The Greek poet Anacreon praised the «rosa gallica» as early as the 6th century B.C. There is little doubt that these hardy and undemanding bush-roses - subsequently called Gallic roses - were first introduced to Gaul by the Roman Conquest. The Roman civilization made use of rose petals, rose balms and rose oils – particularly in connection with the cult of the dead. The roses used evolved continuously as time went by, wild roses developing side by side with others grown for specific uses. One such rose was the “rosa gallica oficinalis” – a variety with recognized medicinal properties. Crystallized or presented as a cordial it calms digestive problems; prepared as a lotion it cleanses and purifies the skin; used in barley sugar it soothes the throat…


Olivier de Serres (1539-1619), the founder of French agronomics, acknowledges “the many virtues of this plant, which gives fine rose water and is employed by apothecaries for cordials and other uses…”

A well-established folk-tale claims that Count Thibault IV of Champagne brought a rose with him when he returned from Jerusalem, but there is no written evidence to support this belief. His poet’s soul was undoubtedly amazed by the beautiful rose gardens growing in the Sultan’s palace in Damascus. That being so, Thibault might have wanted to grow such roses in Provins on the hillsides of the Upper Town. And we might further suppose that the large-scale cultivation of these roses led to the link between town and flower that then became part of local tradition. High-ranking visitors such as King François 1st, Catherine of Medici, Henri IV or Louis XI were presented with cushions of dried petals. Fresh petals were showered on the young girls when they took part in Corpus Christi or First Communion processions. Hats made from roses used to be worn… 

It is also said that Edmund of Lancaster, brother to the King of England and second husband of Blanche of Artois (Count Henri III of Champagne’s widow) added the Provins Rose – the red rose of England’s War of the Roses – to his coat of arms.

Cultivation of the “rosa gallica oficinalis” in the Provins area declined considerably in the 18th and 19th centuries. But in warmer climes, and especially in the French-speaking countries of North Africa, rose gardens flourished and exports grew.

Even today roses remain closely associated with the local gourmet products. In addition to the traditional crystallized roses and rose bonbons, local confectioners offer a variety of chocolates, liqueurs and jellies, beekeepers make rose honey and the town’s chefs offer a number of rose-flavoured specialities.

If Thibault did bring a rose back with him in 1240, it may have been a Damascus rose that was subsequently layered in order to create repeat-flowering roses. But that, as they say, is another story…