ABSTRACT
The medieval period is one of the most interesting in garden history, but frustrates the scholar on several counts. First, ‘The present sum of all our fragments of knowledge does not reveal the configuration of an actual medieval garden, other than a few Hispano-Arab ones’.1 Second, the re-creations which might contribute to our understanding of medieval gardens lack the excellence of medieval art and architecture. Third, most historical illustrations of medieval gardens date from the Renaissance period. We must therefore turn to general history, art history, texts and archaeology for information, never forgetting that symbolism lay at the heart of medieval culture.2
