John Parkinson (1567–1650; buried 6 August 1650) was the last of the great
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
herbalistAn herbalist is:#A person whose life is dedicated to the economic or medicinal uses of plants.#One skilled in the harvesting and collection of medicinal plants ....
s and one of the first of the great English
botanistsBotany, plant science, phytology, or plant biology is a branch of biology and is the scientific study of plant life and development...
. He was
apothecaryApothecary is a historical name for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses materia medica to physicians, surgeons and patients — a role now served by a pharmacist ....
to
James IJames VI & I was King of Scots as James VI from 1567 to 1625, and King of England and Ireland as James I from 1603 to 1625....
and a founding member of the
Worshipful Society of ApothecariesThe Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. Originally, apothecaries, or pharmacists, were members of the Grocers' Company...
in December 1617, and was later Royal Botanist to
Charles ICharles I, , the second son of James VI of Scotland and I of England, was King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution. Charles famously engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England...
. He is known for two monumental works,
Paradisi in Sole Paradisus Terrestris (
Park-in-Sun's Terrestrial Paradise, 1629), which generally describes the proper cultivation of plants; and
Theatrum Botanicum (
The Botanical Theatre or
Theatre of Plants, 1640), the most complete and beautifully-presented English treatise on plants of its time. One of the most eminent gardeners of his day, he kept a botanical garden at
Long AcreLong Acre is a street in central London, England. Starting from St. Martin's Lane it runs from east to west just north of Covent Garden piazza, one block north of Floral Street. The street was completed in the early 17th century. It was once known for its coach-makers, and later for its car dealers...
in
Covent GardenCovent Garden is a district in London, England, located in the easternmost parts of the City of Westminster and the southwestern corner of the London Borough of Camden...
, today close to
Trafalgar SquareTrafalgar Square is a square in central London, England. With its position in the heart of London, it is a tourist attraction; and one of the most famous squares in the United Kingdom and the world. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base...
, and maintained close relations with other important English and Continental botanists, herbalists and
plantsmenA plantsman is an enthusiastic and knowledgeable gardener , nurseryman or nurserywoman. "Plantsman" can refer to a male or female person, though the terms plantswoman, or even plantsperson, are sometimes used....
.
Biography
Parkinson, born in 1567, spent his early life in
YorkshireYorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the British Isles. Because of its great size, functions were increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have been subject to periodic reform. Throughout these changes, Yorkshire has continued to be recognised as...
. He moved to London at the age of 14 years to become an apprentice
apothecaryApothecary is a historical name for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses materia medica to physicians, surgeons and patients — a role now served by a pharmacist ....
. Rising through the ranks, he eventually achieved the position of
apothecaryApothecary is a historical name for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses materia medica to physicians, surgeons and patients — a role now served by a pharmacist ....
to
James IJames VI & I was King of Scots as James VI from 1567 to 1625, and King of England and Ireland as James I from 1603 to 1625....
, and a founding member of the
Worshipful Society of ApothecariesThe Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. Originally, apothecaries, or pharmacists, were members of the Grocers' Company...
in December 1617; until 1622 he also served on the Court of Assistants, the Society's governing body. In addition, he assisted the Society in obtaining a grant of
armsA coat of arms, more properly called an armorial achievement, armorial bearings or often just arms for short, in European tradition, is a design belonging to a particular person and used by them in a wide variety of ways. Historically, they were used by knights to identify them apart from enemy...
and in preparing a list of all medicines that should be stocked by an apothecary. He was on the committee that published their
Pharmacopœia Londinensis (
London PharmacopœiaPharmacopoeia , in its modern technical sense, is a book containing directions for the identification of samples and the preparation of compound medicines, and published by the authority of a government or a medical or pharmaceutical society .In a broader sense is a reference work for...
) in 1618.
Then, on the cusp of a new science, he became botanist to
Charles ICharles I, , the second son of James VI of Scotland and I of England, was King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution. Charles famously engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England...
. Anna Parkinson, a "distant descendant" of Parkinson and the author of a new popular biography of him, asserts that in 1625 when Charles I's bride,
Henrietta Maria of FranceHenrietta Maria of France ; was the Queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland as the wife of King Charles I....
, came at the age of 15 years to live at
St. James's PalaceSt. James's Palace is one of London's oldest palaces. It is situated in Pall Mall, just north of St. James's Park. Although no sovereign has resided there for almost two centuries, it is considered the most senior royal palace in the UK and gives its name to the Royal Court St. James's Palace is...
