A gilliflower or gillyflower () is: *The

carnation ''Dianthus caryophyllus'' (), commonly known as the carnation or clove pink, is a species of ''Dianthus''. It is likely native to the Mediterranean region but its exact range is unknown due to extensive cultivation for the last 2,000 years.Med ...

or a similar plant of the genus ''

Dianthus ''Dianthus'' () is a genus of about 340 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native mainly to Europe and Asia, with a few species in north Africa and in southern Africa, and one species (''D. repens'') in arctic North Ameri ...

'', especially the Clove Pink ''

Dianthus caryophyllus ''Dianthus caryophyllus'' (), commonly known as the carnation or clove pink, is a species of ''Dianthus''. It is likely native to the Mediterranean region but its exact range is unknown due to extensive cultivation for the last 2,000 years.Med ...

''. *''

Matthiola incana ''Matthiola incana'' is a species of flowering plant in the cabbage family Brassicaceae. Common names include Brompton stock, common stock, hoary stock, ten-week stock, and gilly-flower. The common name stock usually refers to this species, thou ...

'', also known as stock. *Several other plants, such as the

wallflower ''Erysimum'', or wallflower, is a genus of flowering plants in the cabbage family, Brassicaceae. It includes more than 150 species, both popular garden plants and many wild forms. The genus ''Cheiranthus'' is sometimes included here in whole o ...

, which have fragrant flowers. The name derives from the French ''giroflée'' from Greek ''karyophyllon'' = "

nut Nut often refers to: * Nut (fruit), fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed, or a collective noun for dry and edible fruits or seeds * Nut (hardware), fastener used with a bolt Nut or Nuts may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Co ...

-leaf" = the

spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices a ...

called

clove Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands (or Moluccas) in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring or fragrance in consumer products, ...

, the association deriving from the flower's scent. Gilliflowers have been claimed to be used as payment for

peppercorn rent In legal parlance, a peppercorn is a metaphor for a very small cash payment or other nominal consideration, used to satisfy the requirements for the creation of a legal contract. It is featured in ''Chappell & Co Ltd v Nestle Co Ltd'' (960AC 87) ...

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

feudal tenure contracts. For example, in 1262 in

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

an area of land called The Hyde was held by someone "for the rent of one clove of gilliflower", and

Elmore Court Elmore Court is a grade II* listed mansion, located at Elmore in the Stroud district of Gloucestershire, England. The original building dates from between 1564 and 1588. History The house has been the family seat of the Guise Baronets for near ...

in Gloucester was granted to the Guise family by John De Burgh for the rent of "The clove of one Gillyflower" each year. In

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

in the 13th century

Bartholomew de Badlesmere Bartholomew (Aramaic: ; grc, Βαρθολομαῖος, translit=Bartholomaîos; la, Bartholomaeus; arm, Բարթողիմէոս; cop, ⲃⲁⲣⲑⲟⲗⲟⲙⲉⲟⲥ; he, בר-תולמי, translit=bar-Tôlmay; ar, بَرثُولَماو� ...

upon an exchange made between King

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...

and himself, received a royal grant in fee of a manor and chapel, to hold in

socage Socage () was one of the feudal duties and land tenure forms in the Feudalism, English feudal system. It eventually evolved into the freehold tenure called "free and common socage", which did not involve feudal duties. Farmers held land in excha ...

, "by the service of paying one pair of clove gilliflowers", by the hands of the

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

. However, it is more likely that the rent was paid in the form of actual cloves (in Latin, ''gariofilum''; the flower was later named after the spice, via French), cloves and peppercorns both being exotic spices. The rose and gillyflower appear on the station badge of RAF

Waterbeach Waterbeach is an expanding village north of Cambridge on the edge of The Fens, in the South Cambridgeshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. It was designated a "new town" in 2018. History Early periods Waterbeach is on the Car Dyke, a Rom ...

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 Mrs. Lovett is a fictional character appearing in many adaptations of the story ''Sweeney Todd''. Her first name is most commonly referred to as Nellie, although she has also been referred to as Amelia, Margery, Maggie, Sarah, Shirley, Wilhelmina ...

in the song "Wait" from the Sondheim musical ''

Sweeney Todd Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial ''The String of Pearls'' (1846–47). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London urban legend, legend. A barber fr ...

'' and in the novel ''

La Faute de l'Abbé Mouret ''La Faute de l'Abbé Mouret'' (1875) 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 t ...

'' (aka Abbe Mouret's Transgression or the Sin of the Father Mouret) by

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...

as part of the ''

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'' (''Natural and social history of a family under the Se ...

'' series. Charles Ryder has them growing under his window when he is a student at Oxford in the novel ''

Brideshead Revisited ''Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder'' is a novel by English writer Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1945. It follows, from the 1920s to the early 1940s, the life and romances of the protagonist Charles ...

''.

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's Perdita is scathing about gilliflowers, or "streaked gillyvors" in Act IV, Sc 4 of his

Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some criti ...

, because they are cross-fertilized by humans, rather than by Nature: "I have heard it said/There is an art which in their piedness shares/With great creating Nature ... I'll not put/The dibble in earth to set one slip of them". In the ballad '' Clerk Saunders'', the ghost of Saunders tells May Margaret of the fate of those women who die in labour: "Their beds are made in the heavens high,/Down at the foot of our good Lord’s knee,/Weel set about wi’ gillyflowers;/I wot, sweet company for to see."

Notes

References

*''dated'' 1753, ''from'' St. Stephens W.I. ''in'' Cornish Recipes, Ancient & Modern, 22nd Edition, The Cornwall Federation of Women's Institutes 1965. First published by Edith Martin, Tregavethan, Truro, 1929, ''for'' The Cornwall F. of W. I.

External links

* {{Cite Americana, wstitle=Gillyflower , short=x Plant common names