prepared by Ekaterina Ziborova, photo by Ziborov T.Yu.

Wonderful White Lily- the personification of innocence and purity. The ancient Greeks attributed the divine origin to her - according to them, she grew up from the milk of the mother of the gods Juno. But much earlier than the Greeks, the lily was known to the ancient Persians, whose capital was called Susa, that is, the "City of Lilies." In his coat of arms, as a symbol of immaculate purity, several lilies flaunted. This flower also enjoyed the glory of purity among the ancient Jews. According to their legends, the lily grew in the Garden of Eden during the temptation of Eve by the devil, but in the midst of the temptation, the beautiful flower remained as pure as it was, and no evil dared to touch it.

The great architect of Tyre, who built the temple of Solomon, gave the elegant shape of a lily to the capitals of the temple and decorated the walls and ceiling with images of a lily, sharing with the Jews the opinion that this flower will deepen the prayer mood. And Moses ordered the seven candlesticks to be decorated with images of a lily. There is also a legend that under the yellow lily, which usually grows among the reeds, the cradle of Moses stopped.
The lily is also found among the Egyptians, and its image in hieroglyphs denotes either the short duration of life, or freedom and hope. The fragrant oil, famous in ancient times, "suzinon", was prepared from this flower.

The lily also played a significant role among the Romans at the festival of Flora. During this holiday, women competed in running and wrestling, and the winners were showered with a rain of flowers. They cleaned with lilies the statue of the goddess Flora, and the entire amphitheater, the audience, the arena, the boxes ...
This flower was considered by the Romans as a symbol of hope, and its image was placed by the Romans even on coins, as the expectation by the people of pleasant benefits from the reigning king.
As a sign of that full abundance and pure life that they wish, the bride and groom were crowned with wreaths of lilies and wheat ears.

The lily was also found in ancient Germanic mythology, and the god of thunder - Thor - was always depicted holding a lightning bolt in his right hand, and a scepter crowned with a lily in his left. Her fragrant aureole was also considered in Germanic mythology to be the magic wand of Oberon and the dwelling of the elves. Each lily has its own elf, who is born and dies with it. The corollas of these flowers serve as bells for the elves, by ringing which they gather their fellows for prayer.

Nowhere did the lily have such historical significance like in France. They say that the founder of the French monarchy, Clovis, while still a pagan, saw that he was losing to the Allemanni in the battle of Tolback, and offered up a prayer for victory to the Christian God. And an angel appeared to him with a branch of lilies, saying that from now on he would make the lily his weapon and bequeath it to his descendants. Clovis was granted victory in this battle, and he, with all his Franks, their wives and children, was baptized. Since then, the lily in France has been a symbol of royal power in the shadow of the church.

Although the symbol of royalty has always been a white lily, some argue that the lily given by the angel to Clovis was not white, but fiery red. There is also a beautiful legend about this red lily. It is said that she turned red on the night before the Savior's suffering on the Cross. The legend says that when the Savior, tormented by heavy longing, passed through the Garden of Gethsemane, all the flowers bowed their heads before him. One lily did not bow its head, wishing that He would thoroughly enjoy its scent and beauty. And the Savior really stopped for a minute - perhaps even to admire the beauty of this flower - but when His suffering gaze fell on her, the lily, comparing her pride with His humility, became ashamed, and the blush of shame spread over all her petals, remaining with her. forever…
That is why, the legend adds, red lilies never stand with their heads up and always close their petals at night.

In the XII century, Louis VII also chose the lily as his emblem, with him for the first time a white banner with three golden lilies appeared, which later became not only the emblem of royal power, but also devotion to the papal throne.
The lily is also found in the coat of arms of Saint Louis IX, but only together with the daisy, which he added in memory of his beloved wife Margaret.
The shape of the lily was also given to the end of the scepter, and France itself was called the kingdom of lilies, and the French king - the king of lilies.
The expression "etre assis sur des lys", that is, "to sit on lilies", meant to have a high position, since not only all the walls of the court, but also all the seats of the chairs were decorated with lily flowers.

The lily was generally considered a very honorary sign on the coats of arms and was even found on coins. Louis XIV put into circulation coins that even bore the names of gold and silver lilies. On one side of such a coin there was an image of a king or a cross decorated with lilies and topped at both ends with crowns, and on the other - the coat of arms of France, supported by two angels. Lily generally enjoyed great love in France. In aristocratic families, it was customary for the groom to send the bride every morning a bouquet of fresh flowers, where there must have been at least a few white lilies, until the wedding.

