Medieval glasses. Optical glasses. Who invented glasses and when?

The first glasses in history appeared in Ancient Rome. Polished pieces of transparent minerals were used as magnifying glasses. For ease of use, they were attached to the handle. This device can be considered the ancestor of the lorgnette.

The first glasses, in their modern meaning, were first described in 1268 by Roger Bacon (1214-1292). This Franciscan monk was a philosopher and natural scientist, a professor at Oxford University. He, among other things, studied optics and astrology and in his works anticipated many later discoveries in this field. One of his works contains the very first description of the use of lenses for optical purposes. It was during R. Bacon’s lifetime that magnifying glasses began to be used for reading at the same time in Europe and China.

In Europe, Venice has long been considered the center of the production of the first glasses. The best glassmakers of that time worked there, and they were required to keep the secret of glasses production in the strictest confidence. In particular, the craftsmen were forbidden to leave the city territory under pain of imprisonment and even execution. (site note) Naturally, glasses became an everyday item in Italy earlier than in other European countries. It was Italian artists who were the first to depict their heroes wearing glasses, as evidenced by the portrait of the Duke of Provence by Tommaso of Modena, created in 1352.

Lenses at that time were only biconvex. But in the 16th century they appeared with concave (minus) lenses. They can be seen for the first time in the portrait of Pope Leo X, painted by Raphael in 1517. After Domenico Ghirlandaio depicted Saint Jerome wearing glasses, this saint began to be considered the patron saint of optical craftsmen.

It is curious that glasses were invented much later than the optical properties of our eyes were discovered. We learned about them from the works of the German astronomer I. Kepler (1571-1630), who studied the device human eye. He imagined the eye as a mechanism that has optical properties. More than a hundred years passed before glasses received scientific confirmation. The first step in this direction was taken by the English optician D. Biddell. He created the scientific basis for grinding optical glasses and was the first to produce glasses to correct astigmatism, which causes blurred images. D. Biddell developed a system of cylinders and axles that is still used today.

First glasses were considered not only as a practical thing, but also as a fashionable decoration, so this affected their appearance, and appeared. In the 17th century, for example, large, bright glasses with simple lenses that did not correct vision were popular.

In the 18th century, glasses became an attribute of the dandy. According to the laws of that era, a close look through them was regarded as insolence and could serve as a reason for a challenge to a duel. Glasses are also fashionable at this time. Their shape, design, frame color, material for it - everything depends on the whims of fashion. True, now in the production of glasses, in addition to glass, plastic is also used.

For people suffering from low vision, glasses helped restore the joy of seeing and the joy of feeling like full-fledged members of society. By improving vision with glasses, a person becomes more active in life.

It is worth noting the fact that glasses appear in several places at the same time. This happened in the second half of the 13th century. At first, glasses appeared in Europe and only later, having become widespread, in the East. What is known about the history of glasses? The first person to pay attention to the properties of glass to magnify objects was a glassmaker. This happened in 1280. A drop of frozen glass caught his eye, which he took in his hand and began to examine. This drop (a prototype of glasses) suggested to the glassmaker that with the help of glass, which magnifies objects, it is possible to improve the vision of old people. All this was documented.

To prevent chipping, special rims were created along the edges of the lenses: wooden and then horn. They were attached to a handle with a pin and looked more like scissors. This design was uncomfortable, but thanks to it, the lenses could stay on the nose.

Of course, the history of glasses does not end there. In 1268-1282, glasses were invented that had convex lenses that could correct farsightedness. They are believed to have been made in Italy. Their creator was the Florentine Salvino D'Amarte Pisa. Around the same period, the first glasses were created in China. The first models did not have support; they simply “sat” on the bridge of the nose. Only in the 15th century, after a century, were glasses for myopia with concave lenses invented. A little later, in the 16th century, strings were tied to the rims of the frames, which were then hooked behind the ears.

James Iskog in 1752 invented glasses that had hinged supports. He also invented the first sunglasses with tinted (green or blue) lenses. Benjamin Franklin invented bifocal glasses (1775), which combined convex and concave lenses. They were intended for both nearsighted and farsighted people.

