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door-posts, which were adorned with evergreens and blossoms, and
anointed with the fat of wolves to avert enchantment.
In M. Barthélemi’s ‘ Travels of Young Anacharsis ’ the author,
describing a marriage ceremony in the Island of Delos, says that
the inhabitants of the island assembled at daybreak, crowned
with flowers ; flowers were strewn in the path of the bride and
bridegroom ; and the house was garlanded with them. Singers
and dancers appeared crowned with Oak, Myrtles, and Hawthorn.
The bride and bridegroom were crowned with Poppies, and upon
their approach to the temple, a priest received them at the
entrance, and presented to each a branch of Ivy—a symbol of the
tie which was to unite them for ever.*
At Indian nuptials, the wedding wreath, the varamâlâ, united
bride and bridegroom. At the marriage feasts of the Persians, a
little tree is introduced, the branches of which are laden with
fruit : the guests endeavour to pluck these without the bridegroom
perceiving them ; if successful, the latter has to make them a
present ; if, however, a guest fails, he has to give the bridegroom
a hundred times the value of the object he sought to remove from
the tree.
In Germany, among the inhabitants of Oldenburg, there exists
a curious wedding custom. When the bridegroom quits his
father’s roof to settle in some other town or village, he has his
bed linen embroidered at the corners with flowers surmounted by
a tree, on whose branches are perched cock birds ; on each side
of the tree are embroidered the bridegroom’s initials. In many
European countries it is customary to plant before the house of a
newly-married couple, one or two trees, as a symbol of the good
luck wished them by their friends.
i J f o r c L f @J©i>fî>9 a f / ' .
Floral games have for many years been held at Toulouse,
Barcelona, Tortosi, and other places ; but the former are the most
famed, both on account of their antiquity and the value of the
prizes distributed during the fêtes. The ancient city of Toulouse
had formerly a great reputation for literature, which had, however,
been allowed to decline until the visit of Charles IV. and his bride
determined the capitouls or chief magistrates to make an effort to
restore its prestige as the centre of Provençal song. Troubadours
there were who, banded together in a society, met in the garden
of the Augustine monks to recite their songs, sirventes, and ballads ;
and in order to foster the latent taste for poetry, the capitouls
invited the poets of the Langue d’oc, to compete for a golden
Violet to be awarded to the author of the best poem produced on
* ‘ Voyage' du yeune Anacharsis cn Grice, vers le milieu du quatriime siècle
avant tere vulgaire.
May 4th, 1324. The competition created the greatest excitement,
and great numbers of people met to hear the judges’ decision :
they awarded the golden Violet to Arnaud Vidal for his poem
in honour of the Virgin. In 1355, three prizes were offered—a
golden Violet for the best song; an Eglantine (Spanish Jasmine),
for the best sirvente, or finest pastoral ; and a Flor-de-gang (yellow
Acacia) for the best ballad. In later years four prizes were
competed for, viz., an Amaranth, a Violet, a Pansy, and a Lily.
In 1540, Clemence Isaure, a poetess, bequeathed the bulk of her
fortune to the civic authorities to be expended in prizes for poetic
merits, and in fêtes to be held on the ist and 3rd of May. She
was interred in the church of L a Daurade, on the high altar of
which are preserved the golden flowers presented to the successful
competitors at the Floral Games. The ceremonies of ih.e fêtes thus
revived by Clemence Isaure commenced with the strewing of her
tomb with Roses, followed by mass, a sermon, and alms-giving.
In 1694, the Jeux Floraux were merged into the Academy of Belles
Lettres, which gives prizes, but almost exclusively to French poets.
The festival, interrupted by the Revolution, was once more
revived in 1806, and is still held annually in the Hotel-de-Ville,
Toulouse.
St. Medard, Bishop of Noyon, in France, instituted in the
sixth century a festival at Salency, his birth-place, for adjudging a
most interesting prize offered by piety to virtue. This prize
consists of a simple crown of Roses bestowed on the girl who is
acknowledged by all her competitors to be the most amiable,
modest, and dutiful. The founder of this festival had the pleasure
oi crowning his own sister as the first Rosiere of Salency. This
simple institution still survives, and the crown of Roses continues
to be awarded to the most virtuous of the maidens of the obscure
French village. A similar prize is awarded in the East of London
by an active member of the Roman Catholic Church—the ceremony
of crowning the Rose Queen being performed annually in the Crystal
Palace at Sydenham.
In the middle ages the Queen of Flowers contributed to a
singular popular festival at Treviso, in Italy. In the middle of the
city the inhabitants erected a mock castle of upholstery. The most
distinguished unmarried females of the place defended the fortress,
which was attacked by the youth of the other sex. The missiles
with which both parties fought consisted of Roses, Lilies, Narcissi,
Violets, Apples, and Nuts, which were hurled at each other by the
combatants. Volleys of Rose-water and other perfumes were also
discharged by means of syringes. This entertainment attracted
thousands of spectators from far and near, and the Emperor
Frederick Barbarossa himself accounted it a most pleasing
diversion.
The custom of pelting with Roses is still common in Persia,
where it is practised during the whole season that these flowers are
D— 2