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THE MAGNIFICENT IDENTITY

OF THE

ENGLISH ROSE

When I think of England, I always think of the English Rose. The English Rose has been a part of England’s identity for centuries. For instance, since the Greek and Romans until today the rose has been a timeless symbol of beauty and love. The rose’s romantic influences are thought to originate from Egypt, where Cleopatra famously carpeted the floor of her boudoir with mounds of rose petals to seduce Mark Antony.  Years later, the Tutor family used the rose as their house symbol. Recently, the English Rose refers to the pictures of Lady Diana who was married to Queen Elizabeth II’s son. This symbolic flower has for countless centuries dominated poetry, art, and religion.

The Romans used the rose to symbolize confidentiality when a rose was hung from the ceiling or painted on the ceiling of feast or meetings. The rose would mean that no one could repeat anything that was said in the event. Scholars note that “The term sub rosa is today used to describe such meetings and means ‘under the rose’. Henry VIII made this practice more widespread, and the carving of roses into ceilings is a design which we still see today” (History extra). This shows how the rose was used in art throughout England, which was part of the Roman Empire.

The rose’s religious significance starts with the Virgin mother Mary. There are many art forms of the Virgin Mary displayed in a garden of roses which symbolizes a representation of Eden, but also a place where courtly lovers could retire. The Christmas rose – a hardy white flower with five petals that bloom at Christmas time – is a symbol of the Nativity and appears in medieval carols and seasonal hymns to the Virgin. Queen Elizabeth I took this tradition that the rose was associated with virginity to heart and she used the rose as her identity. She used the white rose to symbolize the queen’s chastity and make associations between the queen of England and the queen of heaven (the Virgin Mary). After Queen Elizabeth I, royalty in England continued to use the rose as the identity for houses, on coats of arms, and as signs of chastity or purity. “The people of the houses of York and Lancaster, for example, were represented by white and red roses respectively” (History extra).

Many poets wrote poems about the rose such as Roger Quilter. The following poem is one that he wrote.

Go, lovely Rose –
Tell her that wastes her time and me,
That now she knows,
When I resemble her to thee,
How sweet and fair she seems to be.
Tell her that’s young,
And shuns to have her graces spied,
That hadst thou sprung,
In deserts, where no men abide,
Thou must have uncommended died.

Small is the worth,
Of beauty from the light retired:
Bid her come forth,
Suffer herself to be desired,
And not blush so to be admired.

Then die – that she,
The common fate of all things rare,
May read in thee;
How small a part of time they share,
That are so wondrous sweet and fair!

History extra. (n.d.) A brief history of the English Rose. Retrieved from https://www.historyextra.com/period/ancient-egypt/a-brief-history-of-the-english-rose/