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gather it on the morning of the Feast of the Ascension, and suspend
it on the walls of bed-rooms till the day of the Nativity of the Virgin
(8th September), from which it derives its name—the Herb of the
Madonna. It generally opens its flowers after it has been gathered,
retaining sufficient sap to make it do so. This opening of a cut
flower is regarded by the peasantry as a token of the special
blessing of the Virgin. Should the flower not open, it is taken as
an omen of the Divine displeasure. In the province of Bellune, in
Italy, the Matricaria Parthenium is called the Herb of the Blessed
M a ry : this flower was formerly consecrated to Minerva.
In Denmark, Norway, and Iceland, they give the name of
Mariengras (Herb of Mary) to different Ferns, and in those countries
Mary often replaces the goddess Freyja, the Venus of the
North, in the names of flowers. No doubt the monks of old
delighted in bestowing upon the Virgin Mary the floral attributes
of Venus, Freyja, Isis, and other goddesses of the heathen ; but,
nevertheless, it is not long since that a Catholic writer complained
that at the Reformation “ the very names of plants were changed
in order to divert men’s minds from the least recollection of ancient
Christian p ie ty ; ” and a Protestant writer of the last century,
bewailing the ruthless action of the Puritans in giving to the
“ Queen of Beauty ” flowers named after the “ Queen of Heaven,”
says : “ Botany, which in ancient times was full of the Blessed
Virgin Mary, . . . . is now as full of the heathen Venus.”
Amongst the titles of honour given to the Virgin in the
‘ Ballad of Commendation of Our L ad y ,’ in the old editions of
Chaucer, we find: “ Benigne braunchlet of the Pine tree.”
In England “ L a d y ” in the names of plants generally has
allusion to Our Lady, Notre Dame, the Virgin Mary. Our L ad y ’s
Mantle {Alchemilla vulgaris) is the Marin Stakkr of Iceland, which
insures repose when placed beneath the pillow. Scandix Pecten was
Our L ad y ’s Comb, but in Puritan times was changed into Venus’
Comb. The Cardamine pratensis is Our L ad y ’s Smock; Neottia spiralis,
Our L ad y ’s Tresses; Armeria vulgaris, Our L ad y ’s Cushion; Anthyllis
vulneraria, Our L ad y ’s Fingers; Campanula hyhrida, OurLady’s Looking
glass ; Cypripedium Calceolus, Our L ad y ’s Slippe r; the Cowslip,
Our L ad y ’s IBunch of Keys ; Black Briony, Our L ad y ’s Seal (a
name which has been transferred from Solomon’s Seal, of which
the ‘ Crete Herbal’ states, “ It is al one herbe, Solomon’s Seale and
Our L ad y ’s Seale” ). Quaking Grass, Briza media, is Our Lady s
Hair; Maidenhair Fern, the Virgin’s Hair; Mary-golds [Calendula
officinalis) and Mary-buds [Caltha palustris) are both named after the
Virgin Mary. The Campanula and the Digitalis are in France the
Gloves of M a ry ; the Nardus Celtica is by the Germans called
Marienblumen ; the White-flowered Wormwood is Unser Frauen Pauch
(Smoke of Our L a d y ) ; Mentha spicata is in French, Menthe de Notre
Dame—in German, Unser Frauen Müntz; the Costus hortensis, the
Eupatorium, the Matricaria, the Gallitrichum sativum, the Tanacetum, the
Persicaria, and a Parietaria are all, according to Bauhin, dedicated
to the Virgin Mary. The name of Our L ad y ’s Tears, or Larmes de
Sainte Marie, has been given to the L ily of the Valley, as well as to the
Lithospermon of Dioscorides, the Satyrium maculatum, and the Satyrium
basilicum majus. The Narcissus Italicus is the L ily of Mary. The Toad
Flax is in France Lin de Notre Dame, in Germany, Unser Frauen Flachs.
The Dead-Nettle is Main de Sainte Marie. Besides the Alchemilla,
the Leontopodium, the Drosera, and the Sanicula major are called on
the Continent Our L ad y ’s Mantle. Woodroof, Thyme, Groundsel,
and St. John’s Wort form the bed of Mary.
In Piedmont they give the name of the Herb of the Blessed
Mary to a certain plant that the birds are reputed to carry to their
young ones which have been stolen and imprisoned in cages, in
order that it shall cause their death and thus deliver them from
their slavery.
The Snowdrop is the Fair Maid of February, as being sacred
to the Purification of the Virgin (February 2nd), when her image
was removed from the altar and Snowdrops strewed in its place.
To the Madonna, in her capacity of Queen of Heaven, were
dedicated the Almond, the White Iris, the White Lily, and the
Narcissus, all appropriate to the Annunciation (March 25th).
The L ily and White and Red Roses were assigned to the Visitation
of Our Lady (July 2nd): these flowers are typical of the love and
purity of the Virgin Mother. To the Feast of the Assumption
(August 15th) is assigned the Virgin’s Bower (Clematis Flammula) ; to
the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin (September 8th) the Amelins (Aster
Amellus); and to the Conception (December 8thj the Arbor V it s .
St. Dominick instituted the “ Devotion of the Rosary ” of the
Virgin Mary—a series of prayers, to mark the repetition of which a
chaplet of beads is employed, which consists of fifteen large and
one hundred and fifty small beads ; the former representing the
number of Pater Nosters, the latter the number of Ave Marias. As
these beads were formerly made of Rose-leaves tightly pressed into
round moulds, where real Roses were not strung together, this
chaplet was called a Rosary, and was blessed by the Pope or some
other holy person before being so used.
Valeriana sativa is in France called Herbe de Marie Magdaleine,
in Germany Marien Magdalenen Kraut; the Pomegranate is the
Pommier de Marie Magdaleine and Marien Magdalenen Apfel.
^ f t e o ? ©ur ^a'^Iouv,
We have seen that at the birth of Christ, the infant Jesus was
laid on a manger containing Galium verum, at Bethlehem, a place
commemorated by the Ornithogalum umbellatum, or Star of Bethlehem,
the flowers of which resemble the pictures of the star that
indicated the birth of Jesus. Whilst lying in the manger, a spray
of the rose-coloured Sainfoin, says a French legend, was found
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