, "he took on the role of introducing the young queen to
horticulturallyHorticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation. Some would say that horticulture is the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant...
sophisticated circles." When he summed up his experience in writing
Paradisi in Sole Paradisus Terrestris (
Park-in-Sun's Terrestrial Paradise, 1629 – "Park-in-Sun" is a pun on "Parkinson"), with the explanatory subtitle
A Garden of all sorts of pleasant flowers which our English ayre will permit to be noursed up, it was natural that he dedicated this work, which he called his "Speaking Garden", to the queen. Blanche Henrey called the work the "earliest important treatise on horticulture published in England", while the Hunt catalogue described it as "a very complete picture of the English garden at the beginning of the seventeenth century, and in such delightful, homely, literary style that gardeners cherish it even to the present day."
The work, which describes the proper cultivation of plants in general, was in three sections: the flower garden, the kitchen garden, and the orchard garden. It did not include specific growing instructions for each type of plant, but at the start of each main section Parkinson provided instructions on "ordering" each type of garden, advising on situating and laying out a garden, tools, soil improvement, grafting, planting and sowing and the types of plants that should be included in each type of garden. It contained illustrations of almost 800 plants in 108 full-page plates. Most of these were original
woodcutWoodcut — formally known as xylography — is a relief printing artistic technique in printmaking in which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with gouges...
s made by the German artist Christopher Switzer, but others appear to have been copied from the works of
Matthias de LobelMatthias de L'Obel or Matthaeus Lobelius was born in Lille. He studied medicine in Leuven and Montpellier.He became physician to William the Silent, Prince of Orange, before moving to England and becoming James I's physician and botanist.The plant genus Lobelia and the botanical family Lobeliaceae...
,
Charles de l'ÉcluseCharles de l'Écluse, L'Escluse, or Carolus Clusius , seigneur de Watènes, was the Flemish doctor and pioneering botanist, perhaps the most influential of all 16th century scientific horticulturists....
and the
Hortus Floridus of Crispijn van de Passe the Elder.
In
Paradisi in Sole Parkinson hinted that he hoped to add a fourth section, a garden of simples (medicinal herbs). He delivered the promise in his other great book, the monumental
Theatrum Botanicum (
The Botanical Theatre or
Theatre of Plants) which he published in 1640 at the age of 73 years. The release of this work was delayed due to the popularity of Thomas Johnson's edition of
John GerardJohn Gerard was an English herbalist famous for his herbal garden. After being educated in Willaston near Nantwich he started to study medicine and travelled widely as a ship's surgeon. From 1577 on, he supervised the gardens of William Cecil, Lord Burghley in London...
's book
The Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes (1597).
Theatrum Botanicum, with 1,688 pages of text, describes over 3,800 plants and was the most complete and beautifully-presented English treatise on plants of its day. It was the first work to describe 33 native plants, 13 of which grew near Parkinson's
MiddlesexMiddlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
home. Some of these plants, such as the
Welsh poppyThe Welsh poppy is a perennial plant of the family Papaveraceae. Its habitat is damp, shady places on rocky ground, and it is native to south-western England, Wales, Ireland and Western Europe. In its most western locations, it is increasingly found on more open ground with less cover.It has...
, the
Strawberry TreeThe Strawberry Tree is an evergreen shrub or small tree in the heather family, Ericaceae, native to the Mediterranean region and western Europe north to western France and Ireland. Due to its presence in South West Ireland, it is also known as Irish strawberry tree, and Killarney strawberry tree...
and the
Lady's SlipperLady's slipper orchids, lady slipper orchids or slipper orchids are the orchids in the subfamily Cypripedioidea, which includes the genera Cypripedium, Mexipedium, Paphiopedilum, Phragmipedium and Selenipedium...
, were very common but had gone unnoticed or at least unrecorded. He intended the book to be a reliable guide for apothecaries, and it remained so for more than a hundred years after his death. Parkinson presented the work to Charles I, who conferred on him the title "
Botanicus Regis Primarius" ("Royal Botanist of the First Rank") though this came without a salary.