Glasses are the most common optical device intended for correction. human vision for optical imperfections of the eye, or to protect the eyes from various harmful influences.

Glasses consist of lenses, either glass or plastic, held in place by a frame with temples attached to it. Occasionally, instead of arms that are attached to the ears, a ribbon or strap is used that covers the head.

Sunglasses

The first glasses to protect your eyes from sunlight were made by residents of the Far North, Asia and America. Their glasses were animal bones or pieces of tree bark with narrow slits for the eyes.
For the first time, sunglasses - or rather their distant ancestors - appeared in China. In the 12th century, slabs of smoky quartz were used by judges to prevent witnesses from seeing the expression in their eyes.

Reading Glasses

Before the advent of glasses, individual polished crystals or pieces of glass were used as vision-enhancing devices for one eye.

Glasses were apparently invented in Italy in the 13th century. The estimated year of invention is 1284, and the creator of the first glasses is considered to be Salvino D'Armate (Italian), although there is no documentary evidence for this data. The first documentary evidence of the existence of glasses dates back to 1289.

On February 23, 1305, in Florence, the Dominican brother Giordano da Rivalto (Italian) mentioned in a sermon: Less than 20 years have passed since the art of making glasses designed to improve vision was discovered. This is one of the best and most necessary arts in the world. How little time has passed since a new art that never existed was invented. I saw the man who first created glasses, and I talked with him.

The first image of glasses is contained in a fresco of the Church of Treviso (Italy), made in 1352 by the monk Tommaso da Modena.

The first attempt to determine the authorship of the invention was made by Carlo Roberto Dati (1619-1676) from Florence with the help of Francesco Redi in the work “Glasses, are they an invention of antiquity or not?”, who attributed the invention to Alessandro Spina (Italian) (? - 1313), a monk and a scientist from Pisa. It was assumed that even if the glasses were invented by a previously unknown master, then since Spina independently and only by general description recreated the method of making glasses, the glory of the inventor rightfully belongs to him.
Beginning in 1300, the charters of the Venetian glaziers' guild often mentioned visual lenses and recommended the destruction of counterfeits of flint glass crystal, which indicates the rapid entry of glasses into fashion in Venice.

There is also a version about the Chinese origin of glasses, based on the 1240 book “Explaining Mysterious Things”, which says:

When old people feel dizzy and their vision deteriorates, they put ai-tais on their eyes and are able to concentrate, as the outlines of the letters become clear.

However, later research has shown that this quote was inserted in the 15th century.

XVIII century

London optician Edward Scarlett added temples to glasses at the beginning of the 18th century.

First industrial batch (about 200,000) sunglasses the modern type was ordered by Napoleon for the Egyptian expedition (1798-1801). He required every soldier to wear tinted glasses. During the expedition, violators of this order were identified, whose eyes were affected by cataracts and other diseases caused by light that was unusually bright for “European” eyes. Various designs appeared - monocle, pince-nez, lorgnette.

19th century

Benjamin Franklin invented bifocal lenses that have the upper part for distance use and the lower part for near work.

Modern glasses

Glasses with special lenses are used when vision parameters deviate from the norm, regardless of whether the deviation relates to shape eyeball and refractive surfaces, to the refractive power of optical media, to changes in the muscular system (squint) or to changes in the density and elasticity of the lens, etc. Depending on the nature of these deviations, spherical (ordinary, periscope, Franklin), cylindrical, spherocylindrical, prismatic, stenopic and colored glasses are prescribed.

Progressive lenses have become a modern continuation of the development of bifocal lenses - in them, the diopter transition is embedded inside the lens, the outer surface remains smooth, ensuring the aesthetic appearance of the glasses.

Glasses for watching stereo/3D movies

To watch 3D movies, glasses have been developed that separate images for the left and right eyes. Each eye sees only its own picture and thus the viewer sees a three-dimensional image.

“When vision weakens, there is nothing left to do but listen to the reading of slaves,” lamented Cicero.

English naturalist monk roger bacon(1214-1294), who believed that a short life is not the norm, but a deviation, recommended various alchemical inventions to prolong the active age: gold, incense, snake meat, and even the breath of girls. But he was right to point out the value of magnifying lenses for older people with poor vision. Bacon called them “devices” and even gave one such “device” for trial. Pope Clement IV.

