about 656 A.D. by Oswy, King of Northumbria, in fulfilment of a vow
made before his victory over the pagan king Penda, at the battle of
Winwidfield, fought in November, 654. St. Hilda was made abbess of this
monastery, and Oswy’s daughter Aelfleda took the veil and eventually,
in 680, succeeded Hilda as abbess; she died in 713.[396] Tradition
relates that at this early date crosses and rosaries were made for the
inmates of the monastery from the jet found in the neighborhood. The
“Whitby jet,” so popular and fashionable in the eighteenth century, was
largely derived from the same source, and since then has had several
revivals, until replaced by black-stained chalcedony, the so-called
onyx, and, later still, by steel carved with glass and glass itself.
In the sixteenth century jet was popularly called “black amber,” and
Cardano states that in his time beads of this material were made up
into rosaries. He also says that curious figures made of jet were
brought from Spain to Italy.[397]
Many are unaware of the fact that a number of ornamental objects made
of nephrite and jadeite—unquestionably of European origin—are to be
seen in the quiet little town of Perugia. These objects, collected
principally in central and southern Italy, constitute the Belucci
Collection, in that city. This collection also contains other specimens
of worked jadeite, which must have been brought to Europe at the time
of the Spanish conquest of Mexico and Peru. A very interesting example
shows us the utilization of a pagan celt to form a Christian emblem.
By the removal of a rectangular piece from each of the four corners of
the jadeite celt, a perfect cross has been made, the back and front of
which still offer the original polish given to the material centuries
ago by the native American worker. The superstitious belief propagated
in Europe by the returning Spanish sailors, very probably an invention
of their own to enhance the value of their jade and jadeite, that
these minerals were worn by the natives as a cure for diseases of the
kidneys, whence the name _lapis nephriticus_, rendered the material
exceptionally precious in the eyes of many, and quite possibly it may
have been thought that, by transforming this object into the sacred
form of the cross, a talisman would be produced that would not only
effect the cure of a special disease, but would also by its superior
virtue guard the wearer from harm and danger of all kinds. Here may
also be seen some celts of European jade sewed up in little bags to be
worn on the loins.
[Illustration: 1. Cross made from a celt of jadeite (Mexican), bought
from a peasant in Perugia. This was originally a celt and was divided
into four pieces. Of Mexican origin and brought to Italy in sixteenth
century. Belluci Collection.
2. Jadeite celt, from Guatemala.
3. Celt, Aboriginal. A small stone hatchet made of jade nephrite, of
the kind believed by the peasants to be thunderbolts. Mounted in silver
to be worn as a charm. This specimen, tied over the loins, is said to
have been worn as recently as fifty years ago by a Scottish gentleman
as a cure for kidney disease. British Museum.]
Certain curious amulets called _magatama_ (crooked jewels) have been
found in Japanese graves of the iron age;[398] they are formed of
various materials, among others of steatite, jasper, carnelian, agate,
rock crystal, chrysoprase and nephrite (jade). In the shell heaps of
a period preceding the iron age, the magatama are frequently made of
horn, or of boar’s or wolf’s teeth, and their peculiar form, which
is variously explained as a symbol, may have been conditioned by the
shape of the materials originally used. The _magatama_ were evidently
regarded as amulets. “They are generally perforated at the thick end,
and were worn on a string, together with beads and bugles of the same
material.” These peculiar ornaments were used to adorn the statues of
the gods and were also employed as imperial insignia and distinctive
marks of high rank. At the present day they are numbered among the
three emblems of sovereignty in Japan.
A green and a red magatama are combined in the national emblem of Korea
and a similar figure is used in China to symbolize the union of the
masculine and feminine principles (Yang and Yin) in nature. Dr. Baelz
believes that the swastika emblem, encountered in so many different
parts of the world, belongs to the same order of ideas.
