Florilegium May 18, 2016 – Posted in: Blog

Noun meaning: an anthology, a collection of writing gathered from other sources
c 17: New Latin, from flos, flor- ‘flower’ + legere ‘gather’; a translation of the Greek word anthologia, meaning “flower gathering”.

During the Renaissance, florilegium referred to private collection of rare and exotic flowers imported and acquired by European royalty and their patrons. This gave rise to ornamental books about flowers called Florilegium or, ‘flower books’; the earliest known example is from a book of small engraved flower pictures (without text) by engraver Adrian Collaert (c 1590). Gradually, the term made a cross over to mean an anthology of writing, or, “a collection of the flowers of literature”.

“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need”. — Marcus Tullius Cicero.

Here are pictures from my front garden. Look for the book elf and book fairy!