With the Islamic conquest of Spain in the eighth century, ornamental gardens were re-introduced to Western Europe. During the Crusades of the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries many knights experienced Byzantine and Islamic gardens and returned to their castles with a desire to create ornamental gardens. The use of automata in Western European gardens was definitely inspired by automata in Byzantine and Islamic palaces and gardens.
Much of my information about Islamic gardens came from Gardens of Paradise, by John Brookes, copyright 1987. This book is out of print, but John has given me permission to put up a link to his website. His email address is listed on his website and he is willing to answer questions about Islamic gardens.
The Italian Renaissance is often described as a re-birth based on ancient Roman ruins and those classical manuscripts which survived in monasteries. In fact, much of the Classical literature which survived was preserved by Islamic scholars and we are more sure about Hellenistic gardening traditions surviving in the Islamic world than in Byzantine culture. Gardens are expensive luxuries in the Middle East; by describing paradise as a garden, Muhammad made his followers value gardens very highly. Without Islam, the Western tradition of ornamental gardening might not have survived.
Much of my information about Islamic gardens came from Gardens of Paradise, by John Brookes, copyright 1987. This book is out of print, but John has given me permission to put up a link to his website. His email address is listed on his website and he is willing to answer questions about Islamic gardens.
The copyright of the article Paradise Gardens
- Page 3 in Garden Design is owned by . Permission to republish Paradise Gardens
- Page 3 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Kirk Johnson's Garden Design topic, please visit the Discussions page.