1. Gardens of the Arabs in Spain.
At the end of the 4th century. The brilliant era of antiquity with its sciences, art, and architecture ended its existence, giving way to a new era - feudalism. The period of time spanning a thousand years between the fall of Rome (late 4th century) and the Renaissance in Italy (14th century) is called the Middle Ages, or the Middle Ages. This was the time of the formation of European states, constant internecine wars and uprisings, and the time of the establishment of Christianity. “But at the same time, in these torments, a new human society was born. In wars and uprisings, famine and epidemics, slavery was destroyed and replaced by the feudal system.”
In the history of architecture, the Middle Ages are divided into three periods: early medieval(IV-IX centuries), Romanesque(X-XII centuries), Gothic(late XII-XIV centuries). The change in architectural styles does not significantly affect park construction, since during this period the art of gardening, which is the most vulnerable of all types of art and more than others requires a peaceful environment for its existence, suspends its development. It exists in the form of small gardens at monasteries and castles, that is, in areas relatively protected from destruction.
Monastery gardens. Herbal medicinal and ornamental plants. The layout was simple, geometric, with a pool and fountain in the center. Often two crosswise intersecting paths divided the garden into four parts; in the center of this intersection, in memory of martyrdom Christ, a cross was erected or a rose bush was planted.
Castle gardens arranged inside their territory. They were small and introverted. Flowers were grown here, there was a source - a well, sometimes a miniature pool and fountain, and almost always a bench in the form of a ledge covered with turf - a technique that became widespread in parks.
Garden labyrinth- a technique that was formed in the monastery gardens and took a strong place in subsequent park construction. Initially, the labyrinth was a pattern, the design of which fit into a circle or hexagon and led to the center in complex ways. IN early middle ages this drawing was laid out on the floor of the temple, and later transferred to the garden, where the paths were separated by the walls of a trimmed hedge. Subsequently, labyrinth gardens became widespread in regular and even landscape parks. In Russia, such a labyrinth was in the Summer Garden (not preserved), a regular part of Pavlovsk Park (restored) and Sokolniki Park, where its roads looked like intertwined ellipses inscribed in the spruce massif (lost).
The late Middle Ages are characterized by the opening of the first universities (Bologna, Paris, Oxford, Prague). Horticulture and botany have reached high level development, the first botanical gardens appeared (Aachen, Venice, etc.).
Arab gardens in Spain
In the 8th century Arabs (Moors) settled on the Iberian Peninsula and stayed here for almost seven centuries. Toledo became a major center of education, and Cordoba the most civilized city in Europe.
Borrowing the experience of Egypt and Rome in constructing irrigation structures, the Arabs were able to use the melting snow on the mountain peaks and created a powerful hydraulic system, turning waterless Spain into a flourishing land. Formed here new type garden - Spanish-Moorish. This is a small courtyard (200-1200 m2) of atrium-peristyle type (patio), surrounded by the walls of the house or fence, and is a continuation of the front and living quarters in the open air.
A complex of such miniature patio, included in the complex structure of the palace, are the gardens of Grenada, created in the 13th century. in the residences of the caliphs - Alhambra (650X200 m) and Generalife (area 80X 100 m).
In the Alhambra, the palace premises were grouped around the Court of Myrtle and the Court of Lions. The myrtle courtyard (47X 33 m) is surrounded by walls of buildings with an elegant arcade, richly decorated with ornaments. In the center there is a pool (7X45 m), elongated along the long axis and framed by rows of clipped myrtle. The main effect is the reflection of the arcade of the tower in the water of the pool. The Court of the Lions (28 X 19 m) is also surrounded by walls and an arcade, crossed by two mutually perpendicular channels, in the center of which there is a fountain of two alabaster vases supported by 12 black marble lions.
There is also the Queen's Courtyard, decorated with a fountain, 4 cypress trees in the corners, and most importantly - a complex covering ornament, into the design of which both the pool and the cypress planting sites are woven.
The Generalif Ensemble is the summer residence of the caliphs, located 100 m above the Alhambra. It is a complex of isolated patio gardens on terraces. The most famous is the courtyard with the canal. It is elongated and surrounded by an arcade; in the center there is a narrow 40-meter canal, decorated with two rows of fountains. Their thin streams form an arched alley. The garden is freely planted with small trees and shrubs.
In general, the traditions of the Spanish-Moorish garden are characterized by the following features: simplicity of planning and individuality of the solution. The layout is regular, determined by the geometric plan of the patio. The garden has a compositional center, most often a swimming pool. The entrance to the garden is often placed not in the center, but on the side, thereby breaking symmetry and enriching the overall picture of the garden.
