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Why the hedge bindweed is referred to in Flanders as our ‘Our Dear Lady’s Little Glass”
In many medieval legends Maria takes a leading role: not only that of a good and caring mother, but quite frequently that of a resolute, independent woman who is able to get a lot done. Listen to this legend about mud and precious wine:
Long long ago when roads were still cart tracks, a horse was pulling a heavily laden cart across the open plains of Flanders. It was autumn and a beautifully quiet day. Nature was resting after a day of heavy autumnal storms and lashing rain. Suddenly the cart sank into the mud. The horse pulled with all its strength, but in vain. Attempts to dig out the mud around the wheels did not help either. The cart was too heavy because of its load of precious wines. Exhausted and desperate, the cart driver sat down on his cart and pondered over his plight. He knew that once night fell, the robbers would appear and plunder his cart. A few hours later he made out the silhouette of someone walking towards him. As the figure drew closer, he could see that it was an old woman who would be unable to help him with muscle power for sure. When she reached the cart, the woman asked him, “My good fellow, would you have something for me to drink? It’s hard walking along these muddy tracks. ”The man gave her his water bag and said, “Here, drink this, but not too much, mind you. It’s all I’ve got.” Surprised at his comment, she took a few small swigs and then said, : But, Driver, you have so many wine casks on your cart…. Surely you have enough to drink?” “Yes, that may seem so,” he mumbled in reply, “but they belong to the land owner. And, by the way, I don’t have any glasses either. But maybe you can help me by going and asking for help - you most likely know folks living nearby. The old woman smiled, nodded encouragingly and walked up to the horse. She stroked its flanks, stood on tiptoe and whispered something into the animal’s ear. The carthorse flexed its muscles and pulled and pulled and pulled. It foamed at the mouth and then suddenly the cart moved forward out of the mud. Watching this all in disbelief, the man looked at the old woman – was this a devil or an angel in female guise? He was not bothered either way; his cart had been saved and he bowed his head in gratitude. “This is something we should toast to, ma’am, ”he said happily, “but I don’t have any glasses.” The old woman
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hedge bindweed © photo Els Baars
smiled
again and walked over to the thicket at the edge of the track where a
few large white flowers were blossoming. She picked two of them and
said, “Just pour that delicious wine into these glasses. ”As the man
poured the wine into the flowers, they turned into crystal glasses and
then he realized that the woman who had helped him simply had to be
no-one other than our Holy Lady Mary. Ever since this plant has been
known in Flanders as ‘Our Dear Lady’s Little Glass.”
A hedge bindweed is a climbing plant which winds itself around another plant as it climbs towards the light. The bindweed can even grow to a length of 3 meters in one season. In the winter the growth aboveground dies off. Notice how the flower closes when it goes dark and also when it rains so as to protect its pollen. You will see the large white flowers everywhere there is humid undergrowth along pathways and in open spaces where it runs wild over plants and bushes.
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