MEDIEVAL AND MODERN HISTORY 21
And from a modern rendering of "Cleanness" we quote :
The pearl is praised wherever gems are seen,
though it be not the dearest by way of merchandise.
Why is the pearl so prized, save for its purity, that wins praise for it above all white stones?
It shineth so bright ; it is so round of shape ; without fault or stain; if it be truly a pearl.
In
the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries throughout Europe pearls were
very fashionable as personal ornaments, and were worn in enormous
quantities; the dresses of men as well as of women were decorated and
embroidered with them, and they were noted in nearly every account of a
festive occasion, whether it were a marriage, a brilliant tourney, the
consecration of a bishop, or the celebration of a victory in battle.
The
faceting of crystal gems was not known at that time, and those
dependent on artifice for their beauty were not much sought after.
Although the diamond had been known from the eighth century, it was
not generally treasured as an ornament, and not until long after the
invention of cutting in regular facets—about 1450—did it attain its
great popularity.
In
the Dark Ages, it was customary for princes and great nobles to carry
their valuables about with them even on the battle-fields ; first, in
order to have them always in possession, and second, on account of the
mysterious power they attributed to precious stones. Since jewels
constituted a large portion of their portable wealth, nobles and
knights went into battle superbly arrayed. In this manner the treasures
were easily lost and destroyed ; consequently, relatively few of the
personal ornaments of that period are preserved to the present time.
Among
the greatest lovers of pearls in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries
were the members of the ducal house of Burgundy, and especially Philip
the Bold ( 1342-1404), Philip the Good ( 1396-1467), and Charles the
Bold (1433-77), and some of the gems which they owned are
even now treasured in Austria, Spain, and Italy. When Duke Charles the
Bold, in the year 1473, attended the Diet of Treves, accompanied by his
five thousand splendidly equipped horsemen, he was attired in cloth of
gold garnished with pearls, which were valued at 200,000 golden florins.1
We are told that "almost a sea of pearls" was on view at the marriage
of George the Rich with Hedwig, the daughter of Casimir III of Poland,
at Landshut, in 1475. Among the many ornaments was a pearl chaplet
valued at 50,000 florins which
'Sachs, "Kaiserchronik," Vol. IV, p. 261.