The lily enjoys the same love among the Spaniards and Italians. Among these peoples, it is considered mainly a flower. of the Blessed Virgin. In wreaths of lilies, young girls go for the first time to Holy Communion. In the Pyrenees there is a custom on June 24, on Midsummer Day, to bring huge bouquets of lilies to the church for consecration. Then these lilies are nailed crosswise over the door of each house, which from that moment is considered to be under the protection of John the Baptist. These bouquets remain until the next Midsummer Day.

Germany also took a great interest in the lily. The most beautiful lilies were bred here in the monastery gardens, and their incredible beauty gave rise to many stories related to the life of the monks.
In Germany, there are many legends associated with the afterlife associated with the lily. It serves the Germans, like a tomb rose, as evidence of either devotion or the posthumous revenge of the deceased. According to popular belief, she is never planted on graves, and she herself grows up on the grave of a suicide or a person who died a violent or generally terrible death. If it grows on the grave of the murdered, it serves as a harbinger of revenge, and on the grave of a sinner - a sign of atonement for sins. On the petals of lilies that have grown on the grave of sinners, according to legend, some words written in gold always appear.

Some Caucasian lilies may turn yellow or blush under the influence of rain, and therefore Caucasian girls use them for divination. Having chosen a lily bud, after the rain they open it, and if it is yellow inside, then their beloved is unfaithful to them, and if it is red, then he still loves.

It is impossible not to recall the Siberian lily - saranka. If the white lily is strict, cold, indifferent in appearance, then the locust is its complete opposite. The petals of her flowers are exactly turned inside out. It seems that the locust is about ready to start dancing.

The most rare and valuable lily is the royal lily, which is native to a narrow valley among the mountains of Southwestern China. The bulbs of this lily were brought to England at the beginning of the 20th century, from where it began its triumphal procession through the gardens and parks of the world.

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lilies

White wonderful lily - this
a symbol of innocence and purity - it also has its own interesting mythology
legend. The Greeks attributed to her a divine origin; according to them,
she grew up from the milk of the mother of the gods - Juno.

Dark night of white lilies
The dream is vague and quiet.
The breeze of the night cool
Wraps them up.
The night closed their cups,
The night keeps the flowers
In an innocent robe
Pure beauty.

I. Bunin

They say that the Theban queen, the beautiful Alcmene, mother of Hercules,
fearing the revenge of the jealous Juno in order to hide the one born by her from Jupiter
Hercules, put him under a thick bush; but Minerva, who knew
the divine origin of the baby, deliberately led Juno to this place and
showed her a poor child abandoned by her mother. Healthy,
Juno liked the charming little boy very much, and as a protector and
the patroness of all newborns, she agreed to give the languishing from
thirst for the little one to suck her milk. But the boy, feeling in her
instinctively of his enemy, bit her so hard that she, screaming from
pain, rudely pushed him away. Milk splashed and, spilling across the sky,
formed Milky Way, and a few drops of it, falling to the ground,
turned into lilies. For this reason, these flowers were also worn by the Greeks
name and rose Juno.

AND
among the ancient Jews, this flower enjoyed great love and fame
purity. According to Jewish legends, he grew up in paradise just at the time
the temptation of Eve by the devil and could be defiled by him; but also in the midst of temptation
he remained as pure as he was, and a draw dirty hand didn't dare
touch it. As a result, the Jews decorated them not only with sacred
their own altars, but often the foreheads of their crowned bearers, as, for example, the king
Solomon. And the great architect of Tyre, who built the temple of Solomon, gave
the graceful shape of a lily to the wonderful capitals of the huge columns of this temple and
decorated its walls and ceiling with images of lilies, sharing with the Jews
the opinion that this flower with its beauty will strengthen
prayer mood among those praying in the temple. For the same reason,
probably Moses ordered the image of a lily to decorate the seven candlestick and
give it the shape of a font where the high priest washed.

There is also a legend that under the lily was the cradle of Moses,
but, of course, not under white, but under yellow, which usually grows
among reeds and reeds.

Lily
is also found among the Egyptians, in whom her image now and then comes across in
hieroglyphs and denotes either the short duration of life, or freedom and
hope. In addition, white lilies, apparently, adorned the bodies of the dead.
young Egyptian girls; a similar lily was found on the chest of a mummy
young Egyptian woman now in the Louvre Museum in Paris. From this
the same flower, the Egyptians prepared fragrant oil, famous in antiquity -
Suzinon, which is described in detail by Hippocrates in his treatise “On
the nature of a woman."

The lily also played a significant role among the Romans, especially in their flower
festivities dedicated to the goddess of spring - Flora.