The Bghai tribes of Burma have many superstitions in regard to stones,
such as garnets, rock-crystal, chalcedony, carnelian, agate, onyx
and others of less value, their repute not depending entirely or
principally upon their quality as gem-stones. In almost every household
is installed a stone fetish, and blood offerings are on occasion made
to this. A question as to the reason for this offering elicited the
following reply: “If we do not give it blood to eat it will eat us.” A
common belief was that spirits good or bad dwelt in the stones, and in
case a great misfortune befell a family, this was sometimes laid to the
charge of such a spirit. The father of a family having died, his widow
commanded her son to throw away their magic stone. This he did, but the
spirit was not to be denied, for shortly afterward this very stone was
found to have returned to its accustomed place, and had even brought
two companion stones with it![399]
Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo, who travelled in the East during the years
1403-1406, gives a description of a slab of stone bearing the outlines
of a “natural picture,” and placed in the church of St. Sophia, in
Constantinople:[400]
In the wall, on the left-hand side, there is a very large white
slab, on which, among many other figures, was drawn, very naturally,
without any human artifice of sculpture or painting, the most sacred
and blessed Virgin Mary, with our Lord Jesus Christ in her most holy
arms, with his most glorious forerunner, St. John the Baptist, on one
side. These images, as I said before, are not drawn or painted with
any color, or inlaid, but the stone itself gave birth to this picture,
with its veins, which may be clearly seen; and they say that when this
stone was cut, to be placed in this most holy place, the workman saw
these most wonderful and fortunate images on it, and, as this church
was the most important one in the city, that stone was deposited in
it. The said images appear as if they were in the clouds of heaven,
and as if there was a thin veil before them.
Many other examples of these “natural gems” are noted by early writers.
Among them was an agate gem in the treasury of the Basilica of St.
Mark, in Venice. Upon this gem appeared the head of a king, adorned
with a diadem, the whole design being figured naturally by the veining
of the agate, and not owing anything to artifice. In the same city,
upon a column in the church of San Georgio Maggiore, could be seen the
likeness of Our Lord, hanging from the Cross.[401]
Such stones, with peculiar markings indicating the form of human heads
and figures, were regarded as the work of higher powers.
Another remarkable example is described by Kircher as follows:[402]
In Rome, in the Chapel of the Sacred Virgin, near the organ to the
right hand of those who enter the Church of St. Peter, an image may be
seen in which the Blessed Virgin of Loreto is so artistically depicted
by Nature that it appears to be the work of an artist’s hand. She is
attired in a triple garment, divided by a zone, and holds in her arms
the child, who is distinguished by a crown, as is the mother. Around
may be seen the figures of angels.
The red spots upon the bloodstone were said in Christian legend to
represent the blood of Christ. This idea has been beautifully utilized
in some gems cut from this stone, whereon the thorn-crowned head of
Christ is so placed that the red spots of the bloodstone figure the
drops of blood trickling down the hair and face of the Saviour. Such a
gem might well be looked upon as a Christian amulet and one that could
be reverently worn by any believer.
The ignorance in the Middle Ages of the art of gem-engraving often
induced the belief that engraved stones were the work of nature. A
striking instance of this was the celebrated stone over the figure of
the Mother of Jesus, on the tomb of St. Elizabeth of Marburg. On this
gem appeared two heads touching each other, and it was, according to
tradition, not a work of art, but a freak of the sculptress Nature. An
oft-repeated legend tells us that a former Elector of Mainz offered the
whole district of Amöneberg for this costly stone, which robber hands
removed at Cassel. It is in reality a fine onyx engraved with the heads
of Castor and Pollux.[403]
We might be disposed to regard rather sceptically the tales regarding
wonderful stones bearing the image of Christ, or that of the Virgin
Mary, and we may be inclined to believe that the old accounts are
exaggerated or distorted by the pious imaginations of the writers.
Nevertheless, in our own time we have a well-attested case of the
discovery of such a stone.