Naturalist monk Roger Bacon. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Initially, the lenses were placed directly on the surface of the text by aging monks working with manuscripts. This gave them the opportunity to see letters and look at pictures. Later, a lens appeared on a long handle, which was held in front of the eyes or above the text - a monocle. And the first glasses on the bridge of the nose are two monocles connected together.

On the fresco Tommaso da Modena in Italian Treviso, the monk “Brother Ugone from Provence” is depicted already wearing glasses - in a frame with lenses on the bridge of his nose. This is the year 1352.

Interesting

Comes with wig

The oldest glasses that have survived to this day are kept in the German abbey of Wienhausen. They are framed in wood and date from 1330. We found them during repairs, as sometimes happens with lost things, however, six centuries later, in 1953.

The first set of glasses for selecting glasses was made in 1750 by an Englishman. optician J.Eskew. And in 1873, the concept of diopter was introduced and dioptric numbering of glasses appeared. However, it was only at the end of the 19th century that glasses began to be prescribed based on scientific data such as refraction - the refraction of a ray of light, and accommodation - the ability of the eye to see objects well both far and near.

At the end of the 18th century, glasses appeared that were kept on the ears. Before that, they were attached to a wig or a cord around the head. Ladies wore glasses attached to a hat.

A sign of pride

Ancient Chinese book philosopher Chao Ji Ku, where glasses are mentioned (“the hieroglyphs became clear”), was called “Explanation of mysterious things.” The principle of their action often seemed supernatural to people. In the Middle Ages in Europe, glasses were even called “eye-sucking vampires,” and witches and devils were often depicted wearing glasses.

In the desire to improve vision and “see” something, not only the young ladies saw pride and insolence (remember Lermontov’s “My daring lorgnette made her seriously angry”), but, more importantly, the authorities. “There’s no point in looking at me!” - the bespectacled pet shouted Paul I Moscow Commander-in-Chief Ivan Gudovich and even forbade receiving visitors wearing glasses.

Monument to the Russian commander Ivan Gudovich in Anapa. Photo: Shutterstock.com

IN Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum it was believed that “for a young man to look at his elders through optical glasses is impudence.” True, such a ban also had its advantages. Myopic Lyceum student Anton Delvig subsequently wrote: “At the Lyceum I was forbidden to wear glasses, but all the women seemed beautiful to me. How disappointed I was after graduation!”

History of things

Evangelist Mark wearing glasses around 1500 / Mark the Evangelist. The British Library. Yates Thompson 5, f. 12. Book of Hours, Use of Rome ("The Tilliot Hours"). Origin: France, Central (Tours). Date c. 1500. Language Latin. Script Gothic cursive. Artists Jean Poyer (Poyet).

In the Middle Ages in Western Europe, most of the population, including the political and economic elite, could not even write or read their native language, let alone the main language of culture - Latin. The exception was the clergy, but he, too, was unevenly educated. However, among the few literate people, eye support is an extremely important thing.

Who invented glasses? This question is one of the most controversial in the history of science. Inventors from Italy, Belgium, Germany, England and China were considered contenders for authorship. The version about the Italian origin of glasses is much preferable, but not because there is simple and clear evidence on this matter.

2.

Tommaso da Modena (1325/26-1379). Fresco from 1352. Height 150 cm. Cardinal Hugo de Saint-Cher from the portrait cycle in the chapter hall of the Dominican monastery of San Niccolò in Treviso. via

The artist of the Bolognese school, Dominican monk Tommaso da Modena (1325/26-1379), was invited to Treviso, in the Veneto region, Italy. Here, in 1352, he painted the walls of the chapter hall in the local monastery of San Niccolo with portraits of famous representatives of the Dominican order, the most famous saints, and scientists. The frescoes depict forty monks next to each other, each sitting in his own cell at a writing desk. Some are reading, lost in thought, others are writing or preparing a pen for writing, some are leafing through books.

3.