Parkinson actively sought new varieties of plants through his contacts abroad and by financing William Boel's plant-hunting expedition to
IberiaThe Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes modern-day Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar and a very small area of France. It is the westernmost of the three major southern European peninsulas—the Iberian, Italian, and Balkan peninsulas...
and
North AfricaNorth Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa.Geopolitically, the UN definition of Northern Africa includes the following seven countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia,Mauritania, and...
in 1607–1608. He introduced seven new plants into England and was the first gardener in England to grow the great double yellow Spanish daffodil.
His piety as a
Roman CatholicThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
is evident from
Paradisi in Sole. In his introduction, Parkinson saw the botanical world as an expression of divine creation, and believed that through gardens man could recapture something of
EdenThe Garden of Eden is a location described in the Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man, Adam, and his wife, Eve, lived after they were created by God. Literally, the Bible speaks about a garden in Eden...
. Nonetheless, a short French poem at the foot of the title page warned the gardener against
hubrisHubris is a term used in modern English to indicate overweening pride, haughtiness, or arrogance, often resulting in fatal retribution or Nemesis. In ancient Greece, hubris referred to actions which, intentionally or not, shamed and humiliated the victim, and frequently the perpetrator as well...
and in having excessive regard for his efforts, for whoever tries to compare Art with Nature and gardens with Eden "measures the stride of the elephant by the stride of the mite and the flight of the eagle by that of the gnat". However, struggles between
ProtestantsProtestantism is a branch within Christianity, containing many denominations with some differing practices and doctrines, that principally originated in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. It is considered to be one of the major divisions within Christianity, together with the Roman...
and Catholics compelled Parkinson to keep a low profile. He did not attend any parish church. At the height of his success, the
English Civil WarThe English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists. The first and second civil wars pitted the supporters of King Charles I against the supporters of the Long Parliament, while the third war saw fighting between supporters of...
(1642–1651) tore his family apart.
Parkinson's London house was in
Ludgate HillLudgate Hill is a hill in the City of London, near the old Ludgate, a gate to the City that was taken down, with its attached gaol, in 1780. Ludgate Hill is the site of St Paul's Cathedral, traditionally said to have been the site of a Roman temple of the goddess Diana...
, but his botanical garden was in suburban
Long AcreLong Acre is a street in central London, England. Starting from St. Martin's Lane it runs from east to west just north of Covent Garden piazza, one block north of Floral Street. The street was completed in the early 17th century. It was once known for its coach-makers, and later for its car dealers...
in
Covent GardenCovent Garden is a district in London, England, located in the easternmost parts of the City of Westminster and the southwestern corner of the London Borough of Camden...
, a district of
market-gardensMarket gardening is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. It is distinguishable from other types of farming by the diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically, from under one acre...
, today close to
Trafalgar SquareTrafalgar Square is a square in central London, England. With its position in the heart of London, it is a tourist attraction; and one of the most famous squares in the United Kingdom and the world. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base...
. Not much is known about the garden, but based on a study of the writings of Parkinson and others, John Riddell has suggested that it was at least in size and probably surrounded by a wall. Four hundred and eighty-four types of plant are recorded as having been grown in the garden. Thomas Johnson and the
HampshireHampshire , sometimes historically Southamptonshire, Hamptonshire, , or the County of Southampton, is a county on the south coast of England. The county borders , Dorset, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
botanist,
John GoodyerJohn Goodyer , was a 17th century botanist, who lived in Hampshire, England. He was born in Alton, and evidently received a good education, although it is not known where...
, both gathered seeds there.
Parkinson has been called one of the most eminent gardeners of his day. He maintained close relations with other important English and Continental botanists, herbalists and
plantsmenA plantsman is an enthusiastic and knowledgeable gardener , nurseryman or nurserywoman. "Plantsman" can refer to a male or female person, though the terms plantswoman, or even plantsperson, are sometimes used....
such as William Coys,
John GerardJohn Gerard was an English herbalist famous for his herbal garden. After being educated in Willaston near Nantwich he started to study medicine and travelled widely as a ship's surgeon. From 1577 on, he supervised the gardens of William Cecil, Lord Burghley in London...
,
John Tradescant the elderJohn Tradescant the elder , father of John Tradescant the younger, was an English naturalist, gardener, collector and traveller, probably born in Suffolk, England. He began his career as head gardener to the Earl of Salisbury at Hatfield House, who initiated Tradescant in travelling by sending him...