In 1880, while visiting the village of Oberammergau, Bavaria, to
witness the Passion Play, Mrs. Eugenia Jones-Bacon, of Atlanta,
Georgia, found on Mount Kopfel, which overlooks the village, a small
stone composed of chert and limestone, and having on its surface
excrescences so disposed that, when the stone was held at a certain
angle, the shadows cast by them formed a striking likeness of the head
of Christ as depicted in Christian art. This peculiar freak specimen
has been carefully examined by experts and has been pronounced to be
entirely a work of nature. The mineralogist is not disposed to see here
anything more than coincidence, and yet the most sceptical cannot fail
to be impressed by the fact that such a stone was found at the time
and place of the Passion Play. As Max Müller said, in commenting on
this strange discovery: “The chapter of accidents is much larger than
we imagine,” and the present writer feels disposed to add that it is
remarkable how often we find what we are looking for, especially if we
are only looking or thinking of one object or subject.
The religious symbolism of the diamond was a favorite theme with the
thirteenth century “lapidaria,” or rhymed treatises on precious stones.
Just as it could only be discovered by night—an old fancy—so was the
Incarnation a hidden mystery; it gave forth a great light, just as
Jesus illumined the depths of Hades when he descended thither; it was
unconquerably hard, and who can resist the might of God?[404]
The mediæval Italians who were fond of seeking some hidden and
significant meaning in the names of precious stones, in the case of
the diamond (diamante), read the phrase _amante di Dio_, or “lover
of God.”[405] This was a reason for regarding the brilliant gem as a
sacred stone and one especially suitable for religious use.
The Rosicrucians, who sought to combine pagan with Christian types and
figures, saw in the amethyst and the amethystine color a symbol of the
divine male sacrifice, since the stone and the color were typical of
love, truth, passion, suffering, and hope. The love of Christ led him
to make the supreme sacrifice and suffer the agony of the Cross, and
the Crucifixion was followed by the Resurrection, whence came the hope
of mankind to enjoy eternal happiness in heaven.
The chiastolite, or macle, shows the representation of a cross on
its surface, this effect being produced by the regular arrangement
of carbonaceous impurities along the axes of the crystal. The name
signifies a marking resembling the Greek letter Χ (chi). This marking
is often very striking in appearance, and the crystal was naturally
regarded as having a mystical and religious significance. It was said
to stanch the flow of blood from any part of the body if worn so as to
touch the skin, and it was also believed to increase the secretion of
milk. All kinds of fevers were cured by this mineral if it were worn
suspended from the neck, and the divine symbol it bore served to drive
away evil spirits from the neighborhood of the wearer.
This very interesting mineral occurs very frequently in mica schists.
When found, it appears about the thickness of a small finger, tapering
slightly at each edge. If broken near one end, it often shows a white
cross with a veined outline of black, making a distinct cross with
black markings. The crystals frequently measure from two to four inches
in length, and are found in Massachusetts, California, and other
places. If small segments are broken off, it will be found that the
black outline will become stronger, and the white less marked, until
finally a black cross will appear, with white markings. The white
material is the result of two white wedges pushed point onward until
the ends meet, the narrow end of one wedge being crossed by the broad
end of the second wedge, and the black filling in the balance of the
square. No two of these square crosses can thus ever be exactly alike,
and, when polished, the crystals naturally form an interesting stone
that was known as _lapis crucifer_, or cross-stone by the ancients.
[Illustration: STAUROLITE CRYSTALS (FAIRY STONES).
Patrick County, Virginia.]
The peculiar form of the mineral known as staurolite (from the Greek
σταυρός cross) is due to the twinning of two crystals at right angles.
In Cronstedt’s treatise on mineralogy, published in Stockholm in 1758,
we are told that the staurolite was sometimes called Baseler Taufstein
(baptismal-stone) or _lapis crucifer_, the former name being used in
Basel, where the stone was employed as an amulet at baptisms. However,
the _lapis crucifer_ of De Boot appears from his description to have
been the chiastolite. In Brittany these twin crystals were worn as
charms, and local legends state that they had dropped from the heavens.
Fine crystals of staurolite have been found in Patrick County,
Virginia, and there is said to be a beautiful local legend in regard
to their origin. Near where they are found there wells up a spring of
limpid water, and the story goes that one day, long, long ago, when the
fairies were dancing and playing around this spring, an elfin messenger
winged his way through the air and alighted among them. He bore to
them the sad tidings of the crucifixion of Christ in a far-off city.
