Forget-Me-Not Meaning: Remembrance, Faithful Love and a Medieval Legend

The forget-me-not is a small blue flower with a name that is also a message. Across Europe it stands for remembrance and faithful love, and versions of its name, Vergissmeinnicht in German, ne m'oubliez pas in French, carry the same plea in many languages.

The flower

Forget-me-nots belong to the genus Myosotis, from the Greek for "mouse's ear", after the shape of their leaves. Their clear blue flowers with yellow centres are a familiar sight in spring gardens and damp woodland.

In medieval art

The flower's association with love and remembrance is old. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has discussed forget-me-nots in medieval art and objects, where small flowers and their names could carry messages between lovers.

The legend of the knight

A popular German legend tells of a knight walking by a river with his lady, who stoops to pick blue flowers for her and is swept away by the current in his heavy armour. As he drowns he throws her the flowers and cries "Forget me not!" It is a romantic story that explains the name, but it is a legend, not the documented origin of the flower's meaning.

Remembrance today

The forget-me-not has become a flower of memory in many contexts: of love, of those who have died and of people living with memory loss. It is a natural gift for an anniversary or a farewell.

The forget-me-not in jewellery

A forget-me-not design carries its message in its name. See the AURYN Forget-me-not charm, or read our guide to flower symbolism.