Gilliflower
Encyclopedia
A gilliflower or gillyflower is:
The name derives from the French giroflée from Greek karyophyllon = "nut
-leaf" = the spice
called clove
.
It was frequently used in medieval tenure documents as a means of payment of peppercorn
rent for land. For example in 1262 in Bedfordshire
an area of land called The Hyde was owned by someone "for the rent of one clove of gilliflower". And in Kent
in the 13th century Bartholomew de Badlesmere
upon an exchange made between Edward I
and himself, had a grant made to him in see of a manor and chapel, to hold in socage
, "by the service of paying one pair of clove gilliflowers", by the hands of the sheriff.
The rose and gillyflower appear on the station badge of RAF Waterbeach
in Cambridgeshire, and subsequently on the badge of 39 Engineer Regiment based at Waterbeach Barracks. A rose and gillyflower were demanded by the owner of the land on which Waterbeach Abbey
was built, in the 12th century.
An old recipe for gilliflower wine is mentioned in the Cornish Recipes Ancient & Modern dated to 1753:
Gilliflowers are mentioned by Mrs. Lovett
in the song "Wait" from the Sondheim
musical Sweeney Todd
and
in the novel La Faute de l'Abbé Mouret
(aka Abbe Mouret's Transgression or the Sin of the Father Mouret) by Émile Zola
as part of the Les Rougon-Macquart
series. Charles Ryder has them growing under his window when he is a student at Oxford in the novel Brideshead Revisited
.
- The carnationCarnationDianthus caryophyllus is a species of Dianthus. It is probably native to the Mediterranean region but its exact range is unknown due to extensive cultivation for the last 2,000 years. It is the wild ancestor of the garden carnation.It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 80 cm tall...
or a similar plant of the genus DianthusDianthusDianthus is a genus of about 300 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native mainly to Europe and Asia, with a few species extending south to north Africa, and one species in arctic North America. Common names include carnation , pink and sweet William Dianthus is a genus of...
, especially the Clove Pink Dianthus caryophyllus. - The stockMatthiolaMatthiola |R.Br.]]), or stock, is a genus of flowering plants named after Pietro Andrea Mattioli.A cool season annual or perennial. Flowers are singles or doubles in a wide array of colors, very sweet smelling, and often used in bouquets of cut flowers...
of species Matthiola incanaMatthiola incanaMatthiola incana is one of several species of stock. It is known by the common names hoary stock and tenweeks stock. It is a common garden flower, available in a variety of colours.-Main varieties of stocks:... - Several other plants, such as the wallflower, which have fragrant flowers.
The name derives from the French giroflée from Greek karyophyllon = "nut
Nut (fruit)
A nut is a hard-shelled fruit of some plants having an indehiscent seed. While a wide variety of dried seeds and fruits are called nuts in English, only a certain number of them are considered by biologists to be true nuts...
-leaf" = the spice
Spice
A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth. It may be used to flavour a dish or to hide other flavours...
called clove
Clove
Cloves are the aromatic dried flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae. Cloves are native to the Maluku islands in Indonesia and used as a spice in cuisines all over the world...
.
It was frequently used in medieval tenure documents as a means of payment of peppercorn
Peppercorn (legal)
A peppercorn in legal parlance is a metaphor for a very small payment, a nominal consideration, used to satisfy the requirements for the creation of a legal contract. "A peppercorn does not cease to be good consideration if it is established that the promisee does not like pepper and will throw...
rent for land. For example in 1262 in Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
an area of land called The Hyde was owned by someone "for the rent of one clove of gilliflower". And in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
in the 13th century Bartholomew de Badlesmere
Bartholomew de Badlesmere, 1st Baron Badlesmere
Bartholomew de Badlesmere, 1st Baron Badlesmere , English nobleman, was the son and heir of Gunselm de Badlesmere , and fought in the English army both in France and Scotland during the later years of the reign of Edward I of England.-Life:In 1307 he became governor of Bristol Castle. Edward II...
upon an exchange made between Edward I
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
and himself, had a grant made to him in see of a manor and chapel, to hold in socage
Socage
Socage was one of the feudal duties and hence land tenure forms in the feudal system. A farmer, for example, held the land in exchange for a clearly defined, fixed payment to be made at specified intervals to his feudal lord, who in turn had his own feudal obligations, to the farmer and to the Crown...
, "by the service of paying one pair of clove gilliflowers", by the hands of the sheriff.
The rose and gillyflower appear on the station badge of RAF Waterbeach
Waterbeach
Waterbeach is a large fen-edge village located 6 miles north of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire in England, and belongs to the administrative district of South Cambridgeshire. The parish covers an area of 23.26 km².- Village :...
in Cambridgeshire, and subsequently on the badge of 39 Engineer Regiment based at Waterbeach Barracks. A rose and gillyflower were demanded by the owner of the land on which Waterbeach Abbey
Waterbeach Abbey
Waterbeach Abbey was an abbey at Waterbeach in Cambridgeshire, England. It was established in 1294....
was built, in the 12th century.
An old recipe for gilliflower wine is mentioned in the Cornish Recipes Ancient & Modern dated to 1753:
Gilliflowers are mentioned by Mrs. Lovett
Mrs. Lovett
Mrs. Lovett is a fictional character appearing in many adaptations of the story Sweeney Todd. She is most commonly referred to as Nellie, although Margery, Maggie, Sarah, Shirley, Wilhemina and Claudetta are other names she has been given. First appearing in the penny dreadful serial The String of...
in the song "Wait" from the Sondheim
Sondheim
Sondheim vor der Rhön is a municipality in the district Rhön-Grabfeld, Bavaria, Germany. It is administrated by the Verwaltungsgemeinschaft Ostheim. As of 2002 it had a population of 1123, and covers an area of 18.58 km².-History:...
musical Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as then antagonist of the Victorian penny dreadful The String of Pearls and he was later introduced as an antihero in the broadway musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and its film adaptation...
and
in the novel La Faute de l'Abbé Mouret
La Faute de l'Abbé Mouret
La Faute de l'Abbé Mouret is the fifth novel in Émile Zola's twenty-volume series Les Rougon-Macquart. Viciously anticlerical in tone, it follows on from the horrific events at the end of La Conquête de Plassans, focussing this time on a remote Provençal backwater village.The plot centres on the...
(aka Abbe Mouret's Transgression or the Sin of the Father Mouret) by Émile Zola
Émile Zola
Émile François Zola was a French writer, the most important exemplar of the literary school of naturalism and an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism...
as part of the Les Rougon-Macquart
Les Rougon-Macquart
Les Rougon-Macquart is the collective title given to a cycle of twenty novels by French writer Émile Zola. Subtitled Histoire naturelle et sociale d'une famille sous le Second Empire , it follows the life of a fictional family living during the Second French Empire and is an example of French...
series. Charles Ryder has them growing under his window when he is a student at Oxford in the novel Brideshead Revisited
Brideshead Revisited
Brideshead Revisited, The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder is a novel by English writer Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1945. Waugh wrote that the novel "deals with what is theologically termed 'the operation of Grace', that is to say, the unmerited and unilateral act of love by...
.