These festivities took place every year in the last days of April and
were games where women, with the sounds of trumpets and timpani
competed in wrestling and running. The winners were rewarded with wreaths of
flowers, they were covered, as is often done today when honoring
winners at the games, a whole rain of flowers. When offering wreaths
a statue of the goddess herself appeared, decorated with flowers and garlands and
covered with a pink veil which she held right hand; v
on her left hand were peas and beans, which are aediles during these games
they threw handfuls, like dainties, of the Roman mob. These festivities were
founded by Pompey's beloved Akka Laurentia, who, for her extraordinary
another admirer of hers, Cycelius Metellus, even ranked beauty among the host
goddesses, placing her image in the temple of Castor and Pollux.

Lily
also met in ancient Germanic mythology, and the god of thunder Thor
always depicted holding a thunderbolt in his right hand, and a scepter surmounted
lily, on the left. She also adorned the forehead of the ancient inhabitants of Pomerania in
the time of festivities in honor of the goddess of spring, and her fragrant aureole served in
German fairy tale world with a magic wand for Oberon and a dwelling
little fabulous creatures - elves.

By
these legends, each lily has its own elf, who, along with her
is born and dies with her. Corollas of these flowers serve this
tiny creatures with bells, and by swinging them, they call to prayer
their pious brethren. These prayer meetings take place
usually at the late evening hour, when everything was calm in the gardens and
plunged into deep dream. Then one of the elves runs towards the flexible stalk
lily and starts pumping it. The lily bells are ringing and waking up their
silvery ringing sweetly sleeping elves. Tiny creatures wake up
crawl out of their soft beds and silently and solemnly set off for
corollas of lilies, which serve them at the same time as prayer houses. Here
they bow their knees, fold their hands piously, and give thanks in
the ardent prayer of the Creator for the blessings sent down to him. After praying, they
silently rush back to their flower beds and soon fall asleep again
deep, restless sleep...

But
nowhere did the lily have such historical significance as in France, where
the names of the founder of the French monarchy Clovis, kings
Louis VII, Philip III, Francis I and a whole legend about her appearance on
banners of the French kings. About this appearance of the famous three golden
lilies ancient legends report the following.

Clovis, while still a pagan, seeing in the battle of Tolbiac that
the allemans4 with whom he waged war gain the upper hand over his warriors,
exclaimed, "Christian God, the God my wife worships
Clotilde (daughter of King Chilperic, Christian), help me win
victory, I believe in You!” And then suddenly an angel of God appeared to him with a branch
lilies and said that from now on he would make this flower his weapon and
bequeathed it to his descendants. At the same moment Clovis's soldier was seized
extraordinary courage, with renewed strength, they rushed to the enemy and
put him to flight. In gratitude for this, Clovis in 496 AD.
went to Reims and with all his Franks, their wives and children received
holy baptism. And from now on, the lily becomes in France
the emblem of royalty under the shadow of the church.

But the lily received from the angel Clovis, according to many scientists, was
Not white, but fiery red. It was, in their opinion, the same flower,
who grew up in East Flanders, in the river Li (Lys), which flows into
Scheldt, where the battle of Clovis took place, after which the victorious warriors
picking lilies, they returned to their homeland with wreaths of these flowers on
head. From the name of the same river, the French
the name of the flower is (Lee, fox).

V
In the same century, Louis VII chooses the lily as his emblem, when,
going on the second crusade as the head of a separate detachment,
according to the custom of that time, he had to choose for himself some kind of motto for
banner premises.

He chooses her, on the one hand, because her name,
then pronounced Loys (Loi), has some resemblance to his name -
Louis (Louis), and on the other, in remembrance that King Clovis with her
with help he defeated the enemies of Christianity; he also goes to fight
unfaithful. In addition, these lilies were supposed to remind his soldiers also
heroic feat of the sovereign, who expelled the Romans from their fatherland and was
founder of the French monarchy.

V
In Germany, a lot of legends about the afterlife are also associated with a lily.

She, like a tomb rose, serves as a testament to the Germans
devotion, then the posthumous revenge of the deceased. According to popular belief, it
never put on the grave, but she herself grows here under the influence
some invisible force, and grows mainly on the graves
suicides and people who died a violent and generally terrible death.
If it grows on the grave of the murdered, then it serves as a sign of impending revenge, and
if on the grave of a sinner, then forgiveness and atonement for his sins.

Such a belief is even told in the ballad "Killer's Servant"
This ballad tells,
how one noble lady, at the request of her lover, persuaded
devoted servant to kill her husband, attacking him by surprise in the midst of
fields. Servant doing an errand beautiful lady praise him and generously
awards; but when she rides her gray horse across the field where
a murder is committed, then suddenly the white lilies growing here begin to menacingly
nod her head. Fear and remorse take possession of her, not a day,
not at night she finds more peace and goes to the monastery.