So mournful was his recital of the sufferings of the Saviour that the
fairies burst into tears, and these fairy tear-drops, as they fell to
earth, crystallized into the form of the cross. These natural crosses
are in great demand as charms, and ex-President Roosevelt is said to
wear one of them mounted as a watch-charm.
There has been found in the southern part of New Mexico, and in
northern Mexico, a blue variety of calamine, a hydrous silicate of
zinc, colored blue by an admixture of copper. This stone has been cut
into gem form and has been sold to a certain extent as a cheap gem.
It is translucent and is sometimes veined with white wavy lines. The
Mexican Indians employed in the mines often set up a cross and a candle
near where they are working, so that they may pay their devotions at
this improvised shrine. In Sonora and Western Chihuahua the Indians
frequently place a piece of the stone to which we have alluded
alongside the cross. They may be attracted by its beautiful blue color,
or they may believe that it is a turquoise, although it does not
resemble this latter stone, which is more opaque, of a different shade
of blue and of a different composition.
In some epitaphs the hope of the resurrection finds expression in
likening the body enclosed in its narrow coffin to a precious jewel in
its casket. The following lines from a tombstone erected in 1655 to
the memory of Mary Courtney, at Fowell, Cornwall, England, give a good
example of this class of inscription:[406]
Near this a rare jewell’s set,
Clos’d up in a cabinet.
Let no sacrilegious hand
Breake through—’tis y^e strickte comaund
Of the jeweller: who hath sayd
(And ’tis fit he be obey’d)
I’ll require it safe and sound
Both above and under ground.
In a churchyard at Prittlewell, Essex, England, a rather whimsical
treatment of the same idea is offered by some verses engraved on the
stone marking the graves of two wives of a certain Freeborne, the first
of whom died in 1641 and the second in 1658. The bereaved husband
seems to have been perfectly willing to await the Day of Judgment for
the return of his lost spouses:[407]
Under this stone two precious gems do ly
Equall in weight, worth, lustre, sanctity:
Yet perhaps one of them do excell;
Which was’t who knows? ask him y^t knew y^{em} well
By long enjoyment. If he thus be prest,
He’el pause, then answere: truly both were best:
Were’t in my choice that either of y^e twain
Might be returned to me to enjoy agayne,
Which should I chuse? Well, since I know not whether;
Ile mourne for the losse of both, but wish for neither,
Yet here’s my comfort, herein lyes my hope,
The tyme a comeinge cabinets shall ope
Which are lockt fast: then shall I see
My Jewells to my joy, my Jewells mee.
The Christian symbolism of colors has in many cases determined the
use of certain colored gems for religious ornaments, and therefore
the following summary of their principal significance is of interest
here:[408]
WHITE is regarded as the first of the canonical colors, and as
emblematic of purity, innocence, virginity, faith, life, and light.
For this reason it is used in the ceremonies of Easter and Christmas,
as in those of the Circumcision and Epiphany of Our Lord. As the
color of virginity it is especially appropriate for the festival of
the Virgin Mary, and as that of faith not sealed with blood, for the
festivals of the saints who were not martyred. The heavenly host of
angels and saints wear white robes, and in pictures of the Assumption
of the Virgin she is frequently clad in white.
RED is used at the feasts of the Exaltation and Invention of the
Cross, at Pentecost, and at the Feast of Martyrs. It suggests and
symbolizes suffering and martyrdom for the faith, and the supreme
sacrifice of Christ upon the Cross. Divine love and majesty are also
typified by this color.
BLUE is an emblem of the celestial regions and of the celestial
virtues. Nevertheless, as this is not one of the five canonical
colors, it is not employed for the decoration of churches or for
ecclesiastical vestments. In Christian art, however, the Virgin and
the saints and angels are often robed in blue.
YELLOW of a golden hue is emblematic of God’s goodness and of faith
and good works, but it is not a canonical color. A dull yellow,
however, has the opposite signification, and is a type of treachery
and envy. Hence Judas is garbed in yellow of a dull hue, and heretics
wore garments of this shade when they were condemned to the stake.
