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271
The Folk-lore of Plants
·
T. F. Thiselton-Dyer
210
Thus,
upon
the
Virgin
Mary
a
wealth
of
flowers
was
lavished,
all
white
ones,
having
been
"considered
typical
of
her
purity
and
holiness,
and
consecrated
to
her
festivals."
[7]
Indeed,
not
only,
"were
the
finer
flowers
wrested
from
the
classic
Juno
and
Diana,
and
from
the
Freyja
and
Bertha
of
northern
lands
given
to
her,
but
lovely
buds
of
every
hue
were
laid
upon
her
shrines."
[8]
One
species,
for
instance,
of
the
maiden-hair
fern,
known
also
as
"Our
Lady's
hair,"
is
designated
in
Iceland
"Freyja's
hair,"
and
the
rose,
often
styled
"Frau
rose,"
or
"Mother
rose,"
the
favourite
flower
of
Hulda,
was
transferred
to
the
Virgin.
On
the
other
hand,
many
plants
bearing
the
name
of
Our
Lady,
were,
writes
Mr.
Folkard,
in
Puritan
times,
"replaced
by
the
name
of
Venus,
thus
recurring
to
the
ancient
nomenclature;
'Our
Lady's
comb'
becoming
'Venus's
comb.'"
But
the
two
flowers
which
were
specially
connected
with
the
Virgin
were
the
lily
and
the
rose.
Accordingly,
in
Italian
art,
a
vase
of
lilies
stands
by
the
Virgin's
side,
with
three
flowers
crowning
three
green
stems.
The
flower
is
generally
the
large
white
lily
of
our
gardens,
"the
pure
white
petals
signifying
her
spotless
body,
and
the
golden
anthers
within
typifying
her
soul
sparkling
with
divine
light."
[9]
The
rose,
both
red
and
white,
appears
at
an
early
period
as
an
emblem
of
the
Virgin,
"and
was
specially
so
recognised
by
St.
Dominic
when
he
instituted
the
devotion
of
the
rosary,
with
direct
reference
to
her."
[10]
Among
other
flowers
connected
with
the
Virgin
Mary
may
be
mentioned
the
flowering-rod,
according
to
which
Joseph
was
chosen
for
her
husband,
because
his
rod
budded
into
flower,
and
a
dove
settled
upon
the
top
of
it.
In
Tuscany
a
similar
legend
is
attached
to
the
oleander,
and
elsewhere
the
white
campanula
has
been
known
as
the
"little
staff
of
St.
Joseph,"
while
a
German
name
for
the
white
double
daffodill
is
"Joseph's
staff."
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