On the lilies, expressing the atonement of sins, always appear
some words written in golden letters. These words are spoken of
in medieval songs about the robber knights Schutenzam and Lindenschmit,
caught and executed by the Nurembergers, as well as in a song about Count Friedrich,
who accidentally killed his bride with a sword that fell from his scabbard. In desperation
her father kills him, and the song ends with the words: “Three days have passed, and on
3 lilies grew on his grave, on which it was written that the Lord accepted
him to himself, to his holy abodes.

Some
Caucasian lilies can turn yellow and red under the influence of rain, and therefore
Caucasian girls use them for divination.

Having chosen a lily bud, they open it after the rain, and if it turns out
yellow inside, then their betrothed is unfaithful, if red, then he still loves.

In Siberia, the wild lily Sarana, or "royal curls", grows, about which they even made a legend, as if it had grown from the heart of a Cossack who died during the conquest of Siberia by Ermak, and since then a flower with intricately curved orange petals has magical properties transmitted to her by the Cossack - inspires courage and stamina in the soldiers.

swamp lilies

Pale, tenderly bashful,
Blossomed in the swamp wilderness
Silent white lily flowers,
And the reeds rustle around them.
_
white lily flowers silvery
Grow up from the deep bottom
Where golden rays do not shine,
Where the water is cold and dark.
_
And their criminal passions do not beckon,
Their worries do not call to themselves;
For immodest eyes inaccessible,
They only live for themselves.
_
With firm determination
Live the dream and reach the top
Blossom with pomp and pride
White lilies silent flowers.
_
Blossom, and fade impassive,
Far from human dominion
And bloom again, beautiful, -
And no one will know about them.

Balmont Konstantin

Lily (white) - in the language of flowers, purity, virginity, majesty, "It's divine - to be next to you !!!"

Lily (yellow) - in the language of flowers, gratitude, brightness, but also frivolity, lies

Lily (calla) beauty in the language of flowers

Lily (orange) - in the language of flowers, hatred, disgust

Lily (sacred) - in the language of flowers girlish charms

Lily (tiger) - in the language of flowers, pride, abundance, prosperity, well-being

The image of this plant is found even on ancient Roman vases. This suggests that it has long been known and loved. Some scientists believe that its name comes from the ancient Celtic "lilith" (white-white), so today the plant is called Lily.

History and legends

Most legends and myths are associated with the white lily. Its scientific name is Lilium candidum. The beauty of the plant made us believe in its divine origin, but they began to worship the lily from time immemorial.

Myths of Ancient Greece

In Crete, archaeologists have found frescoes over 3,000 years old. Among other images, lily petals could be seen on them. The inhabitants of Crete dedicated the flower to the goddess of the sea, the patroness of fishermen. The Greeks, who later captured the island, also did not ignore this flower and even dedicated a beautiful legend to it. Tradition says that the lily appeared from the milk of the goddess Hera, the wife of the almighty Zeus. Since the relationship between the gods on Olympus was very complicated, it turned out that Zeus had a son from Queen Alcmene. Fearing the wrath of her lawful wife, Alcmene hid the baby in the bushes, and, as luck would have it, Hera passed by this shelter. The goddess saw the baby, took pity on him and decided to feed him. But the child pushed her away, because of which the milk splashed into the sky and formed the well-known Milky Way. At the same time, a few small drops of milk fell to the ground, and white lilies grew in this place. By the way, the baby's name was Hercules.
In ancient Rome, the lily symbolized luxury. Patricians - a noble part of the population of the empire - decorated their clothes with lilies. With the advent of Christianity, the lily began to be considered the flower of the Virgin Mary as a symbol of purity and purity.

“There is an old pond in the old castle, lilies bloom there ...”

This plant is also called the flower of the French kings. Louis VII placed it on the banners, and then it moved to other symbols of royal power.

People in high positions at court were said to be "sitting on lilies".

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This was quite true, since not only the walls of important institutions, but also the seats of chairs were decorated with the image of a flower. France itself was called the kingdom of lilies, and the monarch - their king.
Gloomy pages in the history of the lily are also known. For example, criminals were branded with it. Inquisitors with torches and lilies in their hands sent apostates to the stake. It was believed that after burning the souls of sinners should have become as pure as this snow-white flower. A lot of time has passed since then, and in some European countries even today it is not customary to give lilies, the symbolism of which was suffering.

