Hortus conclusus is a Latin term, meaning literally "enclosed garden". Both words in hortus conclusus refer linguistically to enclosure. It describes a type of garden that was enclosed as a practical concern, a major theme in the history of gardening, as walled gardens used to be more commonplace. The garden room is a similar feature, usually less fully enclosed.
Having roots in the Song of Songs in the Hebrew scriptures, the term hortus conclusus has importantly been applied as an emblematic attribute and a title of the Virgin Mary in Medieval and Renaissance poetry and art, first appearing in paintings and manuscript illuminations about 1330.
