Conclusion
In closing, I have used this fragment from Microcosme as a peg upon which to hang various elements pertaining to the Renaissance garden. As we saw, Scève’s description preserves some traditional aspects, clearly borrowed from Boccaccio and pertaining to the medieval garden; while it presents newer items typical of the Renaissance garden. But the mere fact that this encyclopaedic poem made room for mention of the garden is notesworthy in itself. Even though 12 lines out of 3,000 may seem like the briefest of mentions, such arithmetic would give a singularly false impression. Conversely, 12 lines out of 3,000 amount to 0.4 % of the total. Even if one were to assume (falsely) that Scève contented himself with little vignettes, each devoted to a human activity and each given equal space, which is patently untrue since Microcosme has also the character of an historical and evolutionary narrative, the admittedly small segment on the garden would amount to 1/250th of the total. That Scève deemed the topic worth of inclusion is evidence for the mounting importance of garden architecture at the time of writing, the 1550s.