The connection between the indoor and outdoor spaces of the garden appearance is achieved by arranging viewpoints decorated with arcades. This method of interconnection was subsequently widely developed in landscape art.
Water is the main motif of the garden. It is present in every patio in the form of channels, pools, and springs gushing out of the ground. The water either flows down channels made in the railings of the stairs, then permeates the plane of the garden in a narrow strip, then spreads out like a vast mirror (Myrtle Courtyard), then forms fountain streams. In all its diversity there is a desire to show the value of every drop.
Vegetation is used in such a way as to demonstrate the individual merits of each specimen. Cypress trees, orange and tangerine trees, jasmine, almonds, oleander, and roses were planted freely. Haircuts were rarely used as an architectural element.
Hot climate did not allow the use of a lawn, so most of the territory was decorated with decorative paving.
IN color scheme characterized by a combination of a general restrained color scheme of the walls, greenery of trees and shrubs with bright splashes beautiful flowering plants or colored coatings. Decorative paving is one of the important elements Spanish-Moorish garden. Sometimes retaining walls and garden benches were lined with colored majolica. Primary colors are blue, yellow, green.
Thus, the Spanish-Moorish style was formed with a set of its own techniques that corresponded to the requirements of time, nature, and national traditions.
The fundamental principle and model of all gardens, according to Christian ideas, is paradise, a garden planted by God, sinless, holy, abundant with everything that a person needs, with all types of trees, plants, and inhabited by animals living peacefully with each other. This original paradise is surrounded by a fence beyond which God banished Adam and Eve after their fall. Therefore, the main “significant” feature of the Garden of Eden is its enclosure; the garden is most often referred to as “hortus conclusus” (“fenced garden”). The next indispensable and most characteristic feature of paradise in the ideas of all times was the presence in it of everything that can bring joy not only to the eye, but also to hearing, smell, taste, touch - all human senses. Flowers fill paradise with color and fragrance. Fruits not only serve as a decoration equal to flowers, but also delight the palate. Birds not only fill the garden with singing, but also decorate it with their colorful appearance, etc.
The Middle Ages saw art as a second “revelation” that revealed wisdom, harmony, and rhythm in the world. This concept of the beauty of the world order is expressed in a number of written works of the Middle Ages - in Erigena, in the “Sex Days” of Basil the Great and John Exarch of Bulgaria and many others. etc.
Everything in the world had, to one degree or another, a multi-valued symbolic or allegorical meaning, but the garden is a microcosm, just as many books were a microcosm. Therefore, in the Middle Ages, a garden was often likened to a book, and books (especially collections) were often called “gardens”: “Vertograds”, “Limonis”, or “Limonaria”, “Prisoned Gardens”, etc. The garden should be read like a book, extracting from it benefit and instruction. The books were also called "Bees" - a name again associated with the garden, for the bee collects its honey in the garden.
As a rule, monastery courtyards, enclosed in a rectangle of monastic buildings, were adjacent to the south side of the church. The monastery courtyard, usually square, was divided by narrow paths crosswise (which had a symbolic meaning) into four square parts. In the center, at the intersection of the paths, a well, a fountain, and a small pond were built for aquatic plants and watering the garden, washing or drinking water. The fountain was also a symbol - a symbol of purity of faith, inexhaustible grace, etc. It was often arranged and small pond, where fish were bred for fasting days. This small garden in the courtyard of the monastery usually had small trees - fruit or ornamental trees and flowers.
However, commercial orchards, apothecary gardens and kitchen gardens were usually established outside the monastery walls. Small Orchard inside the monastery courtyard was a symbol of heaven. It often included a monastery cemetery. The pharmaceutical garden was located near the monastery hospital or almshouse. The apothecary's garden also grew plants that could serve as dyes for painting initials and miniatures of manuscripts. AND healing properties herbs were determined mainly by the symbolic meaning of a particular plant.
Evidence of how much attention was paid to gardens and flowers in the Middle Ages is the rescript of 1812, by which Charlemagne ordered the flowers to be planted in his gardens. The rescript contained a list of about sixty names of flowers and ornamental plants. This list was copied and then distributed to monasteries throughout Europe. Gardens were cultivated even by mendicant orders. The Franciscans, for example, until 1237, according to their charter, did not have the right to own land, with the exception of a plot at the monastery, which could not be used except for a garden. Other monastic orders They were specially engaged in gardening and horticulture and were famous for it. Every detail in the monastery gardens had a symbolic meaning to remind the monks of the basics of divine economy and Christian virtues.