GREEN is the canonical color for use on Sundays, week-days, and
ordinary festivals. Hope and joy and the bright promises of youth are
signified by green.
VIOLET, another canonical color, is appropriate for use on
Septuagesima and Quinquagesima Sundays, during Lent, and on Advent
Sunday. The chastening and purifying effects of suffering find
expression in this color.
BLACK, also a canonical color, is a symbol of death and of the
mourning and sorrow inspired by death. Therefore it is only used in
the Church on Good Friday, to symbolize the sorrow and despair of the
Christian community at the death of Christ, a sorrow soon to be turned
to joy by His glorious resurrection.
[Illustration: FRONTISPIECE OF THE “VESTITUS SACERDOTUM HEBRÆORUM,” OF
JOHANN BRAUN, AMSTERDAM, 1680.
The vignettes at the top illustrate the source of the materials of
the vestments, etc.; as the nopal, source of the cochineal insect;
gold-thread; linen; a sheep for wool; Tyre and the purple murex. The
other vignettes show separate parts of the high-priest’s attires and
in the centre appear two figures of the high-priest, each garbed in
different sets of vestments.]
VIII
On the High-Priest’s Breastplate
Very early, and very naturally, the religious nature of man led to
the use of precious stones in connection with worship—the most
valuable and elegant objects being chosen for sacred purposes. Of
this mode of thought, we have a striking instance in the accounts
given, in the book of Exodus, of the breastplate of the High-priest,
and the gems contributed for the tabernacle by the Israelites in the
wilderness. Another religious association of such objects is their use
to symbolize ideas of the Divine glory, as illustrated in the visions
of the prophet Ezekiel and in the description of the New Jerusalem
in the book of Revelation. Apart from such legitimate uses, however,
gems have become associated with all manner of religious fancies and
superstitions, traces of which appear in the Talmud, the Koran, and
similar writings; they have also been dedicated to various heathen
deities. Even in modern times, some trace of the same ideas remains in
the ecclesiastical jewelry and its supposed symbolism.
In the vision of Ezekiel i, 26, and in a brief allusion to the similar
appearance of the God of Israel in Exodus xxiv, the throne of Jehovah,
or the pavement beneath his feet, is compared to a sapphire, and the
Apostle John, in the Apocalypse, describes the Great White Throne as
surrounded by a rainbow like an emerald.
The Rabbinical writings, instead of the simple grandeur of these
biblical comparisons, give us many fanciful ideas. The stones of the
breastplate are here represented as sacred to twelve mighty angels
who guard the gates of Paradise, and wondrous tales are told of the
luminous gems in the tent of Abraham and the ark of Noah. Mohammedan
legend represents the different heavens as composed of different
precious stones, and in the Middle Ages these religious ideas became
interwoven with a host of astrological, alchemistic, and medical
superstitions.
The following is the description of the breastplate given in Exodus
(xxviii, 15-30):
And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work;
after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and
of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen shalt thou make it.
Foursquare it shall be being doubled; a span shall be the length
thereof, and a span shall be the breadth thereof.
And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones:
the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall
be the first row.
And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond.
And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.
And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper; they shall be
set in gold in their enclosings.
And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel,
twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet;
every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes.
And thou shalt make upon the breastplate chains at the ends of
wreathen work of pure gold.
And thou shalt make upon the breastplate two rings of gold, and shalt
put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.
And thou shalt put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings
which are on the ends of the breastplate.
And the other two ends of the two wreathen chains thou shalt fasten
in the two ouches, and put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod
before it.
And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and thou shalt put them upon
the two ends of the breastplate in the border thereof, which is in the
side of the ephod inward.
And two other rings of gold thou shalt make, and shalt put them on the
two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the forepart thereof, over
against the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the
ephod.
And they shall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof unto the
rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be above the
curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate be not loosed
from the ephod.
And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the
breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy
place, for a memorial before the Lord continually.
And thou shalt put in the breastplate of Judgment the Urim and the
Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before
the Lord: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel
upon his heart before the Lord continually.
Of the miraculous quality of the stones worn by the high-priest, the
Jewish historian Josephus (37-95 A.D.) says:[409]