Word of the Week – Marigold

Ready to continue our series on flowers? Today, we’re going to look at the word marigold.

The word itself is very literal: it’s Mary’s Gold. The Mary, not surprisingly, is the Virgin Mary, and the flower in question to which it was applied was not what we Americans think of as the marigold, but rather the calendula. Now, it has been called this since the Middle Ages, with written records dating back at least to the 1300s. But…why was the flower called this?

First, the color. It’s golden. 😉 That part’s pretty obvious. But why was it associated with Mary?

This history is a bit more complex and absolutely lovely. You see, the traditional marigold has a long life, blooming from early spring to late fall…a season referred to in the Middle Ages as “Ladytide,” because it encompassed most of the Marian feast days in the Church calendar. The color gold had long been associated with Mary, used to depict her reign as “Queen of Heaven.” Art almost always portrayed Mary with some sort of gold.

So then, when it came to decorated churches and altars for these feast days, gold was wanted, as were fresh flowers…so naturally, people chose golden flowers, and the marigold was the most abundant.

There’s also a tradition that states that when the poor couldn’t afford to bring gold coins as offerings to the church, they would bring marigolds instead. This is more stories-told than facts we can trace to original sources, but it’s beautiful nonetheless.