Gardens in castles had a special character. They were usually under the special supervision of the mistress of the castle and served as a small oasis of calm among the noisy and dense crowd of inhabitants of the castle that filled its courtyards. They were also grown here medicinal herbs, and poisonous, herbs for decoration and had symbolic meaning. Special attention devoted to fragrant herbs. Their fragrantness corresponded to the idea of paradise, delighting all human senses, but another reason for their cultivation was that castles and cities, due to low sanitary conditions, were full of bad odors. In medieval monastery gardens they planted decorative flowers and bushes, especially roses taken by the crusaders from the Middle East. Sometimes trees grew here - lindens, oaks. Near the defensive fortifications of the castle, “meadows of flowers” were set up for tournaments and social fun. "Rose Garden" and "Meadow of Flowers" - one of the motifs medieval painting XV-XVI centuries; The Madonna and Child were most often depicted against the backdrop of a garden.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, for many centuries, the dominant role in European society began to be played by the church instead of secular culture. Monasteries became centers of education: there were libraries, hospitals, schools; At the monasteries, small gardens were laid out for household needs.
The Roman tradition of public parks for citizens was forgotten. The monks who worked in the garden were primarily guided not by aesthetic considerations, but by practical benefits. Spicy herbs, vegetables and fruits were grown in the monastery gardens - in fact, these were vegetable gardens that supplied the monastery with food. Usually vegetable gardens were located outside the monastery fence. There were also apothecary gardens - medicinal plants were grown there, they were set up near a hospital or almshouse at the monastery. In many cases, given the low level of development of medicine in those years, the healing properties of the plant were determined by the symbolic meaning attributed to it, and not by medical practice. Plants that produced bright dyes (some of them were even poisonous) were also cultivated there: before the invention of printing, books were written by hand by learned monks, and natural dyes were needed to design footers, illustrations, and capital letters in manuscripts.
But at the same time, the fundamental principle of the very idea of a garden has never been forgotten - this is Eden, the Garden of Eden created by God, beautiful, full of plants, birds and animals, abundant in everything that man needed. After the Fall, Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden. Therefore, any attempt by man to build a garden on earth was interpreted as a kind of “return to Eden,” an attempt by man to realize paradise on earth. Thus, the orchard was interpreted as a symbol of heaven and was supposed to remind the monastic brethren of Christian virtues.
Narrow paths crosswise divided the garden into four parts - this detail, of course, had a symbolic meaning. At the crossroads in the center there was a well, a pond, perhaps a fountain, for drinking water and watering plants. The source of water had the meaning of a symbol of the purity of the Christian faith. Ornamental plants grew there and fruit trees, and, of course, flowers. If there was room in the garden for a pond, fish were bred there for fasting. Brought to Europe during crusades Exotic plants, especially roses, have gained great popularity. The Madonna was often identified with the rose, and the lily was also a symbol of the Mother of God. Each plant in the garden had a symbolic meaning.
All monastic orders, even mendicants like the Franciscans, who for a long time The charter prohibited the ownership of land, except for a small vegetable garden; orchards were cultivated. Many monasteries became famous and are still remembered precisely for their gardens and vegetable gardens.
Kings and nobility in the Middle Ages also paid considerable attention to gardening: Charlemagne’s decree concerning the flowers that needed to be planted in his gardens has been preserved; the list included about six dozen names. The lords arranged gardens at their castles; caring for the garden was one of the main responsibilities of the mistress of the castle. Behind the fence, next to the defensive walls, “meadows of flowers” were arranged for knightly tournaments and entertainment for the nobility.
In those years, castle gardens were arranged according to the same principles as monastery gardens. Great importance had cultivation herbs: this was, firstly, one of the few ways to diversify the medieval cuisine, which was rather meager even in rich houses, and secondly, spicy aromatic plants emitted a pleasant smell. The Gardens of Eden, recreated by man on earth, provided food for all five senses. Trees - apple trees, plums, apricots, cherries nourished the taste. Flowers delighted the eye, spices delighted the sense of smell, and the birds that lived in the gardens enchanted the ears with their singing. We can proudly admit that the glorious medieval tradition of gardening continues today in every Russian summer cottage.
Question 1
Egypt. The layout is geometric. The gardens are enclosed by walls. Grapes were sure to grow. Cities: Thebes, Akhetaten. There were lotuses in the gardens. The gardens had square plans with a symmetrical layout. The buildings were located on the axis of the gardens. There are alleys along the perimeter of the garden. The paths were only straight. In the gardens there are images (sculptures) of gods and sphinxes. Plants: palm trees, figs, sycamore (ficus), lotus, papyrus. Ponds had several functions: decorative, breeding fish and animals. There was a hydration system.
