As we all know, the pragmatic spirit of the Roman nation is very strong. There are many famous artists who specialize in collecting gardening techniques and are willing to write books for them. These people either went into battle in person to sum up their gardening experience, or organized private slaves who worked for them to write monographs. For example, Varo in BC 1 century, Pliny the Old, a great writer after AD, and others all discussed agriculture.
The Romans are "unparalleled" in the Mediterranean. They have absorbed the advanced cultures of neighboring nationalities and have very favorable natural conditions. The terrain in the southern Mediterranean is changeable, which is suitable for the diversified development of cultivated land, pasture and garden. Different climatic conditions also provide diversified possibilities for the economic forms within the radiation range of Roman countries. The excavation of a garden site in southern Italy also found the figure of coffee beans in the third century, which shows that the Romans borrowed the agricultural technology of foreigners.
In the Middle Ages, the garden industry was first revived in monasteries, which is supported by a lot of data. Due to the military impact of the Germans, the economic level of Europe experienced a comprehensive recession in the 5th to 7th centuries. Many towns were reduced to ruins in the war, and gardens that needed careful cultivation were no exception. However, monasteries can often avoid disasters in wartime because of their unique "seclusion" characteristics.
Judging from the location of temples, temples widely built in suburbs or rural areas are often not the targets of soldiers' attacks. At the beginning of the establishment of the temple, monks tended to choose some "barren land" independent of the world to build the courtyard, rather than "strategic position" like occupying political and economic strongholds. Therefore, there is no need for soldiers to occupy the monastery.
From the standpoint of monks, they hate secular politics and naturally will not "take sides". On the contrary, out of humanitarian considerations, they often provide voluntary services such as food or nursing care for refugees or patients on both sides of the offensive and defensive, so they can win the favor of both sides. So monasteries can often stand in troubled times.
From the economic function of the monastery, the monastery is like a fully functional community. Archaeological data show that cellars, kitchens, libraries and bedrooms have appeared in monasteries in Asia Minor in the 2nd century. There are all kinds of common vegetables and fruits in the garden outside the monastery, and drinks such as beans, grains and beer for human consumption are basically self-sufficient.
In this way, the historical traditions, gardening techniques and construction conditions needed to build a big garden were left in the monastery, which was preserved from Roman times to the Middle Ages.
From various records, we can see that the garden template that monks appreciated most in the early Middle Ages was the "Grand Garden" built by Saint Benedict in Campania, Naples in the 6th century.
This garden adapts to the geographical location of the monastery in the countryside, and takes the rural villa in Roman times as a template to restore the huge courtyard in the heyday of the Roman Empire. In the main landscape of the garden, Benedict planted gooseberry, mulberry and hazelnut. These red or purple, crystal clear, or hard and straight plants provide embellishment for the garden. The shrubs on the surface are neatly trimmed, and there are even various unknown herbs. It is said that these herbs are used to deal with the gastrointestinal diseases that monks usually suffer from.
From the 7th century to the10th century, the development of European gardens basically revolved around monasteries and castles. From the planning of St Galle's Cathedral in Switzerland in the 9th century, it can be seen that the monastery garden gradually carries some other functions. For example, the cemetery of monks is also placed next to the garden, and the garden and courtyard are combined into a patchwork landscape of the outer courtyard, which becomes an open-air social space, and even some "small markets" have appeared.
Monastery gardens began to be impacted by society and changed into an open form. Previously passive monks began to introduce more market-oriented fruit and vegetable gardens into the garden; There are also secular sculptures, altars and other purely decorative buildings in the park. This change stems from the "self-sufficiency" nature of monasteries in the natural sense. When monks were eager to exert their influence in the secular world, the center of the garden industry shifted to the castle of the Lord.
At first, the lords needed the cemetery in the garden to meet the "survival needs of the staff in the castle" during the siege war. Therefore, the European castle gardens, which have flourished since the 9th century, have a strong practical function from the very beginning. Castle owners often build tunnels between basements and gardens in order to move to the safe world outside during the war. The garden once returned from an "open and open" free world to a heavily fortified Romanesque structure.
However, in peacetime, the social function of the garden has been fully reflected. In royal castles, beautiful gardens are often associated with the Virgin Mary in the Bible. The beauty of the garden often symbolizes the owner's wealth and status, as well as the owner's piety to faith. In hot summer, the rich even moved their beds to the garden, put on linen tents and fell asleep in harmony with fragrant flowers and fountains.
During the day, orchards and fish ponds beside the garden have also become new fun for people. Rich people choose lunch in the shade of fish ponds, and servants arrange waiters to provide exquisite fruits and juices for the owners who enjoy the cool. Pigeons strolling in the garden often become good playmates of the young sons of the castle owner. Outside the castle in the heyday of the Middle Ages, the garden gradually developed into a leisure place and an ornamental park serving a specific group of people and became a "paradise" that everyone loved.
Lehua Raduri: Montayou, Commercial Press, 1997.
Dolby, George: Private Life History, Northern Literature and Art Publishing House, 2008.
(Author: Haoran Literature and History Porcelain National Dump)