Roman and Medieval Gardens and Medicine

For this weeks blog, I will discuss again a little bit more the background on Roman gardening, seeing that it is important to know where the Romans got their ideas from.  Then I will continue on by discussing how Roman gardens were designed, what types of gardens are included in this, the types of plants they planted, and primary evidence from Roman horticulturalists.  This will lead into a discussion of Medieval medicine all the way through the fourteenth century, that included many of the plants used in the Roman period.

The first book I will draw from for this discussion is Anne Jennings Roman Gardens.  The book is full of all sorts of information regarding Roman gardening and guides to constructing your own roman garden.  Jennings does a good job at laying out the history of Roman gardening.  Rome was one of the greatest powers during the 3rd century BC for it controlled much of present day Italy and the land bordering the Mediterranean.  Rome conquered Greece in 146 BC and was greatly influenced by the Greeks in many aspects of life, including gardening.  As I've discussed in previous blogs, the Romans were interested in not only what they planted in their gardens, but also how they structured their gardens.  The Ancient Greeks, however, did not care too much about the layout of their gardens, but focused solely on the plants themselves.  The Greeks connected their plants, trees, and flowers to the deities they worshiped and many writers, like Homer (whom Pliny the Elder studied), discussed horticulture and plants in their works.  If anything, the Greeks liked simple landscaping that would later serve as the basis for Roman gardening. (1)  The image below depicts the simple landscaping the Ancient Greeks enjoyed, with only a few trees surrounding the temple.

Temple of Hephaestus in Athens, Greece.  From Roman Gardens by Anne Jennings.

The Egyptians, who were conquered in 30 BC by the Romans, were fortunate enough to have the Nile River because it acted as a good water source in an area that was very hot and dry.  Like the Greeks, the Egyptians attributed much of what they planted to their gods, but unlike the Greeks, they enjoyed ornamental gardens.  The Egyptians also placed religious sculptures in their gardens, just like the Romans would, and they also left us with tomb paintings illustrating their gardens.  The Romans would leave similar illustrations using wall paintings and mosaics.  Below is a picture of an Egyptian tomb painting that includes palms, lotus flowers, and a fish pool. (2)

From the Tomb of Nebamun (c. 1350 BC), in Anne Jennings's Roman Gardens.

The Persians, who signed a treaty with the Romans in 20 BC, were also interested in ornamental gardens.  Ornamental gardens in Persia date back to the 6th c. BC and the earliest garden being in Pasargadae.  Persian gardens were very similar to Roman ones, with formal architecture, shade, and irrigation. (3)

The gardens of the Greeks, Egyptians, and Persians all influenced the Roman and how they did gardening.  Jennings does a good job with discussing this influence, but also does a good job in discussing the Roman garden design as well as the importance of Roman gardens.  Gardening was very important to the Romans and they tried their best to incorporate the indoors with the outdoors.  It is essential to note that all Romans appreciated gardening; the poor planted small gardens that would help their families survive while the rich built flashy gardens to show of their wealth and status.  Jennings does a good job in discussing the general features of Roman homes that contained an atrium, which in turn contained an implurium (pool) that collected rainwater.  Each home also had a central courtyard that had another pool or sometimes a fountain, serving as a focal point of the home.  Roman homes were geometrically shaped and the Romans used this style to build their gardens.  In order to assure that the gardens were well watered, many Romans tried to plant them near water sources.  Columella (1st c. AD) notes that he planted his gardens near streams or rivers.  Many Romans, however, did not live near bodies of water and for that reason they used pipes and aqueducts to channel water into their gardens. (4)

Unlike Linda Farrar, Jennings does a good job at focusing on Urban gardens and uses Pompeii as her main example because of how well it was preserved after the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79.  In many cases, the Romans saved specific areas of land for vegetable gardens in order to provide for the family.  The Romans also enjoyed putting murals of gardens inside their home, in order to give the illusion of a garden, as shown below. (5)

Mural from the House of the Golden bracelet in Pompeii, from Roman Gardens by Anne Jennings.

Archaeologist have found pots at Pompeii that allow us to understand how plants were grown.  One method the Romans used was to plant young trees in pots and once they start getting larger, to break the pot so the roots could expand.  Another method was to poke holes in the pot so that the roots could grow through it without having to break the pot.  Romans also placed holes in columns and pillars so that climbing plants can grow on them. (6)

