[The late lamented Rev. J. G. Dowling, in his _Introduction to the
Critical Study of Ecclesiastical History_, fixes upon the Council
of Chalcedon, A.D. 451, as the commencement of the Mediæval, or
Middle Ages, which he thinks ended with the revival of classical
literature in the fifteenth century, "that age of transition and
revolution, combining in itself several of the most striking
characteristics of the two states of society between which it
forms the interval." This able work ought to find a place in the
library of every ecclesiastical student.]
_Garlands hung up in Churches._--It is said that the pretty wild flower,
the small Woodruff (_Asperula Cynanchica_), was formerly employed in
adorning the walls of churches. Is this true? If so, what was the origin
of the custom? Was this particular flower thus used for the reason that
it long preserves its scent? Is it mentioned by any early poet in
connexion with the decoration of churches?