Gardens & Religion

Through the study of three different cultures-- Roman, Medieval, and Muslim-- three different approaches to religion are examined, and as a result three different garden forms are implemented and used. While some hold more emphasis and have greater ties towards religion than others, each culture and time period finds their own way to create a garden in which to have a separate space set aside for devotion, spirituality and symbolism, whatever it may be.

With the Romans, hierarchy was as much of an importance to society as religion was an importance to their culture. Both were brought together to simultaneously become an important aspect of the Roman Empire. With a less spiritual connection to a single specific god-like force, the Romans did not have one central belief. More focus was placed on mankind, on the power of a variety of individuals such as gods and spirits, and on the certain divine characteristics that these individuals held in relation to Earth and to their hierarchal society. As a very civilized and advanced society, the Romans focused much of their energy towards appreciating art, beauty, and form instead of one particular ideology. During a time where science, philosophy, sports, literature, architecture, theater, and entertainment were becoming more and more progressive, the Romans thought it very important to indulge in the idea of otium (withdrawing from daily business to engage in relaxing or enlightening activities, a term used in the post above). Through this idea, gardens flourished in the way that they were seen as a wonderful place for activity and religious expression. In many ways, it was though the beauty of their surroundings that the Romans felt connected to religion. Involving the ideas of conspicuous consumption, relaxation, showing off wealth, otium, and religious expression, the gardens in Rome were used for a variety of reasons. With the implementation of all of these ideas, the Roman gardens developed and flourished, with religious expression as an important practice.

With the development of the Roman peristyle garden, symbols and religious meanings were placed throughout the space. These formal gardens, while very peaceful and tranquil, were also very formal with much symmetry and geometry, and were well manicured and very intricate. Both in plants and in form, the gardens were generally very sophisticated. The quincunx form of the gardens, with a central axis and bisecting axis, created axial symmetry that was in some ways a Sacro-Relgious symbol of the cross. Other Sacro-Relogious garden features were aediculas, or small shrines that were used for religious devotion. Also used for religious purposes was the statuary that was often placed throughout gardens in a symmetrical style. Statues replicating figures in which Romans felt religiously connected too were sculpted and placed in gardens.

(House of Vetti, Pompeii)

After the Roman empire collapsed, Europe slowly shifted onto an entirely different wavelength of society. This time it now was a centralized form of religion that was the one unifying idea that was spreading during this period. It soon came to be that it was the religious institutions that had the most money and power. The art followed Roman traditions, in that the religious art of this new time period inherited both a Romanesque and Gothic style, where architecture, reliquaries, music, painting, and illuminated manuscript were prominent forms of art. From this time period the Medieval Society was born. While still holding true the idea of the hierarchal society that was prominent during the Roman Empire, the Medieval Society differed in that instead of an emperor or king being at the top with the most power, it was now the church that was now at the top, separate from all other beings and institutions. Inside the church was another hierarchal system, in which the pope was at the top with the most power, followed by the bishop, and then the local priests at the "bottom". From this society grew an entirely new idea of gardens, with moral beauty being one of the most valued concepts.

Instead of the classic Roman peristyle gardens set within the confines of the home, Medieval gardens flourished into a place for practical productive growth of horticulture, or as a place for leisure and recreation. Some of the largest gardens with the most variety and growth were the gardens of the churches. Here these gardens were meant for both production and withdrawal, being both practical and utilitarian. Involving these two different concepts, the monastic gardens of the church were comprised of both cultivation and a place for religious devotion. Vegetable gardens lined the garden, along with smelly herbs and other productive plants. For leisure and devotion, the cloister became an important aspect of the gardens. Here these little spaces were meant for religious purposes, filled with Virgin Mary and plant symbolism, such as the Madonna Lily. Here, peoples of the monastery or church could come to relax and think about God, putting aside time from their day to use the space and the time to pray and devote themselves to the various elements of their religion.

(Classic medieval herb garden, gardened by monks)

Soon the muslim culture of Islam was born, and their use of gardens were especially symbolic and special. With a special focus on pattern, geometry, and intricacy, these gardens are deeply spiritual and symbolic. In Islamic gardens the essential element was water. With an important emphasis on symmetry, muslim gardeners used water canals to divide the garden into 4 quadrants. In these gardens, but also in the Islamic tradition as a whole, everything tied back to the Qur'an in terms of moral direction and divine guidance. The arts were integrated into everyday life, and the ideas of "beauty without arrogance" and "inner richness vs. humble appearance" was emphasized. The Garden as an art form served a purpose, and that was to symbolize and represent an Earthly paradise or afterlife. The Islamic gardens are filled with symbolic religious meanings, and all of them stem from the Qur'an, in which "jannah-al-firdaws" or 'gardens of paradise' is mentioned over 120 times. The bisecting cross axis of water canals represents the '4 rivers of life', and the 4 garden beds created from the water canals create a 'chahar bagh' style garden in which 4 different gardens or flower beds are created, something typical for an Islamic garden. Out of the central water source (something that could be symbolic of the giver of life, a fruitful area where all life springs from, because all life starts from a particular source? Potentially to have displays of both life and afterlife in the gardens?). Influencing these gardens and the culture were 3 forms form which all gardens held some aspect of: arabesque-- decorations based on linear rhythmic patterns scattered and intertwined; geometry-- levels of detail, generally showcasing patterns of 8; and calligraphy.

(Mughal Garden crafted in Islamic Style)