Countries of Mesopotamia. Plants: palm trees, pine needles, grapes.
The device is similar to the Egyptian one. Features: High platforms, hanging gardens, zakkurat - a multi-stage religious building in ancient Mesopotamia, typical of Sumerian, Assyrian, Babylonian and Elamite architecture.
Question 2
Gardens Ancient Greece They were distinguished by their subtle grace, noble style, unsurpassed taste, and sublime atmosphere. A striking feature of Greek gardens in the 10th-8th centuries BC was the use of complex mountainous terrain to construct terraces. Also " landscape design" of that time entered world history landscape art with its unique sculptures and small architectural forms, rightfully considered masterpieces of art. The pools, balustrades, colonnades, baths were surrounded by palm trees, plane trees, laurels, cypress trees, orange, olive and pistachio trees. Heroons or sacred groves of heroes are a type of urban gardens laid out specifically in honor of prominent heroes or founders of the city. Philosophical gardens are another type of public garden in Ancient Greece. For example, Epicurus, a pessimistic philosopher, founded his school in such a garden, where he gave lectures to the public. Then he donated this philosophical garden to Athens. Hippodromes are gardens for competitions dedicated to the gods. Gymnasiums are gardens in which great attention was paid physical education offspring. Their main element was a lawn made of clipped acanthus. Such gardens were decorated with ponds, gazebos, sculptures, altars, and were surrounded on all sides by dense groves. A type of gymnasium is an academy (it originated in the grove of the mythical hero Akademos). Nymphaeums are gardens, the center of which was a pond (could also be a waterfall) with an altar for making sacrifices to the nymphs. Greek gardens contained an incredible amount of flowers, idolized by the Greeks. They held the carnation and rose in special esteem.
Question 3
Gardens in Ancient Rome (lat. hortii) were created under the influence of ancient Egyptian, Persian and ancient Greek gardening techniques.
Private Roman gardens were usually divided into three parts. The first is xist (lat. xystus) - open terrace, which was connected to the house by a portico. Second part - ambulation- was a garden with flowers, trees and served for walks and contemplation. The third part - gestation- was an alley.
Ancient Roman gardens used complex hydraulic structures - artificial reservoirs and fountains.
Various versions of the design of Roman gardens were used in Roman settlements in Africa and Britain.
The design principles of Roman gardens were later used in the landscape gardening art of the Renaissance, Baroque, and Neoclassicism.
Common features medieval gardens Europe and the Middle East.
Features of landscape gardening art of the Middle Ages.
1. Simplicity and geometric layout of internal gardens.
2. Development of a new technique - a labyrinth.
3. Feudal type synthesis of arts, i.e. suppression of the peculiarities inherent in each type of art, subordination to the general idea.
4. Symbolism of gardens.
5. The emergence of the beginnings of botanical gardens and preparations for their opening to the general public.
Landscape art medieval Europe. Features of the monastery gardens.
Monastery gardens. Herbaceous medicinal and ornamental plants were grown in them. The layout was simple, regular style with a pool and fountain in the center. Two crosswise intersecting paths divided the garden into 4 parts; in the center of this intersection, in memory of the death of Christ, a cross was erected or a rose bush was planted. Fruit trees and medicinal plants were grown in the garden. Trees were placed in even rows, and medicinal plants were placed in rectangular beds - prototypes of modern flower beds. To protect the perimeter of the garden, it was surrounded by deciduous tree barriers made of linden, ash and poplar - prototypes of modern garden protective plantings. Gardens at monasteries were of a utilitarian nature. In the 15th century These gardens began to be decorated with trellis gazebos and hedges, equipped with turf benches in the form of ledges on the fence and small fountains, and flowers appeared in them. Many of these gardens were already intended for recreation. Trellis- a wooden or metal lattice that acts as a frame and support for climbing plants. It can improve the microclimatic conditions on the site, provide end-to-end division of space, direct the movement of transitions in the desired direction, and serve as a frame for organizing whists. Vista- view, narrow perspective, directed towards some prominent element of the landscape. Includes a viewpoint, a frame (usually a curtain of plants) and a culminating object of observation that completes the vista (an architectural structure, a monument, a lake, a hill, a tree of unusual shape and color, a sunlit clearing at the end of a clearing or a shaded alley, etc. ). Castle gardens. They were located on the territory of castles and were used for recreation and meetings. These gardens were small and enclosed. Flowers were grown here, there was a source - a well, sometimes a miniature pool and fountain, and almost always a bench in the form of a ledge covered with turf. This technique later became widespread in parks. In these gardens, the technique of constructing a labyrinth was first formed, which took a strong place in subsequent park construction. Initially, the labyrinth was a pattern, the design of which fit into a circle or hexagon and led to the center in complex ways. In the early Middle Ages, this drawing was laid out on the floor of the temple, and later transferred to the garden, where the paths were separated by the walls of a trimmed hedge. Subsequently, labyrinth gardens became widespread in regular and even landscape parks and have not lost their relevance to the present day. The later Middle Ages were characterized by the development of science, the opening of the first universities and the creation of university gardens, which differed little from monastic ones. During the same period, botany and horticulture reached a high level of development. In this regard, the first botanical gardens appeared, which were opened to the general public in the subsequent Renaissance.
