gems, early lapidaries, early gemology, early mineralogy, Jean de Mandeville

In the 14th century, Jean de Mandeville recounts in his Voyages “Overseas” his peregrinations across the world, and more particularly in the East. This travel narrative is accompanied by a lapidary in prose, equally marked by the seal of wonder and exoticism, and remarkable for its breadth—some manuscripts deal with more than a hundred gemstones—and for its synthetic scope. Jean de Mandeville’s Lapidary in fact brings together the three types of lapidaries: the presence of the zodiac and the planets links it to magical or astrological traditions; the description of gems and their virtues places it in the scientific tradition; and the references to holy stones and to the twelve gemstones of Aaron’s breastplate are borrowed from Christian lapidaries. From the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, great scholarly authority was accorded to the works of Jean de Mandeville, which were printed up to the 17th century.