one of many species that we will never really know.
The rose seems to be the flower of choice, in the world that we have allowed to be our only reference, as a symbol of love and beauty, with more than 150 wild species and 30.000 varieties grown in all kinds of habitats. But it also seems to have originated in Asia about five thousand years ago, of which little or no information is transferred. Only a fortuitous and homogeneous drop escapes, on the story of the rose bushes in the Chinese imperial gardens, during the Zhou dynasty, that Confucius (551-479 BC) related, together with the reference of 600 books about roses, held in the library of the emperor's palace.
Thirty intensely scented petals
The most precious, in terms of perfumery for its fragrance, according to the partial information we have, is the damask rose, with its thirty scented petals. Originally from Damascus, does not arrive in Europe until the . 13th c, from the hands of one crusader (1), as it couldn't be otherwise, on his way back from the Holy Land, adding more shadows to the “normalized” history in which the existence of materials used by perfumery and which are initially found in the rituals of Egyptian temples, among Cleopatra's aphrodisiacs, the titulars of the scripts of Greek mythology and dying in the baths or Roman bacchanals, to end up confirming themselves as originating or props of France.
Eastern world: the cradle – the western: misinformation
For the Eastern world that historically has the perfume imbued in its culture and way of life, rose water, eg, it represents an element of courtesy offered as a welcome to visitors and its edible petals, are a distinguished culinary ingredient.
While the Western Middle Ages, was stinking the life and spirit of the population, keeping her away for his spiritual good, of sinful perfumes, orient improved the distillation, enriching and making the extraction easier , thus expanding its use, a fact that remains in another sweep under the rug.
Ignore history, for being too old and not being Western, maybe?
During the flowering season from May to June, the areas of Turkey, Bulgària, Pakistan, India and Morocco among others, where the rose is currently grown, become scented postcards with sensations that are unintentional, but point out even more the devastation of the garden of the world that represented Damascus or the Arabian Peninsula, of which we have not yet learned from the knowledge of its gardeners; the varieties of creations that their perfumers made, nor the discoveries that materialized and that now lie in the darkness of the National Library of Paris, or who knows what other inaccessible hiding place; we also do not know who made up the cohort of artisans that led to the world of the damask rose; nor how the evolution of its presentation and conservation was, what trades were involved?, ceramists, glass makers, who else?…
It seems we'll never know, because before the exterminators of five thousand years of arms have been emptying the lands, within their reach, of humanity, the predatory egotists of other people's information, have systematically hidden their pasts, to erase the chronicle of his legacy, the original memory of how the people developed, protected, take advantage and create a world for this wonderful flower.
It is necessary to question or accept the weakness of the information offered.
Text chosen at random from internet:
“Damask roses came to Europe from the Middle East via Damascus (hence Damascus) during the middle ages. They are especially appreciated for their natural oils, which have been used for centuries… “
Apart from the name of the species, it makes more sense that it's where it originates from (especially if it is from one of the oldest cities in the world), than where it goes; this holder, starting at this point, already disowns the previous story to what seems to matter, which is its arrival in Europe, from where will be dressed with new reasons that will sign its path as its own, giving it a content that will replace the real original.
The Damask Rose, weak and scrawny looking, gives us the fresh smell when alive; its ephemeral tone in the form of active principles, with the hydrolates; its eternal part, with the result of the extractions and dry, its qualities when enjoying a bath or an infusion.
At this point I have nothing left but to report, from my little kingdom of known and discovered scents than the damascene rose, unfortunately like others who climb through my workshop, the baggage of his stories has been withheld from her, to fit its existence into other frameworks that want it bulk and utilitarian.
(1) In some writings, it even includes the first and last name of the Croat, one Robert de Brie, French of course, who brought it. . I found, with the information at my disposal, a nobleman who would fit, with the dates, but no relation to the souvenir he supposedly brought, which just means I haven't found it.
Updated on 15 April 2024