Russian stories

Since this flower is found in the wild not only in the Old World, but also in our country, there are also Russian legends associated with the lily. In Siberia, a lily blooms, which is popularly called saranka. Previously, people believed that it protects warriors from a bullet and a bayonet. That is why mothers who accompanied their sons to the war would certainly put a lily flower in their pocket. Saranka comes in different shades, but the brightest is purple. According to legend, it arose from the drops of blood of the Cossack chieftain Yermak, who conquered the Siberian expanses. In these places, they still say that a man who touches a locust forever becomes strong and courageous.
European varieties of lilies came to Russia under Peter I, when the reformer tsar brought a flower to decorate his summer garden. A little later, the study of the flora of Siberia began, and biologists brought three new species of lilies to St. Petersburg.

Species and varieties

On the site, the lilies look like royalty. And no matter how many plants you have growing (one or ten), they still transform the garden during flowering. True, skeptics say that this is a grandmother's flower that has ceased to be fashionable. The point is that we have for a long time only the Daurian lily and the Royal lily could be found. They often decorated village front gardens. But now the choice is huge. The bulk of lilies is represented by oriental, Asian hybrids. These varieties require different care. In order not to get confused in the features, you can connect the imagination:

1. The gentle oriental beauty loves drier soils, is whimsical in care, and needs to be covered for the winter. She is afraid of the cold, so it is necessary to plant it so that it is about 20 cm from the bulb to the surface of the earthy coma, this is of great importance. This will help the plant to winter without problems, and with the advent of spring to give healthy strong shoots. The distance between the bulbs themselves should be 25 cm, and even better 30.
2. Asian hybrids are young “Vietnamese”, modest and less demanding. These flowers are quite frost-resistant, so the planting depth may be less. There are many varieties of these hybrids that are worth buying and planting on the site without unnecessary fears.

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If lilies are so different from each other, then what about their distant relatives? After all, even aloe is the second cousin of these flowers. The lily is a member of the lily family. This also includes onions, garlic, tulips and many other plants, united by one common feature- the structure of the flower. It must be a multiple of three. For example, a lily has three outer and inner petals. However, strict arithmetic does not prevent these plants from being completely different in shape.
There are cup-shaped lilies, looking at which it seems that you can pour water into them. In the chalmoid lily, the flower is lowered down, and the petals gently curve upwards. There are even lilies that look like a star.
And lilies differ in height:

• there are babies only 25 cm tall;
• there are lilies taller - they can reach 40 cm in height;
• there are plants about 120 cm high;
• you can find real giants. These are tall varieties that are taller than a person. By the way, now they are very popular.

Pollination and reproduction

First of all, the lily strikes unusual shape flower. And it attracts not only humans, but also insects. Separate types Lilies are pollinated by butterflies. Each petal has a nectar groove. Only a very long proboscis can penetrate it - just like a butterfly. The fallback option for lily pollination is the wind. Even with a light breath, the pollen is on the stigma of the pistil, after which pollination occurs. When the plant is all alone, this is the only way to survive. But for the development of the species as a whole, cross-pollination is very important, it is not for nothing that the lily has a whole pantry of pollen. There is so much of it on the stamens that it is sometimes difficult to smell the flower and not leave yellow marks on the face. The pollinating insect also gets dirty with pollen and transfers it to the flower of a neighboring plant.
Lily reproduces not only by seeds, although this method is the most developed.

This plant has vegetative propagation with the help of bulbs - air bulbs formed in the axils of the leaves.

This is a great substitute for flowers. Bulbs ripen, fall off, germinate perfectly, take root and give a full-fledged plant. However, in order for them to start, it is necessary to cut off the buds before flowering.

White lilies many peoples from time immemorial have been associated with purity, innocence and purity. And the ancient Egyptians believed that these flowers express the short life, freedom and hope. The Louvre Museum in Paris houses the mummy of a young Egyptian woman with a white lily on her chest. From the same flower, the Egyptians prepared the famous fragrant oil in ancient times, which Hippocrates speaks of in his treatise On the Nature of Woman. Lily got its name from the ancient Gaulish word "li-li", which literally means "white-white".

The first images of her are found on Cretan vases and frescoes, starting from 1750 BC, and then among the ancient Assyrians, Egyptians, Greeks and Romans.

In Persia, during the reign of Cyrus, the lily was the main decoration of lawns, patios and reservoirs. The capital of ancient Persia, Susa, was called the town of lilies, and several flowers of this majestic plant were depicted on its coat of arms.

