Black rose (symbolism)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Black roses (roses of black color) do not exist in nature as such, but nevertheless they are often featured in fiction with many different meanings. The flowers commonly called black roses are actually a very dark red color, such as the "black magic", "barkarole", "black beauty" and "baccara" varieties of roses.
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[edit] Language of Flowers
In the 19th century, the language of flowers became popular. In this code, black roses to most people signify death, or hatred. But it really means farewell and overcoming of a long hard journey. They were often used at funerals. A single black rose might be sent by a close friend and or loved one leaving for a war or on a journey from which he did not expect to return. An alternate meaning is 'slavish devotion', since a true black rose is impossible to produce.
[edit] Political
[edit] Anarchism
- See also: Anarchist symbolism
The black rose is a rarely used symbol of the anarchist movement.
Black Rose Books was the name of the pre-eminent anarchist bookstore in Montreal and is now the name of a small press imprint headed by anarchist philosopher Dimitrios Roussopoulos. Black Rose was the title of a respected journal of anarchist ideas published in the Boston area during the 1970s, as well as the name of an anarchist lecture series addressed by notable anarchist and libertarian socialists (including Murray Bookchin and Noam Chomsky) into the 1990s.
[edit] Nazism
During World War II, a group called the White Rose, led by the siblings Hans and Sophie Scholl, formed to oppose the Nazis, but was dismantled and their members were executed. Because of this, some claim that the Nazis used the white rose as a symbol of a traitor and the black rose as a symbol of all being well (victory over the white rose).[1]
[edit] Art and literature
[edit] Novels
Black roses have been used in many book titles, most often romance novels.
- Black Rose is a romance novel by prolific author Nora Roberts.
- Black Rose is a romance novel by Christina Skye.
- Black Rose is a suspense novel by Holly Poage.
- The Black Rose is a 1945 historical adventure novel by Thomas B. Costain made into a film in 1950 with Tyrone Power and Orson Welles.
- Scandal of the Black Rose is a romance novel by Debra Mullins.
- Harlequin has published a series of historical romances, "Knights of the Black Rose"
- Black Roses is a horror novel by Christine Morgan, author of many scifi/fantasy novels, as well as various fanfiction.
- " A Dozen Black Roses " is a vampire novel by [Nancy A. Collins]
- " "Black Rose" is a poem by young poet Walter Manyati
[edit] Music
"Black Rose" is the title of a song performed by the band Trapt off of their 2008 album Only Through the Pain.
[edit] Science fiction and fantasy
In the Dragonlance saga, the black rose is a symbol of shame or dishonor, especially among the Knights of Solamnia. It is often associated with Lord Soth, also known as the Knight of the Black Rose. Sturm Brightblade, one of the main characters of the Dragonlance epic, was associated with the black rose when his honour was questioned, but was later remembered as one of the greatest knights who ever lived.
Amelia Atwater-Rhodes uses the black rose as a symbol of the vampires in her first few novels:
- In In the Forests of the Night, Aubrey gives a black rose to Risika before she is changed.
- In Demon in My View, black roses mark the path to the vampires' city, New Mayhem.
- Nikolas's knife is inlaid with a black rose in Shattered Mirror.
- In Midnight Predator, black roses are grown on the grounds of Midnight.
Lisa Jane Smith uses the black rose as a symbol for non-humans mostly used by vampires in her Night World series.
In the third season episode of Babylon 5 titled "Passing Through Gethsemane," there are references to a serial killer known as "The Black Rose Killer" who murdered several women and left a black rose as his calling card. This theme is further used throughout the series, always a sign that someone has placed a hit on the receiver of the rose.
[edit] Video games
In the game Fable: The Lost Chapters, a black rose is a symbol of love, especially dark love between two villains. For example, Lady Gray, who has a heart of ice, will only fall for you if you deliver one to her. According to the game, "Only someone with a heart as black as its petals could appreciate it."
In the Elder Scrolls universe, black roses are a symbol of savage beauty and romance, though they represent realised, rather than idealised conceptions of these things. These flowers grow only on the isle of Vvardenfell and the Great House Redoran is especially proud to put them on their family crests and coats-of-arms. Although called black roses, they may range in shade and can be black, though are often ash-grey, with very delicate petals through which light may shine to produce a chillingly beautiful effect. Their symbolism in The Elder Scrolls very closely mirrors that of their actual symbolism in the real-world Goth subculture, as noted above.
In The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, the most powerful sword in the game, the Great Fairy's Sword, is decorated with black roses.
In Star Fox Command, Panther from the Star Wolf team flies a ship called the Black Rose.
In Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA 2, there is a song called Unreal under the artist name of "Black Rose Garden." It talks about superstition and the unnatural. The song also includes an animated background video with a dark/gothic color scheme and black rose petals.
In Vampire: the Masquerade the Black Rose is used as the symbol of the vampiric clan The Toreador. It is also incorporated in the symbol of The Daeva, another vampiric clan in Vampire: the Requiem.
In The Sims: Superstar, "obsessed fans" of famous Sims will occasionally leave black roses on their doorsteps. The roses may be used as spell ingredients in the subsequent expansion, The Sims: Makin' Magic.
In Second Life there is a Role Play group named "The Legion of the Black Rose". This is a royal vampire family, the King is Ullrich Thor and the Queen is Fatally Thor.
[edit] Anime
In the anime series Revolutionary Girl Utena, which is heavily concerned with the symbolism of roses, the black rose represents the dark side of a person's soul. The Black Rose Duelists are the friends of the series' protagonists who have been turned against them by their ignorance, selfish desires and passions that were carefully amplified by a mastermind psychologist, a student named Souji Mikage.
In the anime series Ranma ½, Kodachi Kuno, sister of Tatewaki Kuno is nicknamed 'Black Rose'. She is an arrogant, childish, cunning, and occasionally psychotic young girl who often has black rose petals trailing behind her as she leaps.
In the anime series Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask uses red roses as a weapon (and white ones when he's posing as the Moonlight Knight at some point), but while he is under the control of Queen Beryl, one of the series' villains, his roses turn black.
In the anime/manga series ".Hack", one of the female characters is named BlackRose. She is a video game avatar (visual representation) of a human girl (Akira Hayami) in the game "The World".
In the anime series Detective Academy Q a member of Pluto gives Ryuu black roses as symbolizm.
[edit] References
- Wilkins, Eithne. The rose-garden game; a tradition of beads and flowers. [New York] Herder and Herder [1969]
