I.
would be destroyed. The water of the stream has ever since been
held sacred, and effects miraculous cures. The Bramble is said
to be a plant of Mars. To dream of passing through places
covered with Brambles, portends troubles; if they prick you,
secret enemies will do you an injury with your friends; if they
draw blood, expecfl heavy losses in trade. To dream of passing
through Brambles unhurt, denotes a triumph over enemies.
B r e a k s t o n e .— See Saxifrage.
B RO OM .—The English royal line of Plantagenet undoubtedly
derived its name from the Broom {Planta genista), the Gen of the
Celts, the Genêt of the French, and from time immemorial the badge
of Brittany. According to Skinner, the house of Anjou derived the
name of Plantagenet from Fulke, the first earl of that name, who, it
is said, having killed his brother in order that he might enjoy his
principality, afterwards, touched by remorse, undertook a pilgrimage
to Jerusalem as a work of atonement ; and being there soundly
scourged with Broom-twigs, which grew plentifully on the spot,
he ever after took the surname of Plantagenet, and bore the Genêt
as his personal cognisance, which was retained by his noble posterity.
Another legend, however, relates that this badge was first
adopted by Gefroi, Earl of Anjou, the father of Henry 11., and
husband of Matilda, Empress of Germany. Passing on his way
to the battle-field through a rocky pathway, on either side of which
bushes of yellow Broom clung firmly to the boulders, or uphelc.
the crumbling earth, Gefroi broke off a branch and fixed it as a
plume in his cap, saying, “ Thus shall this golden plant ever be my
cognisance—rooted firmly among rocks, and yet upholding that
which is ready to fall.” He afterwards took the name of Plantagenet
{Planta genista) and transmitted it to his princely posterity.
His son Henry was called the Royal Sprig of Genista, and the Broom
continued to be the family device down to the last of the Planta-
genets, Richard HI. It may be seen on the great seal of Richard L,
its first official heraldic appearance. In 1234, St. Louis of
France established a new order of Knighthood, calXed VOrdre du
Genest, on the occasion of his marriage with Queen Marguerite.
The Knights of the Genest wore a chain composed of blossoms of
the Genêt (Broom) in gold alternately with white enamelled Fleurs de
Lis, from which was suspended a gold cross with the motto "Deus
exaltat humiles.” One hundred Knights of the Order of the Genest
acted as a body-guard to the King. The order was long held in
high esteem, and one of its recipients was Richard I I . The Broom
may well be symbolic of humility, for, according to a Sicilian
legend, it was accursed for having made such a noise in the garden
of Gethsemane during the time that Jesus Christ was praying there,
that His persecutors were thus enabled to surprise Him. Hemmed
in by His enemies, Jesus, turning towards the traitorous shrub,
pronounced on it this maledi(5tion : “ May you always make as
much noise when you are being burnt.” In England, the Broom
has always been held as one of the plants beloved by witches. In
Germany, the Broom is the plant seledted for decorations on Whit-
Sunday ; it is also used as a charm. When a limb has been
amputated, the charmer takes a twig from a Broom, and after
pressing the wound together with it, wraps it in the bloody linen,
and lays it in a dry place, saying :
‘ ‘ The wounds of our Lord Christ
They are not bound ;
But these wounds they are bound
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
In Tuscany, on the day of the Fête-Dieu, it is often employed. In
England, it is considered that if the Broom has plenty of blossoms,
it is the sign of a plentiful grain harvest. In Suffolk and Sussex,
there is a saying that—
“ If you sweep the house with blossomed Broom in May,
You are sure to sweep the head of the house away.”
B y the old herbalists the Broom was considered a panacea for a
multiplicity of disorders, and Gerarde tells us that no less a personage
than “ that worthy Prince of famous memory, Henry V I I I .,
of England, was wont to drink the distilled water of Broome-floures,
against surfets and diseases thereof arising.” Broom is under
the planetary influence of Mars.
B R IO N Y .—The poisonous fruit or berries of the Black Briony
{Tamus) are supposed to remove sunburns, freckles, bruises, black
eyes, and other blemishes of the skin. Another name of this wild
Vine is Our L ad y ’s Seal. The root of the White Briony may be made
to grow in any shape by placing it when young in an earthenware
mould. In olden times, designing people by this means obtained
roots of frightful forms, which they exhibited as curiosities, or sold
as charms. The anodyne necklace, which was a profitable affair
for one Doctor Turner in the early part of the present century, consisted
of beads made of white Briony-root : it was believed to assist
in cutting the teeth of infants, around whose neck it was hung. -
Briony is under the dominion of Mars.
B U C K T H O R N .—Of one variety of Buckthorn {Phamnus
palinurus) it is said that Christ’s Crown of Thorns was composed.
Of another variety (P . Frángula) the Mongols make their idols, selecting
the wood on account of its rich hue. The Buckthorn is
under the dominion of Saturn.
B U G L O S S .—The Bugloss {Anchusa) has been made the emblem
of Falsehood, because the roots of one of its species {A.
tinctoria) are used in making rouge for the face. In the wilds of
America, the Indians paint their bodies red with the root of a
Bugloss {Anchusa Virginica) indigenous to their country. Galen
notices the use of the Bugloss as a cosmetic in his time, and the
rouge made from the roots of this plant is said to be the most