Locus Amoenus – Gardens and Horticulture in the Renaissance

Alexander Samson lectures on early modern Spain and Latin America at University College London. He is also the co-director of the Centre for Early Modern Exchanges. His research interests include Anglo-Spanish intercultural exchange, the marriage of Philip II and Mary Tudor, and the Golden Age comedia . He is the editor of The Spanish Match: Prince Charles's Journey to Madrid , 1623 (2006) and A Companion to Lope de Vega (with Jonathan Thacker, 2008).

Notes on contributors ix Introduction Locus amoenus : gardens and horticulture in the Renaissance Alexander Samson 1 1 The world of the Renaissance herbal Brent Elliott 24 2 Clinging to the past: medievalism in the English 'Renaissance' garden Paula Henderson 42 3 River gods: personifying nature in sixteenth-century Italy Claudia Lazzaro 70 4 Dissembling his art: 'Gascoigne's Gardnings' Susan C. Staub 95 5 'My innocent diversion of gardening': Mary Somerset's plants Jennifer Munroe 111 6 Outdoor pursuits: Spanish gardens, the huerto and Lope de Vega's Novelas a Marcia Leonarda Alexander Samson 124 7 Experiencing the past: the archaeology of some Renaissance gardens Brian Dix 151 Index 183