The world is full of traditions. Some nonsensical, some endearing, some fascinating, some laughable, some misunderstood, and some, lost in the mists and oceans of history and time.
The Language of Flowers is one such tradition.
Seriously? Flower Language?
Yeah, seriously. Flower language.
Properly called “Floriography“, the language of flowers was a Victorian-era method of secret, discreet communications. Almost completely forgotten today, it lingers on in a few, tiny pockets of popular culture to this day, over a century later. Why are roses supposed to be the symbol of love? What flowers do you buy when someone dies? What plant is used to symbolise remembrance?
These were all parts of Victorian-era floriography, a quirky little code which has been almost completely forgotten in the 21st century. This is its story.
The Roots of Flower Language
Floriography took root in 16th and 17th centuries. It started in Turkey, and slowly drifted westwards across Europe during the later part of the 1500s. In essence, Floriography proposed that each flower or plant had a special significance, meaning, or conveyed a certain message or emotion, and that combinations or specific varieties of these flowers meant different things.
Why?
You have to remember that back in Early Modern period, few people could read. Even with innovations like the printing-press, education and literacy remained the preserve of kings, nobles, and those lucky enough to hang onto their coat-tails. Creating symbolism for flowers was seen as a way for illiterate people, mostly women, to communicate with each other, through objects, rather than letters. And it was in Turkey that this system originated.
The Spread of the Flowers
Flower language was spread to Europe during the later 1500s and onwards, by European diplomats who visited the Near East. British and French ambassadors who traveled to Constantinople heard of this strange ‘flower language’, and recorded its nuances, before sending these observations back to Europe in the letters they wrote, and the diaries which they kept. By the Stuart era, flower-language had spread to England. It’s briefly mentioned in Shakespeare’s play, “Hamlet“, written in 1600.
Blooming Popularity
For a while, floriography was a bit of a fad. People thought it was cute and romantic and sweet, and of course, symbolic. But as the 1700s gave way to the 1800s, it evolved into something much more practical and meaningful.
The 1700s in Great Britain, the Georgian era (1714-1837) saw great loosening of morals. Whorehouses, gambling, vice, drinking, crime and almost everything else that you could imagine, went sky-high out of control. Georgian London saw such a huge crime-wave that it saw the establishment of the world’s first police-force in 1829. Today, it’s called Scotland Yard.
The result of this was that the Victorian era became infamous for its prudishness. Anything and anything that might be considered shocking, rude, offensive, and undesirable, suggestive or delicate in any way whatsoever, was to be covered up and never mentioned. Everything from piano-legs to trousers, to ladies’ ankles and even the sleeves on your shirt. Not for nothing are the Victorians remembered for being incredibly stuffy and notoriously straitlaced and ‘by-the-book’, on everything on etiquette, appearance, tradition and morality.
Enter into this starched and ironed world of the Victorians, the secret language of flowers.
Discussing certain matters in public, or even among friends and family, was strictly taboo. Especially matters concerning passion, love, sex, and affection.
Imagine if you couldn’t tell a lady, or a gentleman that you loved them? Such things as premarital sex, or even being left alone together without a chaperone, were strictly taboo in Victorian times. So, how were you to tell someone that you really were into them?
You sent them flowers. But not just any flowers. It was using flowers, using the secret language of floriography, that you could write them a love-letter, without uttering a word, leaving a shred of evidence, and without offending anyone.
It was for reasons such as this, that flower-language boomed during the Victorian era.
The Code of the Flowers
So, what are the actual meanings to the flowers? It would be impractical to list them all here, but here are the meanings behind some of the more common flowers…
IVY – Friendship, marriage, endurance. Commonly shared between married couples.
ROSE (red) – True love and affection. The most-commonly remembered remnant of floriography that survives to this day.
LILY – Purity.
ROSEMARY – Remembrance.
DAISY – Innocence, newborns.
During the 1800s, “flower dictionaries” were written, so that men and women could communicate secretly using flowers. However, flower-language was never really standardised, and not all flowers shared the same meanings. This can make researching the meanings of some flowers difficult, even back in the Victorian era!
Floriography eventually died out as the 20th century progressed. Apart from a few scraps and remnants here and there, it’s almost completely forgotten in contemporary society.
Want to Know More?
Floriography – The Language of Flowers
Another Link about Floriography