The ancient Greeks attributed divine origin to lilies. According to legend, white lilies arose from drops of milk of Hera - the wife of the lord of the gods Zeus. The Theban queen Alcmene secretly gave birth to the boy Hercules from Zeus, but, fearing the punishment of Zeus's wife, Hera, she hid the newborn in the bushes. However, Hera accidentally discovered the baby and decided to breastfeed him. But little Hercules sensed an enemy in Hera and rudely pushed the goddess away. Milk splashed into the sky, which formed the Milky Way, and those few drops that fell to the ground sprouted and turned into lilies.

From IV century BC, information reached that the magnificent garden of the Athenian beauty Phryne was buried in white lilies.

In honor of the flower, young Roman women competed in running at the festival of Flora (floralia), where the winner was certainly decorated with a wreath of white lilies, and each girl consoled herself with the hope of getting such a wreath. The ancient Romans lilies served as a sign of exquisite taste, rich patricians decorated their clothes and chariots with them.

A few thousand years before our era lilies cultivated not only as ornamentals, but also as medicinal, cosmetic and food plants.

With the spread of Christianity, the white lily continued to personify purity and became the "flower of the Virgin Mary." According to legend, the archangel Gabriel appeared to the holy virgin Mary with a white lily in his hand (though, according to another version, he came with an olive branch). According to Christian legend, a white lily grew from the tears of Eve, who was expelled from paradise.

orange-red lilies, also known since antiquity, symbolized the blood of Christ.

In medieval Germany, lilies there were many legends about the flower of the afterlife and the atonement of sins. According to the legends of other nations, the lily appears on the graves of innocently condemned people.

The Germans believed that each lily has its own elf, who will be born with her and die with her. During the day, the elves sleep deep inside the flower. And late in the evening one of the elves begins to swing the stalk with a flower. Swinging, the flower rings. All the elves wake up and go to the lily pads to pray. After praying, they hurry back to their flower beds and soon fall asleep in them, curled up in a carefree sleep.

When the gloomy Middle Ages came with its ominous "holy" Inquisition, the same lily suddenly became a flower of shame. The Catholic Church begins to use the lily in the ritual of burning "sinners" at the Bonfires. beautiful flower was turned into a symbol of obscurantism, abuse of people. familiar lilies branded criminals. Since then, it is not customary to give a lily in Europe in honor of any bright event, including at weddings (in the East, a lily is still a "light" flower, and, conversely, it is not customary for them to give it at a funeral) .

In Russia, a white lily was considered a symbol of purity and purity, so they were often given to brides. The lily was also honored in Russia as a symbol of peace.

The beauty and grace of white lilies were reflected in folk songs, legends, epics, in many works of art.

Dark night of white lilies
The dream is vague and quiet.
The breeze of the night cool
Wraps them up.
The night closed their cups,
The night keeps the flowers
In an innocent robe
Pure beauty.

The lily played a special role in the history of France. The founder of the Frankish state, King Clovis I, in the 5th century, defeated the Germans on the banks of the Li River, where lilies. The victors returned from the battlefield, decorated with lilies, and since then three lilies, personifying the three virtues - compassion, justice and mercy.

More than 300 years ago, coins were minted - "gold and silver lilies". The image of this flower is also found on the royal seal, it serves as a decoration for walls and furniture in palaces.

Lily flowers filled the monastery gardens, and France was called the kingdom of lilies.

At the Louvre in Paris, the famous museum of the treasurer of art treasures, a golden monument to Joan of Arc was erected. The folk heroine in knight's armor sits on a horse and holds a spear with a banner in his hands. For her exploits in the name of the motherland, after her death they began to call her "de li" ("lily"). The coat of arms of Joan of Arc depicts a sword with two lilies on the sides and a wreath of lilies on top on a blue background.

lilies- first class ornamental plants, and the beginning of their culture dates back to the distant past. The oldest cultivated plant, the snow-white lily is found wild in Lebanon, Palestine and Syria.

People have long learned to grow white, yellow, red and speckled red in gardens. lilies, which are called tiger.

Whites in Russia lilies began to be cultivated under Peter I. And if the white lily is a symbol of innocence and purity, then the red personifies shyness, because the paint of shame spilled over its petals.

It is impossible not to recall the red saranka (in Siberian "saran") - angust-leaved lily. It grows in Siberia, and of all the lilies, the red locust is the most elegant. And the rule of the secret number three - characteristic of all lily plants - applies to it. The flower has three outer petals and three inner ones. Stamens - also three and three. Even the center of the flower - the ovary of the pistil - consists of three cloves! If the white lily is cold, strict, indifferent in appearance, then the locust is its clear opposite. The petals of her flowers are exactly turned inside out. It seems that the locust is about ready to start dancing.

Siberian legend tells that the saranka lily grew out of the heart of the Cossack chieftain Yermak, who died in 1585 during the conquest of Siberia, and since then the flower has given courage and stamina to soldiers.

