The Medieval Garden
The secular counterpart of the hortus conclusus was the hortus deliciarum, the garden of pleasure. It too was enclosed, a space protected from the rigours of everyday life where the wealthy could enjoy cultural amusement and intellectual inspiration.
Both gardens usually had flowery meads, sometimes also called 'strews'. The grass was often raised to form turf seating. Trellises with grape vines and climbing roses were popular. Many pleasure gardens had decorative fountains and pools at their centre, for fish or bathing.
The branches of trees were trained to form shady arbours where ladies could enjoy the air without fear of compromising their complexions by exposure to the sun. A suntan was the sign of the labouring classes: wealthy women aspired to having skin as pale and translucent as alabaster.
These illuminations from medieval manuscripts illustrate two facets of the medieval pleasure garden - the sensual and the intellectual.
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