1352 Tommaso da Modena (1325/26-1379). Fragment of a fresco - a portrait of Hugh de Sainte-Cher. Monastery of San Niccolo in Treviso, Italy. via

One of the frescoes depicts Hugh of Saint-Cher /Ugo di Santo Caro (circa 1200-1263) - a French cardinal and theologian. Hugh of Saint-Cher is intently writing or studying some manuscripts, clearly with the help of glasses. This fresco is considered the first image of glasses. Obviously, glasses were invented shortly before her appearance. This is evidenced by literary sources dating back to the beginning of the 14th century. Although they are few in number, they all indicate that the glasses appeared recently.

4.

Moses. Around 1441-1449 / Bibel/Bible, Hagenau. ca. 1441-1449. Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg, Cod. Pal. germ. 19, fol. 141v.

The history of the invention of glasses in medieval Italy is strangely connected with certain intrigues, and historians of science have had great difficulty in unraveling them.

The essence of the issue was confused by scientists of the 17th century. The question of the authorship of the invention in the 17th century was raised by Carlo Roberto Dati from Florence (1619-1676) in his work “Glasses, are they an invention of antiquity or not?”

5.


Archaeological find, Florence / The only rivet spectacles ever found in Italy (Florence), the definite country of origin of eyeglasses for the world; medium brown thin bone, by permission from the Superintendancy for Archeologica of Tuscany. via

Quote from Peter James and Nick Thorpe's book Ancient Inventions:

" He [Carlo Roberto Dati] attributes the invention of glasses to a certain Alessandro Spina, a monk and scientist from Pisa, who died in 1313. Dati admits that perhaps someone else could have been the first to invent glasses, but stated that he “would not wish attribute this invention to others." Nevertheless, Spina, according to Dati, had such a brilliant mind that he could recreate "anything he saw or heard about," so it is quite possible that he independently invented glasses independent of other inventors.

6.


Modern reconstruction. Reproduction rivet spectacles worn by world-renowned actor Sean Connery in the movie “The Name of The Rose”, Cinecitta, Rome Studios, Pallone Collection. via

It would seem that this should have been the end of the matter - the world believed that Spina had put glasses on his nose. This would have been the case if it had not been for the careful study of Duthie's correspondence, as well as sources published in 1956 by Edward Rosen, a historian of science at the City College of New York. Rosen discovered that the information had been provided to Dati by his colleague, Francesco Redi, chief physician to the Grand Duke of Tuscany. In a surviving letter, Redi told Dati the story of Spina's invention, citing in his favor a quotation from the Chronicle of the Dominican Monastery of St. Catherine in Pisa. The quote, according to Ready, states: “Whatever he [Spina] saw or heard about, he really knew how to do it.” Returning to the original Chronicle, Rosen discovered that Redi had distorted the text. In fact, it read like this: “Whatever was done, when he saw it with his own eyes, he really knew how to do it.” Dati, following Redi, distorted the meaning of the original.

7.


Majolica slab with the image of glasses. 1510, Venice. Glasses and a book - a symbol of an intellectual and a scientist / Glazed (Majolica) tile showing rivet spectacles, School of Marche, Church of S. Sebastian, originally on the floor of the S. Annunziata Chapel, 1510, Venice, Italy “The glasses and the closed book are considered symbols of the everyday life of a scholarly person.” via

From all this it follows that scientists of the 17th century. conspired and believed Spina, silencing the nameless inventor of glasses. Rosen might have an explanation for this strange intrigue. The scientists in question were associates or admirers of the great Galileo Galilei(1564-1642), whose reputation partly depended on his recognition as the inventor of the telescope. However, at this time there were rumors that Galileo had previously seen a telescope created by the Flemish optician Joan Lippsrty. Galileo himself claimed that he had only heard about the telescope and developed it through an in-depth study of the theory of refraction of rays.

8.