The legend of the saranka came to life during the Great Patriotic War, inspiring the Siberian warriors to the exploits. Siberian old-timers assure: "Whoever touches the Saran even once, he will be strong and courageous for the rest of his life."

In Belarus, locust and curly lily grow in shady forests, on the edges. They are listed in the Red Book.

Currently there are over 3000 varieties lilies, and this number is constantly growing due to the receipt of new hybrid decorative forms. And what smell do they have lilies! Almost half of all varieties have a delicate, delicate aroma.

But the most beautiful of all is the Lauenburg lily. When she for the first time blossomed, it looked so elegant that the wild flowers bowed their corollas before it, the trees fluttered their leaves, and the air was filled with a wonderful smell. With moisture in the rim, she looked like a pearl.

“The Parian stone in its whiteness, and the aroma of the lily will not surpass the nard. flower French physician Odo of Maine. The rarest, and therefore the most valuable of the lilies, is considered the royal lily, which is native to Western Sichuan in China, a narrow valley lost among the mountains. In 1903, the English botanist E. Wilson first arrived here, who had the priority in discovering this plant with snow-white flowers. Lily bulbs were brought to England, and from England her lily highness went on a triumphal procession through the gardens and parks of the world.

The wonderful white lily - this symbol of innocence and purity - also has its own interesting legend in mythology. The Greeks attributed to her a divine origin; according to them, she grew up from the milk of the mother of the gods - Juno.

They say that the Theban queen, the beautiful Alcmene, the mother of Hercules, fearing the revenge of the jealous Juno, in order to hide Hercules born by her from Jupiter, put him under a dense bush; but Minerva, who knew the divine origin of the baby, purposely led Juno to this place and showed her the poor child abandoned by her mother. Juno liked the healthy, charming boy very much, and as the protector and patroness of all newborns, she agreed to give the thirsty baby to suck her milk. But the boy, instinctively sensing his enemy in her, bit her so hard that she, crying out in pain, roughly pushed him away. Milk splashed and, spilling across the sky, formed the Milky Way, and a few drops of it, falling to the ground, turned into lilies. For this reason, these flowers among the Greeks were also called the roses of Juno.

And among the ancient Jews, this flower enjoyed great love and the glory of purity. According to Jewish legends, he grew up in paradise just at the time of the temptation of Eve by the devil and could be defiled by him; but even in the midst of temptation he remained as pure as he was, and no dirty hand dared to touch him. As a result of this, the Jews decorated with them not only their sacred altars, but often the foreheads of their crowned bearers, such as, for example, King Solomon. And the great architect of Tyre, who built the temple of Solomon, gave an elegant form of a lily to the wonderful capitals of the huge columns of this temple and decorated its walls and ceiling with images of a lily, sharing with the Jews the opinion that this flower with its beauty will enhance the mood of prayer among those praying in the temple. For the same reason, probably, Moses ordered the image of the lily to decorate the seven candlestick and give it the shape of a font where the high priest was washing.

There is also a legend that under the lily was the cradle of Moses, but, of course, not under the white one, but under the yellow one, which usually grows among reeds and reeds.

Lily is also found among the Egyptians, in whom her image now and then comes across in hieroglyphs and denotes either the short duration of life, or freedom and hope. In addition, white lilies, apparently, adorned the bodies of dead young Egyptian girls; a similar lily was found on the breast of the mummy of a young Egyptian woman, now kept in the Louvre Museum in Paris. From the same flower, the Egyptians prepared the famous fragrant oil in ancient times - suzinon, which is described in detail by Hippocrates in his treatise On the Nature of Women.

The lily also played a significant role among the Romans, especially in their flower festivals dedicated to the goddess of spring - Flora.

These festivities took place annually in the last days of April and were games where women, with the sounds of trumpets and timpani, competed in wrestling and running. The winners received wreaths of flowers as a reward, they were covered, as is often done today when honoring the winners at the games, with a whole rain of flowers. When wreaths were offered, a statue of the goddess herself appeared, decorated with flowers and garlands and covered with a pink veil, which she held with her right hand; in her left hand were peas and beans, which during these games the aediles threw handfuls of Roman rabble like delicacies. These festivities were founded by Pompey's beloved Akka Laurentia, who, for her extraordinary beauty, her other admirer, Cycelius Metellus, even ranked among the host of goddesses, placing her image in the temple of Castor and Pollux.

