Middle Ages & Renaissance — Europe seizes perfume

The Middle Ages: between mysticism and medicine

In medieval Europe, perfume has an ambiguous status. On one side, the Catholic Church controls and regulates its sacred use (incense, holy oils). On the other, physicians and apothecaries rely on Arabic texts translated into Latin to develop a therapeutic approach to aromatics.

The role of the Church and the monasteries

Monasteries played a decisive role in preserving and transmitting aromatic knowledge in the Middle Ages. Monks cultivated medicinal herb gardens and produced floral waters, balms and scented oils for medical and liturgical use. The texts of Hippocrates, Dioscorides and Avicenna were copied and commented on in monastic scriptoria.

Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179), a Rhenish Benedictine abbess, is one of the major figures of medieval medicine. In her treatises Physica and Causae et Curae, she describes the medicinal virtues of dozens of aromatic plants: lavender, chamomile, sage, fennel, anise. Her texts prefigure modern aromatherapy.

The theory of humours and aromatics

Medieval medicine was founded on the theory of the four humours (yellow bile, black bile, blood, phlegm) inherited from Galen and Hippocrates. According to this theory, odours could act directly on the humoral balance of the human body. “Hot” and “dry” aromatics (ginger, pepper, cinnamon) activated the metabolism, while “cold” and “moist” odours calmed it.

This belief would last a long time: in the 17th century still, “plague doctors” filled the beak of their mask with aromatics, supposed to protect them from the “miasmas” (bad smells) held responsible for disease. This costume, described from 1619, did not exist in the Middle Ages.

The birth of the first alcohol-based scented waters

One of the most important contributions of the European Middle Ages to perfumery is the mastery of alcohol distillation. Grain or wine alcohol (eau-de-vie) made it possible to dissolve the aromatic molecules of essential oils and to preserve them in a stable way.

One of the most famous old alcoholic perfumes is associated with a Queen of Hungary. Hungary Water (dated by tradition to the 14th century) is a rosemary water distilled in alcohol. Legend has it that it was given to Queen Elizabeth of Hungary to treat her rheumatism and that it rejuvenated her so well that a King of Poland asked for her hand; the known recipe, however, appears in texts only in the 17th century.

The Renaissance: France enters the stage

The Renaissance marks a decisive turning point in the history of European perfume. It was in this period that France began to establish itself as the great world power of perfumery, a status it has never really lost.

Catherine de' Medici and the arrival of perfume in France

In 1533, Catherine de' Medici left Florence to marry the future Henri II. Among her entourage was a Florentine perfumer, René le Florentin (Renato Bianco), who would keep a shop in Paris, on the Pont au Change.

Catherine de' Medici's arrival plays a strong symbolic role: it represents the transfer of Italian aromatic know-how to France. Renaissance Italy was then ahead of Europe in perfumery, chemistry and cosmetics. Florence and Venice were the world capitals of olfactive luxury.

Scented gloves: a revolution in worn perfume

In the 16th century, the fashion for scented gloves spread through the European courts. Glovers impregnated the leather with musk, amber, rose, jasmine and civet to mask the smells of tanning. This practice is one of the roots of Grasse perfumery.

The town of Grasse, in Provence, was then renowned for the quality of its glovers. It had exceptional natural conditions (sunshine, humidity, clay-limestone soil) that favoured the cultivation of the centifolia rose, jasmine, lavender and tuberose.

In 1724, the glover-perfumers of Grasse gave themselves statutes distinct from those of the tanners; the parliament of Provence approved them in 1729. During the 18th century, under the effect of taxes on leather and competition, perfumery took precedence over glove-making. The town would become the “world capital of perfume”, a title it still claims today.

Eau de Cologne: a birth between myth and reality

Eau de Cologne (or Kölnisch Wasser, “water of Cologne”) is one of the most famous perfumes in history. Its creation is traditionally attributed to Johann Maria Farina (1685–1766), a perfumer of Italian origin who settled in Cologne in 1709.

In a letter of 1708, Farina describes the invention of a “fresh water” that reminded him of “a spring morning in Italy, after rain”. His formula, which remained secret, combined with alcohol citrus essences, bergamot foremost, and aromatic notes.

Eau de Cologne enjoyed a dazzling success. It was adopted by the European courts, notably by Napoleon Bonaparte, who was a passionate user. He is credited with a considerable consumption of eau de Cologne. The Farina company, founded in 1709, still exists in Cologne and presents itself as the oldest perfume factory still in operation.