Fragment of an altar from Vienna. 1438/1440 / Kunstwerk: Temperamalerei-Holz; Einrichtung sakral; Flügelaltar; Meister des Albrechtsaltars; Wien; Himmelfahrt2:06:001-010, Himmelfahrt2:23:037-054. Documentation: 1438; 1440; Klosterneuburg; Österreich; Niederösterreich; Stiftsmuseum. Anmerkungen: 126.1x112.7; Wien. via

Galileo's friends zealously defended him. In 1678, Redi published “Letter on the Invention of Spectacles,” which stated: “If Brother Alessandro Spina was not the first inventor of glasses, then, according to at least, it was he who, without anyone’s help, re-invented the method of making glasses... The same thing, ironically, happened with the outstanding Galileo Galilei. Having heard that some Fleming had invented a long telescope... he, having never seen [the original], developed exactly the same pipe on his own, based on the theory of light refraction.”

9.


Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Fragment of an altar from Vienna. 1438/1440 / Kunstwerk: Temperamalerei-Holz; Einrichtung sakral; Flügelaltar; Meister des Albrechtsaltars; Wien; Himmelfahrt2:06:001-010, Himmelfahrt2:23:037-054. Documentation: 1438; 1440; Klosterneuburg; Österreich; Niederösterreich; Stiftsmuseum. Anmerkungen: 126.1x112.7; Wien. via. Click for full version

So, in order to save Galileo's reputation, Spina was credited with the independent invention of glasses, while the role of the unknown master, whose work he so skillfully copied, was deliberately kept silent.

10.

However, who is this mysterious inventor from whom Spina borrowed the idea for glasses? Other chronicles knew him and, perhaps, could even give the date of invention: approximately 1285. Let us refer to an excerpt from the sermon of the Dominican brother Giordano da Rivalto (1305):

11.


Sforza's Book of Hours. 1490-1521. British Library / British Library Add MS 34294, fol. 272r. Date 1490-1521. Title Book of Hours, Use of Rome: the "Sforza Hours".

“Not even 20 years have passed since the art of making glasses designed to improve vision was discovered. This is one of the best and most necessary arts in the world. How little time has passed since a new art that never existed was invented. I saw the man who first created glasses, and I talked with him.”

12.

Sforza's Book of Hours. 1490-1521. British Library / British Library Add MS 34294, fol. 272r. Date 1490-1521. Title Book of Hours, Use of Rome: the "Sforza Hours".

<...>However, most likely, we will never know the true name of the inventor of the glasses. IN best case scenario, based on various facts given in the documents available to us, we can say that the inventor was, in any case, not the monk Spina, but a secular man, and it seems that he lived in Pisa.

13.

1403-1404. Conrad von Soest (1370-after 1422). Apostle with glasses. Fragment of the altar of a church in Bad Wildungen, Germany. Considered the oldest image of glasses north of the Alps / Conrad von Soest The "Glasses Apostle" painting in the altarpiece of the church of Bad Wildungen, Germany. Painted by Conrad von Soest in 1403, "Glasses Apostle" is considered the oldest depiction of eyeglasses north of the Alps / Anachronisme de l"apôtre "aux lunettes" de Conrad von Soest (1404). via

Be that as it may, the discovery of glasses was quickly taken advantage of by the manufacturers of the most elegant glass in the medieval world - the Venetian masters. Since 1300, the charters of the glaziers' guild often mention visual lenses and recommend the destruction of counterfeits of flint glass crystal. The statutes were apparently an excellent barometer of the speed with which new glasses came into fashion in Venice. If this is so, then it becomes clear why the elusive inventor, whose product Spina copies, was so secretive about his authorship of this invention: in an era when there was no copyright, he apparently jealously guarded the secret in the hope of making some money until she didn't become too widely known. "

14.


1466. Circumcision of Christ. Friedrich Herlin. Altar of the Twelve Apostles, fragment. Rothenburg, Germany / The Circumcision of Christ, Friedrich Herlin (German), oil on panel (?), 1466, St. Jakob Church, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany. . Fragment. Click on almost the whole view

Convex lenses were the first to appear in the 13th century and were used to improve the vision of farsighted people. At first the lenses were for one eye, and then, when the lenses were connected together, they were for both.

Concave glasses for correcting myopia appeared in the 16th century.

15.


1466. Friedrich Herlin. Reading Apostle Peter. Altar of the Twelve Apostles. Church of St. Jacob. Rothenburg, Germany / Friedrich Herlin, Reading Saint Peter (1466). Depiction of a reading Saint Peter with eyeglasses. Detail of the altarpiece by Friedrich Herlin (1466) in the St. Jakob Church in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany. Fragment , .