The lily was also found in ancient Germanic mythology, and the thunder god Thor was always depicted holding a lightning bolt in his right hand, and a scepter crowned with a lily in his left. She also adorned the brow of the ancient inhabitants of Pomerania during the festivities in honor of the goddess of spring, and her fragrant aureole served in the German fairy-tale world as a magic wand for Oberon and the home of small fairy-tale creatures - elves.

According to these legends, each lily has its own elf, who is born with her and dies with her. The corollas of these flowers serve as bells to these tiny creatures, and, shaking them, they call their pious brethren to prayer. These meetings of prayer usually take place in the late evening hour, when everything in the gardens has calmed down and plunged into a deep sleep. Then one of the elves runs to the flexible stem of the lily and begins to rock it. The lily bells ring and wake up sweetly sleeping elves with their silvery ringing. Tiny creatures wake up, crawl out of their soft beds, and silently and solemnly go to the corollas of lilies, which at the same time serve as their prayer houses. Here they kneel, fold their hands piously and give thanks in fervent prayer to the Creator for the blessings sent to them. Having prayed, they just as silently hurry back to their flower cradles and soon fall asleep again in a deep, carefree sleep...

But nowhere did the lily have such historical significance as in France, where the names of the founder of the French monarchy Clovis, kings Louis VII, Philip III, Francis I and a whole legend about its appearance on the banner of the French kings are associated with it. About this appearance of the famous three golden lilies, ancient legends report the following.

Clovis, while still a pagan, seeing in the battle of Tolbiac that the Alleman4 with whom he waged war was taking over his soldiers, exclaimed: “Christian God, the God worshiped by my wife Clotilde (daughter of King Chilperic, a Christian), help me win, I believe in You!" And then suddenly an angel of God appeared to him with a branch of lilies and said that from now on he would make this flower his weapon and bequeath it to his descendants. At the same moment, the soldiers of Clovis were seized with extraordinary courage, with renewed strength, they rushed at the enemy and put him to flight. In gratitude for this, Clovis in 496 AD. went to Reims and with all his Franks, their wives and children received holy baptism. And from now on, the lily becomes in France the emblem of royal power in the shadow of the church.

But the lily received from the angel Clovis, according to many scientists, was not white, but fiery red. It was, in their opinion, the same flower that grew in East Flanders, in the river Li (Lys), flowing into the Scheldt, where the battle of Clovis took place, after which his victorious warriors, picking lilies, returned to their homeland with wreaths of these flowers on the head. From the name of the same river, the French name of the flower probably came from - (Lee, fox).

Louis VII also chooses the lily as his emblem, when, going on the second crusade as the head of a separate detachment, according to the custom of that time, he had to choose some motto for himself to be placed on the banner.

He chooses her, on the one hand, because her name, then pronounced Loys (Loy), has some similarities with his name - Louis (Louis), and on the other, in remembrance that King Clovis defeated his enemies with her help. Christianity; he also goes to fight against the infidels. In addition, these lilies were supposed to remind his soldiers of the heroic deed of the sovereign, who expelled the Romans from their fatherland and was the founder of the French monarchy.

In Germany, many legends about the afterlife are also associated with the lily.

She, like a tomb rose, serves among the Germans as evidence of either devotion or the posthumous revenge of the deceased. According to popular belief, she is never put on a grave, but she herself grows here under the influence of some invisible force, and grows mainly on the graves of suicides and people who died a violent and generally terrible death. If it grows on the grave of the murdered, then it serves as a sign of impending revenge, and if on the grave of a sinner, then forgiveness and atonement for their sins.

Such a belief is even told in the famous medieval ballad "The Killer's Servant".

This ballad tells how one noble lady, at the desire of her lover, persuaded her devoted servant to kill her husband, attacking him by surprise in the middle of the field. The servant performs the task, the beautiful lady praises him and generously rewards him; but when she rides on her gray horse across the field where the murder has been committed, then suddenly the white lilies growing here begin to nod menacingly at her. Fear and remorse take possession of her, neither day nor night she finds more peace and goes to the monastery.

On the lilies, expressing the atonement of sins, there always appear some words written in golden letters. Such words are mentioned in medieval songs about the robber knights Schutenzam and Lindenschmit, who were caught and executed by the Nurembergers, as well as in a song about Count Friedrich, who killed his bride with a sword that accidentally fell out of his scabbard. In desperation, her father kills him, and the song ends with the words: “Three days passed, and 3 lilies grew on his grave, on which it was written that the Lord accepted him into his holy cloisters.”

Some Caucasian lilies can turn yellow and red under the influence of rain, and therefore Caucasian girls use them for divination.

Having chosen a lily bud, they open it after the rain, and if it turns out to be yellow inside, then their betrothed is unfaithful, but if it is red, then he still loves.