Red rose is a floristic symbol of England

Entire peoples have any plant as a national symbol. The floristic symbol of England is the red rose, the queen of flowers. Each plant-symbol in a certain way reflects the history and culture of the state, represents the country to the whole world. Scientists call symbols "a certain text", addressed to future generations. What information does the vegetable symbol chosen by the English bear? Why did the perfect and refined rose, the symbol of England, become the distinctive sign of the whole people, acquired a special meaning and status of the "national" flower?

The choice of a plant-symbol is determined by different circumstances:

• The plant grows on the territory where the people live, who used it as a sign of socio-cultural coding;
• The origin of the symbol is associated with legends and legends conveying information about the past;
• The choice of a symbol is justified by concrete historical events.

In the case of England, the defining factor was the last circumstance - the vegetable symbol of England appeared due to the historical event - the War of the Roses.

The symbol of England and the War of the Roses and Roses

Quite a strange name for the war. Of course, not fond flowers were fought among themselves , but people, whose tribal crests were adorned with roses. These individuals, who failed to share power peacefully, belonged to two lines of the royal dynasty Plantagenet - Lancaster and York. The modern symbol of England is a red rose. She was present in the coat of arms of the Lancaster House, which challenged the right to the English throne from ambitious representatives of the York house, whose coat of arms was adorned with a white rose.

It should be noted that a noble and luxurious flower appeared on the British Isles in the XIV century, and the most notable English lords and ladies were carried away by the cultivation of roses. Thanks to the artist John Petty, who beautifully displayed on the canvas the fictitious scene from the first part of the play "Henry VI", the modern spectator has the opportunity to imagine how the supporters of the warring factions in the Garden of the Temple made a choice of red and white roses.

In 1455, the enmity of the two clans grew into a war lasting 30 years, until 1485. The bloody struggle for the throne ended with the wedding of Henry VII (Lancaster) and the daughter of Edward IV (York), Princess Elizabeth. Thirty years of war, drawing a line under the English Middle Ages, was the starting point in the history of new England, when the dynasty settled on the throne of the Tudors, who united in their emblem the colors of two roses.

Rosa Tudor

From now on, the flower - the symbol of England - was portrayed as a white rose of York (in the center), bordered by the petals of the red rose of the Lancaster. The emblem became part of the heraldic tradition of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Previously, the symbol of England was carved wherever possible: the emblem was decorated with ceilings in many English houses, it was present in the decoration of the facades of buildings. The emblem can still be seen on the uniforms of the Royal Life Guards and guards in the Tower of London. Rosa Tudorov - a detail of the cockade of the military of the British reconnaissance troops. Her image is on some coins. The rose is decorated with the royal coat of arms of Great Britain and the state emblem of Canada.