According to one of the main versions, the invention of convex lenses in the 1280s is attributed to the Florentine monk Salvino degli Armati (XIII century - 1317). It is believed that Salvino suggested using two pieces of glass tied to a hat or inserted into a leather band tied around the head. In the 20th century, historians considered that the authorship of Salvino’s glasses was completely unproven - this was a hoax.

16.

1466. Friedrich Herlin. Altar of the Twelve Apostles. Church of St. Jacob. Rothenburg ob der Tauber / Friedrich Herlin, 1466. St-Jaacobkirche, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Bavaria via

The first mention of Salvino degli Armati as the inventor of glasses refers to the same XVII century. In 1684, the Florentine Ferdinando Leopoldo del Migliore (1628-1696) published the book “Firenze città nobilissima illustrata” / “Florence, the noblest city, with illustrations.” In this book, Ferdinando referred to the register of funeral records in his possession of the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore. This register allegedly contained the following entry: "Qui diace Salvino d"Armato degl" Armati di Fir., Inventor degl"occhiali. Dio gli perdoni la peccata. Anno D. MCCCXVII" /"Here lies Salvino, son of Armato degli Armati of Florence, inventor of glasses. May the Lord forgive his sin. 1317". This register, however, was never shown to anyone by Migliore; none of the scholars had ever seen it. Ferdinando claimed that Salvino degli Armati in Santa Maria Maggiore had a tomb topped with a statue; but during the restoration of the church , both the statue and the tombstone with the epitaph were destroyed.

17.


1499. Ulm. Friedrich Herlin. Apostle Matthias. Museum of Mining and Gothic art in Leogang (Salzburg state). Gothic collections- Christ surrounded by apostles by Friedrich Herlin, Ulm, 1499, detail: Saint Matthias. via

Following Ferdinando, other authors continued to attribute the authorship of glasses to Salvino degli Armati. He is still called the alleged inventor. In 1920, the Italian scientist Isidoro del Lungo (1841-1927) pointed out a number of inaccuracies in the report of Ferdinando Leopoldo del Migliore. Including that the term “inventor” itself appeared in Florence much later. Isidoro del Lungo also showed that a certain Salvino degli Armati actually died in 1340, but he was a modest artisan and had nothing to do with glasses.

In a word, science doesn’t know for sure who invented the important thing.

18.


Fragment of a fresco from 1352. Tommaso da Modena (1325/26-1379). Cardinal Nicholas of Rouen from the portrait cycle in the chapter hall of the Dominican monastery of San Niccolo in Treviso / Tommaso da Modena. Cardinal Nicholas of Rouen. 1351-1352. Fresco. Chapter House, San Niccolò, Treviso. via

Before glasses, from ancient times, they were used for magnification. different ways: water drop; glass beads filled with water; lenses made of polished transparent stones - quartz and beryl, glass. For example, in Moscow, at the State Museum of Fine Arts. A.S. Pushkin in the hall "Ancient Troy and the excavations of Heinrich Schliemann" among the exhibits of treasure L there is a large round lens (d 5.65 cm) made of rock crystal, which could well be used as a magnifying glass - it gives approximately twofold magnification.

19.

Fresco from 1352. Tommaso da Modena (1325/26-1379). Height 150 cm. Cardinal Nicholas of Rouen from the portrait cycle in the chapter hall of the Dominican monastery of San Niccolo in Treviso / Tommaso da Modena. Cardinal Nicholas of Rouen. 1351-52. Fresco. Chapter House, San Niccolò, Treviso. via

In the 11th century, the Arab scientist Ibn al-Haysan Alhazen (c.965-c.1039) created a fundamental work on optics. In Europe this work is known as "Opticae Thesaurus" / "Treasure of Optics", in which he described the lens as a spherical surface. He called it "the reading stone." Around 1240, Alhazen's Treasures of Optics was translated into Latin, which contributed to the development of optics in the west.

20.

? via

Properties of the eye as a living one optical device were studied by the German astronomer Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), who was one of the inventors of the telescope. The improvement of glasses was carried out by Francis Bacon (1561-1626), who at one time was engaged in optics.

