Folklore of Luminous Rubies

[SunKat]

Luminous rubies belonging to the King of Ceylon, Emperor Manuel, and Henry II of France, and stories told by Cleandro Arnobio and Garcias ab Orta about luminous rubies

After noting the reports of medieval travellers regarding the wonderful luminous rubies of the sovereigns of Pegu and repeating the tale that the night was illumined by their splendor, Cleandro Arnobio adds that it did not appear that any such rubies were to be found in his day. Nevertheless, he had heard from an ecclesiastic of a certain jewel that showed brightly at night. This stone, however, was not a ruby, but was of a pale citron hue, and hence Arnobio inclines to believe that it was either a topaz or a yellow diamond. (Arnobio, "Il tesoro delle gioie," Venice, 1602.) This probably refers to the Marburg "carbuncle."

The luminous "ruby" of the King of Ceylon is noted by Chau Ju-Kua, (See the English translation of this "Chu-fan-chi," by Friedrich Hirth and W. W. Rockhill, St. Petersburg, 1911, p. 72.) a Chinese writer of about the middle of the thirteenth century and hence a contemporary of the Arab Teifashi. He says: "The king holds in his hand a jewel five inches in diameter, which cannot be burned by fire, and which shines in the night like a torch." This gigantic luminous gem was also believed to possess the virtues of an elixir of youth, for we are told that the king rubbed his face with it daily and by this means would retain his youthful looks even should he live more than ninety years.

The glories of Emperor Manuel's (ca. 1120-1180) throne are celebrated by the Hebrew traveller Benjamin of Tudela, who visited Constantinople in 1161 A.D. This splendid throne was of gold studded with precious stones and, suspended from the canopy by gold chains, hung a magnificent golden crown set with jewels of incalculable value and so bright and sparkling that their glitter rendered needless any other illumination at night. ("Die Reisebeschreibung des R. Benjamin von Tudela," ed. by L. Grunhut and Marcus N. Adler, Jerusalem, 1903, pt. ii, trans.)

When Henry II of France (1519-1559) made his solemn entry into the city of Boulogne, a stranger from India presented to the sovereign a luminous stone. It was rather soft, had a fiery brilliance, and could not be touched with impunity. According to De Thou, this story was vouched for by J. Pipin, who saw the stone himself and described it in a letter to Antoine Mizauld, a writer on occult themes, well known in his day. (Beckmann, "History of Inventions," English trans., London, 1846.)

Although Garcias ab Orta did not believe in the tales current in his time regarding luminous rubies, he relates a story of such a stone told to him by a gem-dealer. This man stated that he had purchased a number of fine but small rubies from Ceylon, and had spread them out over a table. When he gathered them up again, one of the stones remained hidden in a fold of the table-cloth. In the night he remarked something like a flame emanating from the table. Lighting a candle, he approached the table and found there the small ruby; when this was removed and the candle extinguished, the light was no longer visible. Garcias admits that the gem-dealers were fond of telling good stories, but he concludes with the dictum, "we must trust in them nevertheless." (Garcias ab Orta, "Aromatum historia" (Lat. version by Clusius), Antverpiae, 579.)

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