corundum, history.1, gems

Pannier presents a scholarly collection and study of medieval French lapidaries dating from the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth centuries. Drawing upon manuscript sources, the work publishes and compares texts concerned with precious stones and other minerals, their names, physical characteristics, supposed origins, medicinal uses, and magical or supernatural virtues. The lapidaries reflect traditions inherited from classical and medieval authorities and illustrate how knowledge and beliefs concerning gems were transmitted and transformed in medieval France. The volume is particularly valuable for the history of gemology, mineral nomenclature, and medieval beliefs about the properties and symbolism of precious stones.