|
ON THERAPEUTIC USES OF STONES 387
And pere-on red rubyes as red as any glede,8"
And diamants of derrest piis, and double manere safferes,
Orientales and ewages " enuenymes M to destroye.
Among
the rich gifts offered at the shrine of St. Erkinwald, in Old Saint
Paul's, was a sapphire given in 1391 by Richard Preston, "a citizen
and grocer of London." He stipulated that the stone should be kept at
the shrine for the cure of diseases of the eyes, and that proclamation
should be made of its remedial virtues. St. Erkinwald was the son of
Offa, King of the East Saxons, and was converted to Christianity by
Melittus, the first bishop of London. In 675 a.d. he
himself became bishop of London, being the third to attain that rank
after the death of Melittus. His body was interred in the cathedral,
and his shrine, which was richly embellished during the reign of Edward
III (1327-1377), received many valuable donations.39
The
usefulness of the sapphire as an eyestone for the removal of all
impurities or foreign bodies from the eye is noted by Albertus Magnus,
who writes that he had seen it employed for this purpose. He adds that
when a sapphire was used in this way it should be dipped in cold water
both before and after the operation.40 This was probably not
so much to make the stone colder to the touch as to cleanse it,
certainly a very necessary proceeding when the same stone was used by
many persons suffering from contagious diseases of the eyes.
38 Burning coal.
37 Aquamarines.
38 Poisons.
" Dugdale, " History of Saint Paul's Cathedral in London," London, 1818, vol. i, pp. 15, 16. First edition published in 1658.
10 Alberti Magni, " Opera omnia," ed. Borgnet, Paris, 1890, vol. v, p. 44.
|
||
|
|
||