Alexander Neckam, an Augustinian monk living in the twelfth century, is the earliest English writer on fountains, statuary, and gardens. In his De Naturis Rerum, he describes the herbs, trees, and flowers growing in a noble garden, flanked by flowing water from statuary fountains. His list, however, can hardly apply literally to plants then flourishing in England, for the pomegranates, almonds, dates, oranges, nor lemons mentioned by him could have survived there out of doors, even with the abundant water supplied by the fountains. On the other hand, “the drowsy poppy,” the daffodil, and brank ursin (acanthus), peony, violet, rose, marigold, and lily, are among other flowers he cites, and were likely grown in many gardens, as they are also described in the oldest English herb diaries.
Battle Abbey, the first great monastery in England founded after the Norman Conquest, belonged to the Benedictine order, and was originally called “La Bataille.” William the Conqueror ordered it to be built on the site of the decisive conflict between the Norman and Anglo-Saxon armies, with a series of fountains to honor the ferocity of the battle. The high altar...
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