gems, ancient gemology, carbuncle, corundum, history.1, garnet, spinel, ruby

Miguet examines the medieval escarboucle (carbuncle) as the legendary “stone of light,” tracing its appearances and symbolic functions in medieval French literature. The carbuncle is represented as a marvelous gem capable of emitting its own light: illuminating rooms, showing the way at night, and shining from helmets, crowns, jewelry, and other precious objects. The study draws on works including the Roman de la Rose, Raoul de Cambrai, the Voyage de Charlemagne, and other romances and chansons de geste, examining how the stone developed from the ancient carbuncle tradition into a literary and symbolic gem whose supernatural luminosity signified magnificence and wonder. Later scholarship repeatedly cites Miguet as an important study of this medieval gemstone tradition.