Similarly to Farrar, Jennings provides us with evidence from Pliny the Younger  (AD 61-113) that is helpful in having first hand evidence of Roman gardening and garden architecture.  Pliny the Younger refers to two of his villas and helps us in understanding the architecture of Roman gardens.  His villa at Laurentum, just south of Rome, was near the sea.  It had a set of two colonnades (rows of columns) shaped like the letter "D" that were roofed and contained a garden window.  His villa at Tuscany faced harsher winters than that at Laurentum because it was situation near the mountains.  This villa produced more than the other and he used the produce to help the poor.  This villa included a colonnade with a terrace.  Box hedges surrounded the colonnade and were clipped into different shapes. (7)  Jennings also discusses the work of Pliny the elder and makes note of his work titled as Historia Naturalis which was 37 volumes about nature and science.  many of the chapters contained information on trees, olives, fruiting tree, herbs, and wild and medicinal plants.  Another source Jennings mentions is Dioscorides' De Materia Medica, a book that discusses how to grow, harvest, store and utilize several plants in medicine. Among the plants he mentions are fennel, henbane, and mustard. (8)

While Jennings repeats many of the concepts Farrar introduced in her book Ancient Roman Gardens, Jennings talks a little more in depth about the sources she draws from such as Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger.  I enjoyed her discussion on Pompeii because it really is good evidence of Roman gardening seeing that the volcanic ash preserved much of the area. I also enjoyed how she provided "How-to" sections in her book that give us step-by-step instructions on how to construct Roman gardens and mosaics.  Her book was short, however, and not nearly as detailed as that of Farrar's.

The other source I looked at this week was Health and Healing From the Medieval Gardens, edited by Peter Dendle and Alain Touwaide.  This book differs from the previous two in that it discusses the uses of plants and herbs for medical purposes during the Middle Ages (5th-15th centuries) across Europe. 

One chapter of the book particularly discusses the importance of physicians and cooks during this time period and their relationship with one another.  The wealthier families during the Middle Ages usually had cooks in their homes that would cook specific dishes in accordance with each persons health.  In order words, if someone was sick, they would cook them a "sick dish."  Cooks would use medical doctrines of their time to guide their cooking.  Physicians looked at the source of the problem and prescribed their patients with medication that was to combat that specific ailment.  Among the more popular plants known to help cure illnesses was mustard seed, garlic, mushrooms, onions, and peppers.  Towards the last couple of centuries of the Middle Ages, people began to develop an interest in curing diseases and as trade grew, herbs became more and more readily available.  Physicians started writing more and more books that contained many recipes to "sick dishes" that cooks used, chicken and parsley being the most common ingredients. (9)

In another chapter of the book, Peter Murray Jones discusses how Medieval surgeons used herbs during operations.  Physicians began to write books and manuals to guide one another on how to treat the sick.  While herbs were the most popular ingredient in curing the sick, physicians also relied on animal parts, minerals, and exotic spices among other things.  One primary source Murray uses is that of the 14th century English surgeon John of Arderne.  Arderne was born in 1307 and died in 1370, and while he was a surgeon, he was never educated in the field.  Instead, he was taught by others who were also not educated in the field of surgery.  Although he was uneducated, he left very descriptive writings behind that discussed herbal therapy, how surgeons made choices, and issues regarding getting a hold of herbs and plants.  It was very helpful for Murray to include this in his work because it is a good primary source, but also shows how important herbs were in Medieval medicine. (10)

John of Arderne performing fistula in ano, from Health and Healing from the Medieval Garden edited by Peter Dendle and Alain Touwaide.

The above picture is an illustration of John of Arderne performing fistula in ano.  Arderne was known as the only one able to perform this procedure.  During and after the procedure he used several herbs to treat the patients.  Wealthier patients would get more expensive herbal medicine, while the poorer patients would receive the most basic.  Arderne and other physicians would get these herbs from apothecary shops or would grow them themselves.  Walwort was the herb Arderne used the most and its purpose was to stop blood loss.  Arderne's works are extremely useful because he provides illustrations (although not detailed) of the herbs and plants he uses, something that was not that popular during the 14th and 15th centuries. (11)

Dendle and Touwaide's work is useful in understanding herbs and medicine during the Middle Ages.  It gives us a different view from what I have been discussing up until this point.  In the future I would like to see how gardens were planted in the Middle Ages and if Medieval gardens were directly influence by Roman gardens.

1. Anne Jennings, Roman Gardens (London: English Heritage, 2006), 11-13.

2. Ibid., 15-16.

3. Ibid., 17.

4. Ibid., 21-25.

5. Ibid., 28-29.

6. Ibid., 29-31.

7. Ibid., 36-39.

8. Ibid., 57-58.

9.Terrence Scully, “A Cook’s Therapeutic Use of Garden Herbs,” eds. Peter Dendle and Alain Touwaide et al. Health and Healing from the Medieval Garden (Rochester, NY: The Boydell Press, 2008), 60-66.

10. Peter Murray Jones, “Herbs and the Medieval Surgeon,” eds. Peter Dendle and Alain Touwaide et al. Health and Healing from the Medieval Garden (Rochester, NY: The Boydell Press, 2008), 162-165.

11. Ibid., 165-175.