Religion and Gardens

Because religion is an important part of culture are and gardens a cultural element, gardens can be easily linked to religious beliefs. Roman, Medieval and Muslim gardens all say something about religious beliefs and practices in very beautiful ways. The role of religion in culture and everyday life can be reflected directly through gardens.

Figure 1

Roman gardens were a place where people went for otium. When Romans had had enough negotium or business they were able to retreat to their peristyle gardens (figure 1). Otium was a time to relax outside of the busy work day but it didn’t just mean sitting in a garden like a bump on a log. A garden was a place where Romans went to better their minds by discussing philosophy and literature and also paying homage to their gods. Gods such as Pan or Dynosius were often featured in peristyle gardens because they were the Greek Gods of pasture and harvest and wine. The reason they featured Greek gods in their gardens was because not only because their gods were very similar but it also meant that one had knowledge of the classics. To have a knowledge of classical Greek literature you had to be educated which meant that only the upper class was fully able to appreciate the statues of nymphs that allured one to come play in the forest, which in this case was the garden (figure 2). This way of displaying Gods reflected the symbiotic relationship that Romans had with their Gods. The Romans would worship their gods but expect something in return. Religious statues in Roman peristyle gardens were not used as the central focus point. This reflects the idea that the upper class planted gardens that focused on cultural values that coincided with education and class status and not strictly as a place to spend time devoting to Gods.  

Figure 2

Medieval gardens were also a reflection of cultural values. You might be thinking that medieval culture sounds dull and even non-existant but this couldn’t be further from the truth! They simply had different values, many of which can be seen in their gardens. Monastic utilitarian herb gardens, cloister gardens, large scale hunting parks, vineyards and orchards, and romantic gardens were all characteristic of the medieval ages. The romantic garden was an especially interesting place during the medieval ages. They often had four quadrants in a cruciform pattern which was symbolic of the four rivers in the garden in Eden. There were evergreen plants that symbolized the tree of life and there were also many flowers that were symbolic of the Virgin Mary. Lillies represented her purity, yellow flowers represented her glowing soul, the red rose symbolized the crown of thorns and violets her humility. Paintings of these gardens are important because art during this time was very symbolic. It wasn’t that people in the medieval ages didn’t know how to paint or draw, but creating a naturalistic human was less important than showing that God and religion were paramount (figure 3). The combination of chilvary and the cultural and religious importance of virginity and purity led to courtly love. Courting in a romantic garden was probably a rather fun past time. These gardens were an enclosed place where lords and ladies could escape the confines of a dark and dirty castle. It was a place to walk under arbors and sit on turf seats with chamomile and let the romance begin (while being surrounded by pure white lilies and the Virgin Mary of course).

 

Figure 3

 

Muslim gardens are my personal favorite. I think this is because of their explicit focus on beauty. Muslims believe that God is beautiful and that God loves beauty. To create beautiful things is a form of devotion which is why art and beauty are deeply important. Another key concept is that beauty is without arrogance because when you create beauty you do it to please god. Arabesque geometry and calligraphy are three important elements in Muslim art that can also be found in Muslim gardens. One of the reasons beauty was manifested in gardens was by attempting to create the garden of paradise that is promised in the afterlife. These gardens were meant to be everything the desert wasn’t. They were shady and cool and had beautiful water features (figure 4). These gardens were meant to be an earthy paradise much like the one they were promised in the afterlife. The gardens even followed the blue print given in the Koran. They often had four sections, were geometric, were enclosed and had fruit trees near the wall. The water features provide cool air and the trees, shade. The surrounding architecture is geometric and the arabesque design is beautifully intricate (figure 5)

Figure 4

 

 

Figure 5

 

 

Picture Sources

Figure 1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_gardens

Figure 2: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chirk_Castle_garden_statue_2008-06-26_14-02.jpg  

Figure 3: http://retrofantasy.missyeh.nl/blog/history-of-gardening-%E2%80%93-medieval-gardens/

Figure 3: http://www.spain-holiday.com/blog/wandering-in-granada-a-fresh-look-at-the-alhambra.php

Figure 4: http://www.nehomemag.com/blog/rosalia-sanni-water-landscape