TITLE: Rowan
AUTHOR: Oliver Southall
PUBLISHER: Reaktion Books
ISBN: 978-1789147124
PODCAST EPISODE: None
REVIEWER: Tracey Norman
This is a beautifully presented book from Reaktion, and is part of their Botanical series, ‘integrating horticultural and botanical writing with a broader account of the cultural and social impact of trees, plants and flowers’. There are numerous illustrations, ranging from photos to botanical drawings, as you might expect, but there are also reproductions of key artistic works which feature in the text, as well as images of items such as postage stamps and historical manuscripts. This gives an instant indication of the far-ranging scope of this exploration, which is presented in six chapters, with an introduction and conclusion.
In the introduction, we meet the rowan. Specifically, we meet the common mountain ash, Sorbus aucuparia, as this is the variety most people think of when asked to picture a rowan. Southall leads us back in time to examine the initial emergence and evolution of the species in the Eocene, looking at its place in ecology, its key characteristics and the habitats in which it is found. We track vernacular names related to, and the spiritual significance of, the colour red, with which the rowan and its bright berries are especially associated, and there is an exploration of the etymology of some of the familiar names bestowed on the tree.
This book does not simply list different examples of the rowan in a variety of modern and ancient cultural works. It places the works themselves into context. Each of the chapters explores part of the vast cultural network which has built up around the tree, so that by the end of the book, you have an informed understanding of the myriad ways in which people the world over have viewed, used, interacted with and respected the rowan tree down the centuries.
Chapter 1, ‘Old Gods, New Myths’, explores the rowan in Irish and Norse mythology and sagas, but also presents parallels and comparisons with aspects of Christianity. Chapter 2, ‘Magic and Medicine’, discusses the use of rowan in charms, apotropaic magic, and ceremony, looking at folklore and ritual. It draws on such works as James I and VI’s Daemonologie, Lithuanian folk tales and the evidence given by an accused witch. Chapter 3, ‘Arts of Nationhood’, opens with a description of the Schools’ Collection of the Irish Folklore Archives, a culturally significant project aimed at preserving oral heritage. Southall uses Lady Nairne’s 1822 song ‘The Rowan Tree’ and the Finnish epic Kalevala as a method of exploring nationalistic discourse and the rowan’s place in it, along with its associations with house and hearth and an idealised rural past. Chapter 4, ‘Romantic Ecologies’, takes a deep dive into the works of, and relationship between painter John Everett Millais and art critic Paul Ruskin, in order to explore the rowan as represented by the Pre-Raphaelites, and their influence on the art world. In Chapter 5, ‘Other Russias’, Southall explores how poet Maria Tsvetaeva and novelist Boris Pasternak both use the rowan as the emblem of their personal resistance against the contemporary Russian political climate. Chapter 6, ‘Uprootings’, is an artistic journey, taking in the work of Basil Bunting, Andy Goldworthy, Kathleen Raine and Robert Graves, examining how each of them uses the rowan in their respective disciplines, their wider cultural influence and the footprint each has left behind.
The conclusion, ‘Where One Tree Survives’, looks at the story of ‘The Survivor’, a lone rowan in the Carrifran valley in Scotland, chosen as the country’s favourite tree of 2020, and the UK’s entry for ‘European Tree of the Year’ in 2021. Southall places in context both the tree and the landscape in which it grows. Previously almost entirely without trees after centuries of deforestation by local wildlife, the Borders Forest Trust has worked to re-forest the valley, adopting The Survivor as ‘a symbol of ecological possibility’.
This book surprised me with its depth, and the way in which it held my interest throughout with its wide range of entryways into the consideration of a single tree. It is well-written and eminently readable, and the variety of topics it covers give it a broad appeal. I particularly enjoyed the close reading of Millais’s painting of Ruskin, and how unexpectedly thought-provoking the entire book was; it is not necessarily one I’d have chosen myself, but having read it, I’m looking at the nature around me with fresh, and more appreciative eyes, and would definitely check out other titles in the Botanical series.
