black rose

Black rose (symbolism)

This article is about the symbolic meaning of black roses. For other uses, see Black Rose (disambiguation).

Black roses (roses of black color) do not exist in nature as such, but nevertheless have been created in laboratories. Botanists have manipulated roses' genes through preliminary cross breeding, creating a hybrid black rose. They are often featured in fiction with many different meanings and titles such as black magic, barkarole, black beauty and baccara and death varieties of roses. The flowers commonly called black roses are actually a very dark red color.

 Political

Irish Nationalism

See also: Róisín Dubh

The Black Rose was sometimes used as a code word for Ireland, when English laws prohibited direct references to Ireland as a sovereign nation.

Anarchism

See also: Anarchist symbolism

The black rose is a rarely used symbol of the anarchist movement.
Black Rose Books is the name of the Montreal anarchist publisher and small press imprint headed by the libertarian-municipalist/anarchist Dimitrios Roussopoulos. One of the two anarchist bookshops in Sydney is Black Rose Books , which has been around in various guises since 1982. 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.

 Art and literature

 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 biographical account of Madame C. J. Walker – the first female African American millionaire, by author Tananarive Due.
• 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 sci-fi–fantasy novels, as well as various fanfiction.
• A Dozen Black Roses is a vampire novel by [Nancy A. Collins]
• Titus meets a dying young woman named Black Rose in Mervyn Peake's 1959 novel Titus Alone.
• "Fragrance of Roses" in Collected Stories by Peter Carey is about the symbolism of the black rose

 Music

• "BlackRose" is the name of a "Hard & Heavy rock band" which is formed in "Ho Chi Minh city", "Vietnam", 2010. The band won the highest prize of the National competition named "Cung nhau toa sang" - the contest for all rock bands in the nation.
• "Black Roses" is the title of a song performed by Anastacia in her debut Not That Kind album.
• "Black Rose" is the title of a song written and performed by the Texan musician Billy Joe Shaver
• "Black Roses" is the title of a song performed by Trey Songz
• "Black Roses" is the title of a song performed by reggae artist Barington Levy
• "Black Roses" is the title of the song (and single too) by BlutEngel
• "Black Roses" is the title of a song performed by Barrington Levy
• Black Roses is the title of an album from the Finnish rock band The Rasmus, released on 26 September 2008. The album also contains a song called "Ten Black Roses".
• "Black Roses" is the title of a song from Inner Circle of their 1986 album also named Black Roses.
• "Black Rose" is the title of a song performed by the band Trapt off their 2008 album Only Through the Pain.
• "Black Rose Immortal" is the title of a song by Swedish metal band Opeth on their 1996 album Morningrise.
• "Black Rose" is the title of a song performed by Neo-Soul artist Hil St. Soul from the 2008 album of the same name.
• "Black Rose" is the title of a song written by the rock band Blindside and the EP album on which the song is recorded.
• "Róisín Dubh", meaning "Little Black Rose", written in the 16th century, is one of Ireland's most famous political songs.
• Black Rose: A Rock Legend is the ninth studio album by Irish band Thin Lizzy, released in 1979.
• "Black Rose Dying" by Blessthefall in the album Black Rose Dying
• "Black Roses" is the title of a song from Trey Songz 2009 album Ready
• "Black Rose" is the title of a song by Seattle rapper Sadistik.
• "Black Roses" is the title of a song by the band Clear Light on their self-titled 1967 album
• "The Black Rose" is the title of a song by the j-rock band L'Arc~en~Ciel in their album KISS.
• "The Black Rose" is the name given to the background music in the fifth level of Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Reqium (ESRB: Mature) a game by Silicone Knights exclusively for Nintendo Gamecube.
• "Black Roses" is the title of the first song of Jean Sibelius's 6 Songs, op. 36.
• "Black Roses" is the title of a song performed by Diana King in her debut Tougher Than Love album.
• "Ten Black Roses" Is the title of a song by The Rasmus in the album "Black Roses"

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 made vampires (those created not born) in her Night World series and also in Vampire Diaries - The Return when Damon smells a black rose and it turns him human.
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. Black roses were also the calling card of the Assassins Guild, and seen when one was sent to kill G'Kar.
In the television show NCIS, Abby Sciuto often receives black roses from her coworkers or gives them as gifts. Also, an associate of La Grenouille, an arms dealer named Rose O'Leary, uses the alias Black Rose.
In the movie Fear of the Dark, the Black Rose Killer places a black rose on his victims after he murders them. In the sequel, Sins of the Father, it was revealed that the rose represented corrupted innocence.
In the animated series Planet Warriors Saturn is often shown reading a violet book with a black rose on the cover.

Games

In the popular Zynga Facebook social game Farmville, you can master black roses cultivation by accepting seeds as gift from friends, this is the first neighbor gift able seed to be used as a mastery crop in the game. In another game Mafia Wars, also by Zynga, "Set of Black Roses" is a Halloween special limited edition weapon.
In the game Fable, a black rose is a symbol of love, especially dark love between two villains. For example, Lady Grey, 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 Nightcaster, the main character's "love interest" (and a key character to the plot) is Madelyn, the Black Rose of Perth, a Joan of Arc like figure who rallies the people to defeat the evil Nightcaster, but ultimately succumbs to his chaotic and corrupting influence, becoming his avatar in the climactic final battle. Her armor and weaponry were decorated in a black rose motif.
In Punch-Out!!, the character Don Flamenco has a black rose motif for his second fight, showing he wants revenge on the player for defeating him before.
In MySims, black roses are available.
In Animal Crossing Wild World and Animal Crossing City Folk, black roses can be grown by planting two red roses together.
On Facebook Fairyland , you can get black roses if you plant a Rosa Amora in the black flowerpot.
In "Mystery Legends, The Phantom of the Opera" you must find the Black Roses for the Phantom to defeat him.
In "Dungeon Fighter Online" a male Spitfire active awakening is called Black Rose Special Force

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 Ryuu is given black roses by "Anubis" in episode 38 as a symbol that it means "You are mine forever"
In the anime series Saint Seiya, the gold saint of Pisces, Aphrodite, uses black roses aptly dubbed the "Piranha Roses" to attack and kill his adversaries.
Akiza Izinski of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds is also known as the Black Rose Duelist.
In the anime series Ouran High School Host Club, the character Nekozawa of the Black Magic Club is often shown with black roses around him, signifying his dark and mysterious ways.
In the anime Series "Ashita No Nadja" the character Keith Hacourt, brother of Francis Harcourt, is often called the phantom thief Black Rose. He used black rose cards and those flowers for sending warnings to his victims.
The one-shot manga series "Crimson Shell" by Jun Mochizuki of "Pandora Hearts" fame has characters that are referred to as Roses due to their supernatural abilities. There are Black Roses and one Red Rose (Claudia).
In the second season of the anime series Kuroshitsuji, demon butlers Sebastian Michaelis and Claude Faustus are sealing a deal by exchanging black roses as a symbol and a reminder of their demonic contract.

References

• Wilkins, Eithne. The rose-garden game; a tradition of beads and flowers. [New York] Herder and Herder [1969]