The medieval garden was small sizes, as a rule, regular with the area divided into squares and rectangles.
Gardens of that time were primarily for utilitarian purposes. Medicinal plants and fruit and berry crops were grown in the gardens. To a certain extent, they can be considered a prototype of botanical gardens. A new detail appears in the layout - labyrinths - a network of winding and intertwining paths. This planning motif found application not only in the gardens of the Middle Ages, but also in gardens of later times.
At the castles of large feudal lords, more extensive gardens were created not only for utilitarian purposes, but also for recreation. Such decorative elements, like flower beds, trellises, pergolas, etc.
In the first third of the 16th century. many gardens appeared in France. Among them is in Artois, near Paris, on the high bank of the Seine. The Charles V park in the Louvre is famous.
At the end of the Middle Ages, pavilions, gazebos, and swimming pools appeared in the gardens.
Monastic type of gardens.
The layout of the courtyards was regular, based on straightness. Fruit trees, grapes, vegetables, flowers, and medicinal plants were grown in the monastery gardens. The main features of the monastery type of gardens were their privacy, contemplation, silence, and utility. Some monastery gardens were decorated with trellis arbors and low walls to separate one area from another. Among the monastery gardens, the St. Gallen Garden in Switzerland was especially famous.
Feudal type of gardens.
The gardens of Emperor Charlemagne (768-814) were very famous; they were divided into utilitarian and “amusing” ones. The “amusing” gardens were decorated with lawns, flowers, low trees, birds and a menagerie.
Feudal gardens, unlike monastic ones, were smaller in size and located inside castles and fortresses. They arranged covered alleys of grapes, rose gardens, grew apple trees, as well as flowers planted in flower beds according to special designs. Of these gardens, the most famous are the Kremlin garden of Frederick II (1215-1258) in Nuremberg and the royal garden of Charles V (1519-1556) with a plantation of cherries, laurel trees and flower beds of lilies and roses.
In 1525, the first botanical garden was established in Pisa. Following him, approximately the same gardens appeared in Milan, Venice, Padua, Bologna, Rome, Florence, Paris, Leiden, Wurzburg, Leipzig, Hesse, Regensburg. Along with botanical gardens, private gardens were also established.
With the discovery of America in 1493 and with the development of trade relations with India, the gardens began to fill exotic plants. Fruit growing and cultivation became widespread medicinal plants, oranges, laurels, figs, apple trees, cherries, etc. were cultivated in the gardens, and ponds, cascades, pools, fountains, gazebos, and pavilions were also built. Utilitarian gardens gradually turned into decorative ones.
Moorish type of gardens.
At the beginning of the 7th century, Moorish gardens appeared in Europe. They were similar to the ancient Arab ones, but they carried more grace and differed from them in the boldness of their design and the refined grace of their forms. Moorish Gardens were divided into external and internal. The external gardens were not luxurious and were intended for household needs. They were planting fruit trees and mulberries. There was a fountain in the center of each outdoor garden.
The inner gardens were surrounded on all sides by buildings and beautiful outbuildings in the form of arcades and galleries, which were sometimes in two tiers. Trees and shrubs planted in gardens were not trimmed. The most characteristic gardens of this type were the Alhambra and the Generalife
Fenced by fortress walls, medieval monasteries, castles and cities with their enclosed territories did not contribute to the establishment of large gardens.
Almost no descriptions of medieval gardens have survived. A clear idea of them is given only by images that have survived on the walls of churches, which show that the gardens were occupied small area, had rectangular shape, adjacent to the houses.
The garden area was landscaped stone wall, entwined with grapes. Covered alleys and gazebos were arranged inside the garden.
A characteristic feature of a medieval garden was a labyrinth. Plants were planted by variety in small square beds, in linear order. Fragrant flowers (roses, lilies) and medicinal plants were planted.
