mundi. To this day, R. mundi, a genetic “sport” of the Apothecary’s Rose, will sometimes revert to its original heritage.
By the middle of the 15th century, civil wars in medieval England had broken out in a melee of power grabs for the throne — known to historians as the War of Roses. The Apothecary’s Rose had become the symbol of the House of Lancaster (and renamed The Red Rose of Lancaster); the white R. alba, the symbol of the House of York. After Henry VII (“The Great Administrator”) came to power in 1485, he chose to symbolize the “marriage” of the warring factions by creating a new symbol — the Apothecary’s Rose laid atop R. alba — and labeled it the Tudor Rose, to this day still the emblem of England.
The other story of how the Apothecary’s Rose came to Europe, the French side, is less dramatic. It is believed to have been returned to the Castle of Provins, a city close to Paris, by Thibault IV in 1250 upon his return from the Seventh Crusade. (Thibault died just three years later — apparently not because of the rose, however.) Provins became the European capital for the Apothecary’s Rose and it was renamed The Rose of Provins.
Chiefly grown in monasteries by monks eager to capitalize on the rose’s medicinal values, by the end of the 13th century it was also grown for its perfume and dried for potpourri (literally translated, “rotten pot”). By the 16th century, dried petals from the Apothecary’s Rose were steeped in wine as a cure for hangovers — although this idea was not new; coming from the Early Romans who used roses for the same purpose almost 1200 years before.
By the time of Napoleon in the 19th century, there were more apothecaries on the main street of Provins than any other type of shop. At each, an Apothecary’s Rose was planted outside the entrance. It became as much a symbol of the druggist as the balanced scales were to the lawyer and the three globes to the pawn broker.
Druggists dispensed remedies containing the Apothecary’s Rose that reportedly aided indigestion, sore throats, skin rashes and eye maladies. Women believed that the petals would eliminate wrinkles and preserve their youth if rubbed on the skin. (It was proven, late in the 19th century, that roses contained essential oils, potassium and iron.)
To this day, the Apothecary’s Rose is still used for its highly fragrant qualities in potpourri, soothing teas, lotions and other cosmetics. It grows to 5 ft. and spreads by suckering. It’s rated by the American Rose Society at 8.6 — almost as high as you can get... and rightfully so!
http://www.rosemagazine.com/articles04/apothecary_rose/
