Elizabethan Nosegays

Nonsuch Palace by Joris Hoefnagel

A garden “shall contain the herbs and flowers used to make nosegays and garlands.”

The Country Farme, 1600

Nosegays or Tussie-Mussies are small bouquets of flowers and herbs that were attached to lady's bodices and to gentleman’s doublet or mantle. The term nosegay is derived from the Middle English gay, meaning bright object or ornament or gay in the sense of happiness or joy, literally meaning an ornament that brings joy to the nose. The word Tussie Mussie or tusemose is first mentioned in 1440 and is derived from the word tuse meaning knot of flowers and mose referring to the damp moss that was wrapped around the stems to prevent the flowers from drying out. (Tussie-Mussies: The Language of Flowers, Geraldine Adamich Laufer)

Nosegays were introduced in the Middle Ages as a means to counteract the strong odours of everyday life, this being a time before public sanitation, when bathing was sporadic and when only the underclothes were washed frequently. The herbalist John Gerard recommended the use of Violets, Lavender and Sweet Marjoram in nosegays, on account of their sweet scents. 

Nosegays were also used as protection against the plague as it was believed that bad smells led to disease. They were also used in witchcraft and magic, as charms to produce prophetic dreams. Richard Folkard in Plant-lore, Legends and Lyrics recounts two such charms, one that included:

 “a sprig of Rue, and some Yarrow off a grave; these must be sprinkled with a few drops of the oil of Amber, applied with the left hand and bound round the head under the night-cap, when  retiring to bed, which must be supplied with clean linen. Another elaborate spell for effecting the same result on the first of July, consists in the gathering of a sprig of Rosemary, a red Rose, a white Rose, a blue flower, a yellow flower, nine blades of long Grass, and a sprig of Rue, all of which are to be bound together with a lock of the maiden’s hair who wishes to work the spell.”

Soon the flowers and herbs in nosegays were chosen not just for their scent but for their symbolism, as a way to communicate the feelings of the person who wore it or of the person who gave it as a gift.

Below is a poem from 1584 entitled: A Nosegay Always Sweet For Lovers to Send for Tokens of Love at New Year's Tide, or for Fairings. It is often cited as one of Shakespeare’s sources, particularly for the parallels between it and Ophelia’s flower speech.

A nosegay, lacking flowers fresh,

  To you now I do send;

Desiring you to look thereon,

  When that you may intend:

For flowers fresh begin to fade,

  And Boreas in the field

Even with his hard congealed frost

No better flowers doth yield.

But if that winter could have sprung

  A sweeter flower than this,

I would have sent it presently

  To you withouten miss:

Accept this then as time doth serve,

  Be thankful for the same,

Despise it not, but keep it well,

  And mark each flower his name.

Lavender is for lovers true,

  Which evermore be fain,

Desiring always for to have

  Some pleasure for their pain;

And when that they obtained have

  The love that they require,

Then have they all their perfect joy,

  And quenched is the fire.

Rosemary is for remembrance

  Between us day and night;

Wishing that I might always have

  You present in my sight.

And when I cannot have

  As I have said before,

Then Cupid with his deadly dart

  Doth wound my heart full sore.

Sage is for sustenance,

  That should man's life sustain;

For I do still lie languishing

  Continually in pain,

And shall do still until I die,

  except thou favour show:

My pain and all my grievous smart

  Full well you do it know.

Fennel is for flatterers,

  An evil thing it is sure:

But I have always meant truly,

  With constant heart most pure;

And will continue in the same

  As long as life doth last,

Still hoping for a joyful day

  When all our pains be past.

Violet is for faithfulness
Which in me shall abide;
Hoping likewise that from your heart
You will not let it slide;
And will continue in the same
As you have now begun,
And then for ever to abide,
Then you my heart have won.

Thyme is to try me,
As each be tried must,
Letting you know while life doth last
I will not be unjust;
And if I should I would to God
To hell my soul should bear,
And eke also that Belzebub
With teeth he should me tear.

Roses is to rule me
With reason as you will,
For to be still obedient
Your mind for to fulfil;
And thereto will not disagree
In nothing that you say,
But will content your mind truly
In all things that I may. 

Gillyflowers is for gentleness,
Which in me shall remain,
Hoping that no sedition shall
Depart our hearts in twain.
As soon the sun shall lose his course,
The moon against her kind
Shall have no light, if that I do
Once put you from my mind.

Carnations is for graciousness,
Mark that now by the way,
Have no regard to flatterers,
Nor pass not what they say:
For they will come with lying tales
Your ears for to fulfill:
In any case do you consent
Nothing unto their will.

Marigolds is for marriage,
That would our minds suffice,
Lest that suspicion of us twain
By any means should rise:
As for my part, I don not care,
Myself I will still use
That all the women of the world
For you I will refuse.

Pennyroyal is to print your love
So deep within my heart,
That when you look this Nosegay on 

My pain you may impart;
And when that you have read the same,
Consider well my woe,
Think ye then how to recompense
Even him that loves you so. 

Cowslips is for counsel,
For secrets us between,
That none but you and I alone
Should know the thing we mean:
And if you will thus wisely do,
As I think to be best,
Then have you surely won the field 

And set my heart at rest.

I pray you keep this Nosegay well, 

And set by it some store:
And thus farewell! the gods thee guide 

Both now and evermore!
Not as the common sort do use, 

To set it in your breast,
That when the smell is gone away, 

On ground he takes his rest.

Further Reading: Fanology: The "Secret" Language of Hand Fans