22.


1436 Jan Van Eyck (c.1385/1390-1441). Fragment of the painting “Madonna of Canon van der Paele”. Oil on wood, 122 x 157 cm. Museum Groninge, Bruges. Click here to see the whole picture. via

In medieval Italy, glasses were attached to the brim of the hat. The Spanish King Philip II mounted them on a flat wooden wedge, the sharp end of which was also hidden under the hat. The pince-nez depicted in ancient paintings grabbed the nose like a large clothespin and was uncomfortable.

At the end of the 17th century. Glasses with laces that tied at the back of the head came into fashion. In some cases, they were held with the help of weights at the ends of ropes, previously wound behind the ears.

Around 1750, glasses began to have temples attached to them so they could stay on the ears. It seems that the first to do this was the London optician Edward Scarlett at the beginning of the 18th century.

23.

Evangelist Mark wearing glasses, circa 1500. Illustration 1 / Mark the Evangelist."The Tilliot Hours", Tours, ca. 1500. British Library, Yates Thompson 5, fol. 12r. . Click to see the entire sheet

Having appeared in the world of objects at the end of the 13th century, glasses remained very expensive for a long time, which was explained by the difficulty of making truly clean and transparent glasses. Along with jewelry, kings, princes and other rich people included them in their wills.

Only educated, wealthiest people used glasses. Sometimes it happened that glasses were worn not out of necessity, but out of a desire to show wealth and status.

24.


Circa 1518. Portrait of Leo X with cardinals Giulio de' Medici and Luigi Rossi. Rafael Santi. Uffizi. Fragment. Click on the whole picture / Around 1518. Original Title: Ritratto di Leone X coi cardinali Giulio de" Medici e Luigi de" Rossi. w1195 x h1555 mm. Oil on panel. Uffizi Gallery. The painting depicts Pope Leo X (Giovanni de" Medici, 1475-1521), son of Lorenzo il Magnifico, with Giulio de" Medici (1478-1534), future Pope Clement VII to the left and Luigi de Rossi (1474-1519) , his cousin, to the right. The painting was sent to Florence in 1518 for the wedding of Lorenzo de" Medici, Duke of Urbino, and Maddalena de la Tour d" Auvergne. It was exhibited in the tribune from 1589.

After the invention of printing in the mid-15th century, the need for glasses increased: their benefits for those suffering from farsightedness became obvious. Concave glasses for the short-sighted, as already mentioned, were invented later - in the 16th century. The first scientifically reliable evidence of the use of glasses for myopia is the portrait of Pope Leo X, made by Raphael (1517-1519). Leo X was nearsighted and, when going hunting, which he loved very much, he put on glasses.

Glasses were now used relatively widely.

25.

1599. Francisco Pacheco (1564-1644), one of Velazquez's teachers. Portrait of the Spanish poet and writer Francisco de Quevedo (1580-1645). Based on a lost painting by Diego Velazquez (1599-1660) / Retrato de Francisco de Quevedo en Francisco Pacheco, El libro de descripción de verdaderos retratos, ilustres y memorables varones, Sevilla, 1599. via

Glasses have been known in Russian lands since the 17th century; they were very expensive. In the “Expense Book of the Treasury” of Tsar Mikhail for 1614, it is stated that for the Tsar, “crystal glasses are faceted on one side and smooth on the other, which, looking at them, makes a lot of sense.” The first optical master in Russia was Ivan Eliseevich Belyaev, who founded the optical chamber at the Imperial Academy of Sciences.

26.


El Greco. Around 1600. Portrait of Cardinal Don Fernando Niño de Guevara. Fragment. On click - full view/ Cardinal Fernando Niño de Guevara (1541-1609). El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) (Greek, Iráklion (Candia) 1540/41-1614 Toledo). Date: ca. 1600. Medium: Oil on canvas. Dimensions: 67 1/4 x 42 1/2in. (170.8 x 108cm). Classification: Paintings. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Chinese were also credited as the inventors of glasses.

