Thousand-year Rose

[6] Slight variations arise in the tale of the establishment of the diocese by King Louis the Pious at Hildesheim in 815 but the rose bush is a common theme in all versions.

In the early twentieth century, after visiting the cathedral and seeing the rose, author Mabel Wagnalls was inspired to write a book, which went on to form the basis of a silent film.

[7] Dog roses, the Caninae section of the genus Rosa, have around 20–30 species and subspecies, which appear in a variety of shapes and occur mostly in northern and central Europe.

[10] In traditional Austrian folk medicine the rose hips have been used to make a tea for treatment of viral infections and disorders of the kidneys and urinary tract.

The parts of the plant above the ground were damaged but the roots survived beneath the ruins, and the hardy rose regrew and blossomed again.

[14] After the Duchy of Saxony had been conquered by the Frankish Kingdom, Emperor Charlemagne in 800 founded a missionary diocese at his Eastphalian court in Elze (Aula Caesaris), a town in the district of Hildesheim, in Lower Saxony, Germany, about 19 km (12 mi) west of Hildesheim.

His son, King Louis the Pious, relocated the episcopal bishopric to Hildesheim in 815, dedicated to the Assumption of Mary,[15] which is celebrated on 15 August.

The settlement with the cathedral developed quickly into a town which was given market rights by King Otto III in 983.

Disoriented and alone, he swam across the Innerste river then walked all day until he arrived at a mound covered with a wild rose, the symbol of the old Saxon goddess Hulda.

[20] The Emperor's interpretation of this miracle was that the goddess was sending him a sign by "shaking her bed" that the Virgin should in future be venerated instead of her.

[22] When his followers finally found the Emperor he pledged that he would construct a cathedral to honour the Virgin where the mound with the rose was.

[20] According to a different version of the legend, the German emperor Louis the Pious lost his cherished reliquary while chasing game and promised that he would erect a chapel wherever it was discovered.

[3] One of the first printed works by Jessie Weston was a lengthy sentimental verse called The Rose-Tree of Hildesheim.

Written by Mabel Wagnalls and published in 1918, it is a tale about a young girl abandoning her baby to the care of a convent.