About Precious Stones in Medieval Times

In the days of romance and chivalry, jewels were among the valuable objects presented to the knights, as favours, by ladies. It is stated in "Pierceforest," that at the end of one tournament the ladies were so stripped of their head attire (love-locks, jewels, etc.), that the greatest part of them were bare-headed, and appeared with their hair spread over their shoulders, "yellower than the finest gold."

Elayne, the fair maiden of Astolat, gives Sir Launcelot "a reed sleeve of scarlet, wel embroudred with grete perlys," which he wore for a token on his helmet. The Chevalier Bayard being declared victor at the tournament of Carignan, at Piedmont, refused, from extreme delicacy, to receive the award assigned to him, saying, "The honour he had gained was solely owing to the sleeve which a lady had given him, adorned with a ruby worth one hundred ducats." The sleeve was brought back to the lady, who said, "The ruby shall be given to the knight who was next in feat of arms to the chevalier; but since he does me so much honour as to ascribe his victory to my sleeve, for the love of him I will keep it all my life."

In 1465, Anthony Woodville, brother of Queen Elizabeth Woodville, forwarded articles of combat, and an enamelled jewel of Forget-me-not, to the Count de la Roche, by a herald, requesting him "to touch the flower with his worthy and knightly hand, in token of his acceptance of the challenge."

At the tournament held in the reign of Henry VII. (1494), a proclamation was put forth, "That hoo soo ever justith best in the justys roiall schall have a ryng of gold, with a ruby of the value of a m1 scuttes, or under; and hoo soo ever torneyeth the best, and fairyst accumplishit his strokkis, schall have a ryng of gold, with a diamant of like value."

It appears that John Peche received from the Lady Margarete, "the kyngis oldeste doughter, a ryng of gold with a ruby." Thomas Brandon, Earl of Suffolk, obtained also "a ryng of gold with a rubee;" and the Earl of Essex, "a ryng of gold with an emerauld." Queen Elizabeth, in 1594, gave a jewel set with seventeen diamonds and four rubies, valued at one hundred marks, as a prize for fighting at the barriers.

The virtues of the Carbuncle in emitting a wonderful light was a favourite subject of the old writers.

In the "Gesta Romanorum" (chap. cvii.) there is a story of a subtle clerk, who goes to see an image in the city of Rome, which stretched forth its right hand, on the middle finger of which was written, "Strike here." No one could tell the meaning of this; but the clerk observed, as the sun shone against it, the shadow of the inscribed finger on the ground at some distance. He took a spade, and began to dig on the spot. He came at length to a flight of steps, and, descending, entered a hall, where he saw a king and queen sitting at table with their nobles and a multitude of people, all clothed in rich garments, but no person spoke a word. A polished carbuncle illuminated the whole room. In the opposite corner he perceived the figure of a man standing, having a bended bow, with an arrow, in his hand, as prepared to shoot. On his forehead was written, "I am, who am. Nothing can escape my stroke, not even yonder carbuncle, which shines so bright."

The clerk beheld all with amazement, and entering a chamber, saw the most beautiful ladies working at a loom, in purple. But all was silence. He next entered a room filled with most excellent horses and asses; he touched some of them, and they were instantly turned into stone. He next surveyed all the apartments in the palace:-

"Rayled in the roofe with rubyes ryche,

With perles and with perytotes alle the place sette,

That glystered as coles in the fyre on the golde ryche;

The dores with diamoundes dryvene were thykke,

And made also merveylously with margery (marguarites),

perles," etc.

He again visited the hall, and began to reflect how he should return. "But," says he, "my report of all these wonders will not be believed until I carry something back with me." He therefore took from the principal table a golden cup and knife, and placed them in his bosom, when the man who stood in the corner with the bow immediately shot at the carbuncle, which he shattered into a thousand pieces. At that moment the hall became dark as night, and not being able to find his way, the clerk soon died a miserable death, and thus suffered for his avarice in taking what was not his own.