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There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance;

pray you love, remember …

Hamlet, IV.v

In Ophelia’s well-known parting words to Hamlet, rosemary is associated with enduring love and faithfulness, even beyond the grave. In the so-called ‘language of flowers’ which was popular in Europe during the Middle Ages, rosemary stood for ‘remembrance’ and, in Shakespeare’s time, the symbolic significance of many flowers and herbs was still common knowledge. Yet rosemary has been linked with the rituals of both marriage and death since antiquity, through the common theme of ‘remembrance’ or ‘undying devotion’.

Grow it for two ends, it matters not at all

Be’t for my bridall or my buriall …

Robert Herrick, Book of Rosemary

Rosemary’s associations with funeral rites go back to the time of the ancient Egyptians: traces of the dried herb have been found in First Dynasty tombs (circa 2000 BC). The archaeologist Prospero Alpini found sprigs of rosemary within the wrappings of a mummy in Cairo, which suggests it was used as part of the embalming process. This also gives an indication of rosemary’s preservative properties and why it became such an important culinary herb, especially in those times when food needed to be stored without the luxury of refrigeration.

For you there’s rosemary and rue; these keep

Seeming and savour all winter long:

Grace and remembrance be to you both

The Winter’s Tale, Act IV.iii

As an evergreen plant which retained its fragrance for longer than most other herbs once picked and dried, and since it could be used to preserve other foods, rosemary became a fitting emblem for loyalty and steadfastness. It was often used as a Christmas decoration or given as a New Year’s gift, together with an orange stuck with cloves, as a sign of regeneration. Such qualities also helped to give rosemary the reputation for preserving youth and promoting longevity: ‘Make thee a box of the wood and smell it and it shall preserve thy youth…’¹

The ancient Romans employed the herb in their bath houses for maintaining a glowing complexion and toning the muscles, while for the Greeks the scent of rosemary was thought to stimulate the intellect and keep the mind alert. Greek students would consequently wear a wreath of rosemary in their hair when taking examinations, to improve their memory. The ancient Greeks also used rosemary in the form of incense at religious ceremonies, especially during funerals, when prepared incense was not available. Later it became traditional to place a wreath of rosemary on the grave of a loved one, to show that the dead would not be forgotten. Within the Christian tradition, these wreathes subsequently became a sign of Christ’s faithful promise of resurrection, and until quite recently it was customary in Wales to strew sprigs of rosemary onto the coffin of a deceased loved one before it was covered with earth. Sir Thomas More wrote: ‘It is the herb sacred to remembrance, and, therefore to friendship; whence a sprig of it hath a dumb language that maketh it the chosen emblem of our funeral wakes and in our burial grounds.’²

As a symbol of remembrance, rosemary was just as popular at weddings as at funerals. In Europe during the Middle Ages, the herb was used as a marriage decoration, and was traditionally included in the bride’s bouquet or worn in her crown as a sign of fidelity. Anne of Cleves wore rosemary in her coronet at her marriage to Henry VIII, and all her wedding chests were said to have been made from rosemary wood. Another custom of that time demanded that during the ceremony each member of the bridal party should hold a sprig of rosemary in her right hand as testimony that the bride was still a virgin. Even as late as the nineteenth century it was common for women to include a few sprigs of rosemary in their wedding posy.

The bride was led to church between two sweet boys with bridelaces and Rosemary tied to their silken sleeves.³

After the marriage, the bed linen was scented with dried rosemary, and the bride who gave her husband a sprig to hold on their wedding night would ensure that he remained faithful. Another way of preventing the groom from straying from the marriage bed was to place three rosemary leaves in the Bible at the passage from ‘The Song of Solomon’ that reads ‘Let him always kiss her with the kisses of his mouth’ and then put the Bible under his pillow. According to another old folk saying, which would seem more useful before marriage than afterwards, if a man doesn’t like the smell of rosemary he will be no good in bed!

It holds a special position among herbs from the symbolism attached to it. Not only was it used at weddings but also at funerals, for decking churches and banqueting halls at festivals, as incense in religious ceremonies, and in magical spells.⁴

Rosemary can also be regarded as one of the ‘sacred’ herbs, which over the centuries have gathered many legends and folk beliefs around them. The early Greeks and Romans considered rosemary a magical plant, and the Roman poet Horace composed odes to its supernatural properties. In Europe during the pre-Christian era, rosemary was carried as a protection against evil and was used in ceremonies involving purification or an exorcism of some kind. It is still a favourite herb among gypsies, who hang a bunch of rosemary by the door as a protective charm where a child is sleeping. It also acts as a charm against nightmares! As one fourteenth-century manuscript says:

The leves layde under the head whannea man slepes, it doth away evell spirites and suffereth not to dreame fowle dremes ne to be afeade. But he must be out of deedly synne for it is an holy tree. Lavender and Rosemary is as woman to man and Whote Roose to Reede. It is an holy tree and with ffolke that been just and Rightfull gladlye it groweth and thryveth.⁵

The Spaniards call it ‘Romero’ – the ‘Pilgrim’s Flower’ – and in Spain and Italy it has long been considered a safeguard against witches and evil influences, especially on long journeys. Its connection with the sea, as demonstrated by its old folk names ‘Compass Plant’, ‘Polar Plant’ and ‘Compass-weed’, also hint at its protective and preservative attributes. The diagram on the background of a compass showing all directions in relation to North (originally magnetic north but, later, polar north) is still called the ‘mariner’s rose’. The ‘needle’, pointing north, again indicates ‘constancy’ or ‘loyalty’. The familiar scent of the herb growing along the Mediterranean coastline must have once welcomed sailors returning home, for the rosemary flowers were ‘credibly reported to give their scent above thirty leagues off at sea, upon the coast of Spain’.⁶

Primitive beliefs regarding the herb’s protective qualities are no doubt based largely on its excellent antiseptic and prophylactic powers, which is why it was also used as a preventative in times of plague during the Middle Ages and was later burned in French hospitals to inhibit the spread of disease. According to French folklore, the scent of burning rosemary also renewed one’s energy and helped to stimulate the mind. Indeed, it is a well-known fact that certain scents can enliven the mental faculties or act as a trigger to evoke long-forgotten memories. In the popular folk song ‘Scarborough Fair’, four of the most aromatic herbs, including rosemary, are mentioned again and again in the refrain in recollection of a past lover:

Where are you going? To Scarborough Fair.

Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,

Remember me to a bonny lass there,

For once she was a true lover of mine.⁷

There are also several Christian legends associated specifically with this herb. According to one story, the rosemary bush will grow no higher than 2 m (6 ft) tall, so as not to exceed the height of Christ, and will only grow in breadth after 33 years (Christ’s age at the time of his crucifixion). In another legend, the flowers of the rosemary were originally said to be white, but were changed to blue when the Virgin Mary threw her cloak over the silvery bush while resting during her journey into Egypt.

Tansy, thyme, sweet cicely,

Saffron, balm, and rosemary,

That since the virgin threw her cloak,

Across it – so say cottage folk –

Has changed its flowers from white to blue…⁸

It is interesting to note that the mass of legends and folklore which has gathered around rosemary over the centuries tends to reflect the same basic elements which are inherent in the therapeutic action of the herb itself – as a protection against disease; as a preservative; and as a cephalic and nerve tonic for sharpening the mind and intellect.