From the book "Ancient Inventions" by Peter James and Nick Thorpe:

"Intensive research into the question of the origin of glasses, although incomplete, was enough to rush to the statement: the inventors were the Chinese. For many years, this version was based on the following fact given in the book “Explaining Mysterious Things,” written by Chao Ji Ku, who lived in the 13th century. century.

“Ai-tai look like large coins, and the color resembles mica. When old people feel dizzy and their vision deteriorates, they cannot read small print, then they put ai-tai on their eyes and are able to concentrate, as the outlines of the letters become clear. The ai-tai come from the western regions of Malacca.”

27.

As they spread, glasses also became a symbol of spiritual blindness. "A vain, bespectacled book collector who dusts off books but doesn't read them." Woodcut. 1497 / De inutilibus libris (1497), Harvard University. Of Useless Books. This woodcut is attributed to the artist the Haintz-Nar-Meister. It is an illustration from the book Stultifera navis (Ship of Fools) by Sebastian Brant, published by Johann Bergmann in Basel in 1498. / Click on option: Johannes Geiler von Kaysersberg: Navicula sive Speculum fatuorum. Straßburg, (sog. Postinkunabel oder Frühdruck: Drucke nach dem 31. December 1500). Date 1510. Ex Bibliotheca Gymnasii Altonani (Hamburg). Anonymous.

Since the book of Chao Ji Ku was written around 1240,<...>then the researchers considered that this proves the primacy of the Chinese in the invention of glasses. However<...>the first copies of the book did not contain a passage about glasses. He apparently got there during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The passage that mentions the kingdom of Malacca on the Malaysian Peninsula nevertheless holds the key to the origin of the oldest Chinese glasses. A Chinese court chronicle, which dates back to about 1410, describes how the king of Malacca presented ten glasses as a gift to the emperor. At that time, Arab and Persian merchants often came to Malacca, and, most likely, they brought these first, highly valued glasses from the West.

28.

Dutch proverb: What's the use of a candle and glasses if the owl doesn't want to see. Caption: Heretics cannot see the rays of divine truth / Although it shines brighter than the light of day. George Wither, A Collection of Emblems. London, 1635, Book 4, Illustr. XLV. // Caecus Nil Luce Iuvatur / Caecus nil facibus nil lychni luce iuvatur / Nec videt in media noctua stulta die. / Hee that is blind, will see nothing / What light soe"re about him bee. via 1, via 2, via 3.

The Chinese can, however, claim primacy in the invention of smoked glasses, to which there is a reference in the “Records of Leisure Hours” written by a certain Liu Chi in beginning of XII V. These glasses were made from smoky quartz, and judges wore them, not to protect their eyes from the sun, but to hide their attitude towards the verdict during his announcement at court. "

29.

?

And in conclusion - the Armenian trace in history. Based on literature data, R.G. Otyan in the publication "Izvestia of the Academy of Sciences of the Armenian SSR", Social Sciences", No. 3, 1963, provides information that proves that at the beginning of the 14th century, some of the Armenian book copyists - grichners - used glasses and even highly valued them.

30.


Illustrations from the article by R. G. Otyan “Information on wearing glasses in the Middle Ages” // News of the Academy of Sciences of Armenia. SSR, Social Sciences, No. 3, 1963, pp. 87-94

"The photographs presented in the text were taken from fragments of faience vessels and depict two people wearing glasses. These fragments, discovered during excavations of the city of Ani by academician I.Ya. Marr, date back to the 12th-13th centuries." At the time of publication, they were stored in the State Historical Museum of Armenia.

"The data presented indicate that the existing opinion about the appearance of glasses among different peoples of the USSR in the 15th-17th centuries is not correct, since glasses in Armenia (and perhaps among neighboring peoples) have an earlier history."

Sources, literature, notes:

Alexander Alexandrovich Khannikov. Technology: from antiquity to the present day. M.: 2011
History of glasses / BBC. Myopia gene promises relief from glasses
1976 publication: History of glasses. E. Lagutina // Health Magazine. 1976/4
Peter James, Nick Thorpe. Ancient inventions. Ancient Inventions. — Mn.: Potpourri, 1997
Oleg Sergeevich Voskoboynikov. Millennial Kingdom (300-1300). Essay on Christian culture of the West. New Literary Review, 2015.