The name of the Rose is very similar in most languages, but of its primitive derivation very little or nothing is known. It is rhodon in Greek; rhos, in Celtic; rosa, in Latin, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Hungarian, and Polish; rose, in French, Saxon, and English; rosen, in German; roose, in Dutch; rhoshà, in Sclavonic; ros, in Irish; ruoze, in Bohemian; ouasrath, in Arabic; nisrin, in Turkish; chabhatzeleth, in Hebrew; and gul, in Persian. These are the various names by which the flower has been known from very early times, and a strong resemblance can be traced through all. The Latin name, rosa, also forms a component part of terms used to designate several other things.

The name of rosary was given to a string of beads used in the Romish Church to represent a certain number of prayers; it was instituted about the year 667, but was not[Pg 203] much used until Peter the Hermit excited the Christian nations to the Crusade, about 1096. Dominique, a Romish saint, established, in 1207, the brotherhood of the Rosary, and the festival of the Rose was instituted in 1571 by Pope Pius V., in thanksgiving for the victory gained by the Christians over the Turks at Lepante. Subsequent popes gave to that ceremony more éclat, and caused it to be established in Spain. The name of rosary was formerly also given to the vessel used in distilling rose-water. The Rose has also given the idea of new forms of beauty in architecture and the arts. A rose is sometimes sculptured in the centre of each face of a Corinthian capital. It is also frequently seen in iron castings for the banisters of the stone steps of a house, and it is sometimes displayed upon the pavement in front of some splendid mansion. This, however, is rare in the United States, although frequent in Europe.

Among all the imitations of the Rose, none can compare with those painted on glass, some of which can be found in the windows of celebrated European Cathedrals in Canterbury, Cologne, Milan, Rheims, St. Denis, and others. We can scarcely imagine anything more beautifully soft than these paintings on glass, as seen from the interior of a church, in the rich light of a glowing sunset; the Rose thus painted seems to possess all the freshness and beauty of the real flower.

The nave of the Cathedral of Paris, besides twenty-four large windows, is lighted by three others, large and magnificent, in the shape of a Rose, which are each forty feet in diameter. The paintings on glass which ornament these windows were executed in the 13th century, and still retain their fresh and bright colors: that over the grand entrance represents the signs of the zodiac, and the agricultural labors of each month.

In heraldry, the rose frequently forms part of a shield, in full bloom, with a bud in the centre, and with five[Pg 204] points to imitate thorns; it is an emblem of beauty and of nobility acquired with difficulty.

The Golden Rose was considered so honorable a present, that none but monarchs were worthy to receive it.

In the 11th century, the Pope introduced the custom of blessing a golden Rose, which he presented to some church, or to some prince or princess, as an especial mark of his favor.

In 1096, the Pope Urban II. gave a Golden Rose to the Comte d’Anjou. Alexander III. sent one to Louis, King of France, in acknowledgment of the attentions of that prince during the Pope’s visit to France, as stated in a letter which he wrote the King.

“In accordance with the custom of our ancestors, in carrying a rose of gold in their hands on Dimanche L?tare, we do not think we can present it to one who merits it more than yourself, from your devotion to the Church and to ourselves.”

Pope John, in 1415, sent the Golden Rose to the Emperor Sigismund. Martin V., in 1418, sent another to the same prince. Pius II., in 1461, sent one to Thomas Paleologue, Emperor of Constantinople. Henry VIII., of England, before his separation from the Church of Rome, received the Golden Rose twice; the first from Julius II., and the second from Leo X.; and in 1842, the Pope’s Nuncio Capaccini presented it to Donna Maria, Queen of Portugal. Isabella, Queen of Spain, was presented with it a few years since.

The public ceremony of blessing the Rose was not instituted until 1366, by Urban V.: that ponti............