(who was a close friend), Vespasian Robin, and the
FrenchmanFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
Matthias de LobelMatthias de L'Obel or Matthaeus Lobelius was born in Lille. He studied medicine in Leuven and Montpellier.He became physician to William the Silent, Prince of Orange, before moving to England and becoming James I's physician and botanist.The plant genus Lobelia and the botanical family Lobeliaceae...
(also known as Matthias de L'Obel or Matthaeus Lobelius). Together, they belonged to the generation that began to see extraordinary new plants coming from the
LevantThe Levant describes, traditionally, the Eastern Mediterranean at large, but can be used as a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia formed by the lands bordering the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, roughly bounded on the north by the Taurus Mountains, on the south by...
and from
VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" because it is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents. The geography and climate of the state are shaped by the Blue...
, broadly speaking. In his writings, de Lobel frequently mentioned the Long Acre garden and praised Parkinson's abilities. Parkinson, on his part, edited and presented in
Theatrum Botanicum the papers of de Lobel, who had spent the final years of his life in
HighgateHighgate is a village in North London on the north-eastern corner of Hampstead Heath. Highgate rises to an altitude of at Highgate Wood and at North Hill.-Overview:...
supervising the gardens of
Edward la Zouche, the 11th Baron ZoucheEdward la Zouche, 11th Baron Zouche, , was the son of George la Zouche, 10th Baron Zouche and his wife Margaret, née Welby....
.
Parkinson died in the summer of 1650, and was buried at
St Martin-in-the-FieldsSt. Martin-in-the-Fields is an Anglican church at the northeast corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. Its patron is Saint Martin of Tours.-Roman era:Excavations at the site in 2006 led to the discovery of a grave dated about 410...
, London, on 6 August. He is commemorated in the
Central AmericaManagua
Guatemala City
San Salvador
San Pedro Sula
Panama City
San José, Costa Rica
Santa Ana, El Salvador
León
San Miguel|-|}...
n
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
of
leguminousIn botanical writing legume is a plant in the family Fabaceae , or a fruit of these specific plants. A'legume' fruit is a simple dry fruit that develops from a simple carpel and usually dehisces on two sides. A common name for this type of fruit is a pod, although "pod" is also applied to a few...
trees
ParkinsoniaParkinsonia is a genus of about 12 species of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, native to semi-desert regions of Africa and the Americas....
.
Paradisi in Sole also inspired the children's writer
Juliana Horatia EwingJuliana Horatia Ewing was an English writer of children's stories. She was the second of ten children of the Reverend Alfred Gatty, the vicar of Ecclesfield in Yorkshire, and Margaret Gatty, who was herself a children's author....
(1841–1885) to write the story
Mary's Meadow, which was first published from November 1883 to March 1884 in
Aunt Judy's Magazine (1866–1885), produced by her mother
Margaret GattyMargaret Gatty at Burnham on Crouch, Essex, was an English writer of children's literature. She was the daughter of the Rev. Alexander John Scott, D.D., a Royal Navy chaplain, who served under, and was the trusted friend of, Lord Nelson onboard the HMS Victory before and during the Battle of...
. In the story, some children read
Paradisi in Sole and are inspired to create their own garden. The magazine received much favourable correspondence about the story, and in July 1884 it was suggested that a Parkinson Society should be formed. The objects of the society were to "search out and cultivate old garden flowers which have become scarce; to exchange seeds and plants; to plant waste places with hardy flowers; to circulate books on gardening amongst the Members... [and] to try to prevent the extermination of rare wild flowers, as well as of garden treasures."
Works
FolioThe size of a book is generally measured by the height against the width of a leaf , or sometimes the height and width of its cover. A series of terms is commonly used by libraries and publishers for the general sizes of modern books, ranging from "folio" , to "quarto" and "octavo"...
. In some copies the title page is
woodcutWoodcut — formally known as xylography — is a relief printing artistic technique in printmaking in which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with gouges...
; in others it is printed (dated 1635). Later editions and reprints:
-
- Folio.
- Facsimile of the 1629 edition without the letterpress
Letterpress printing is a term for the relief printing of text and image using a press with a "type-high bed" printing press and movable type, in which a reversed, raised surface is inked and then pressed into a sheet of paper to obtain a positive right-reading image...
title page, made from copies in the Bodleian LibraryThe Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
.
- Facsimile of the 1629 edition.
- Folio. Reprints:
Further reading
Some works listed in this section were obtained from