AUTHOR: Oliver Southall
PUBLISHER: Reaktion Books
ISBN: 978-1789147124
PODCAST EPISODE: None
REVIEWER: Tracey Norman
This is a beautifully presented book from Reaktion, and is part of their Botanical series, ‘integrating horticultural and botanical writing with a broader account of the cultural and social impact of trees, plants and flowers’. There are numerous illustrations, ranging from photos to botanical drawings, as you might expect, but there are also reproductions of key artistic works which feature in the text, as well as images of items such as postage stamps and historical manuscripts. This gives an instant indication of the far-ranging scope of this exploration, which is presented in six chapters, with an introduction and conclusion.
In the introduction, we meet the rowan. Specifically, we meet the common mountain ash, Sorbus aucuparia, as this is the variety most people think of when asked to picture a rowan. Southall leads us back in time to examine the initial emergence and evolution of the species in the Eocene, looking at its place in ecology, its key characteristics and the habitats in which it is found. We track vernacular names related to, and the spiritual significance of, the colour red, with which the rowan and its bright berries are especially associated, and there is an exploration of the etymology of some of the familiar names bestowed on the tree.
This book does not simply list different examples of the rowan in a variety of modern and ancient cultural works. It places the works themselves into context. Each of the chapters explores part of the vast cultural network which has built up around the tree, so that by the end of the book, you have an informed understanding of the myriad ways in which people the world over have viewed, used, interacted with and respected the rowan tree down the centuries.
Chapter 1, ‘Old Gods, New Myths’, explores the rowan in Irish and Norse mythology and sagas, but also presents parallels and comparisons with aspects of Christianity. Chapter 2, ‘Magic and Medicine’, discusses the use of rowan in charms, apotropaic magic, and ceremony, looking at folklore and ritual. It draws on such works as James I and VI’s Daemonologie, Lithuanian folk tales and the evidence given by an accused witch. Chapter 3, ‘Arts of Nationhood’, opens with a description of the Schools’ Collection of the Irish Folklore Archives, a culturally significant project aimed at preserving oral heritage. Southall uses Lady Nairne’s 1822 song ‘The Rowan Tree’ and the Finnish epic Kalevala as a method of exploring nationalistic discourse and the rowan’s place in it, along with its associations with house and hearth and an idealised rural past. Chapter 4, ‘Romantic Ecologies’, takes a deep dive into the works of, and relationship between painter John Everett Millais and art critic Paul Ruskin, in order to explore the rowan as represented by the Pre-Raphaelites, and their influence on the art world. In Chapter 5, ‘Other Russias’, Southall explores how poet Maria Tsvetaeva and novelist Boris Pasternak both use the rowan as the emblem of their personal resistance against the contemporary Russian political climate. Chapter 6, ‘Uprootings’, is an artistic journey, taking in the work of Basil Bunting, Andy Goldworthy, Kathleen Raine and Robert Graves, examining how each of them uses the rowan in their respective disciplines, their wider cultural influence and the footprint each has left behind.
The conclusion, ‘Where One Tree Survives’, looks at the story of ‘The Survivor’, a lone rowan in the Carrifran valley in Scotland, chosen as the country’s favourite tree of 2020, and the UK’s entry for ‘European Tree of the Year’ in 2021. Southall places in context both the tree and the landscape in which it grows. Previously almost entirely without trees after centuries of deforestation by local wildlife, the Borders Forest Trust has worked to re-forest the valley, adopting The Survivor as ‘a symbol of ecological possibility’.
This book surprised me with its depth, and the way in which it held my interest throughout with its wide range of entryways into the consideration of a single tree. It is well-written and eminently readable, and the variety of topics it covers give it a broad appeal. I particularly enjoyed the close reading of Millais’s painting of Ruskin, and how unexpectedly thought-provoking the entire book was; it is not necessarily one I’d have chosen myself, but having read it, I’m looking at the nature around me with fresh, and more appreciative eyes, and would definitely check out other titles in the Botanical series.