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Lyngurium
Lyngurium or Ligurium is the name of a mythical gemstone believed to be formed of the solidified urine of the lynx (the best ones coming from wild males). It was included in classical and "almost every medieval lapidary" or book of gems until it gradually disappeared from view in the 17th century. Properties and history As well as various medical properties, lyngurium was credited with the power to attract objects, including metal; in fact it seems likely that what was thought to be lyngurium was either a type of yellow amber, which was known to the Ancient Greeks, but obtained from the distant Baltic coast, or forms of tourmaline. The first surviving description of Lyngurium is by Theophrastus (died c. 287 BC), and most later descriptions derive from his account. Theophrastus said it was: ...carved into signets and is hard as any stone, ndhas an unusual power. For it attracts other objects just as amber does, and some people claim that it acts not only on straws and leaves, b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lapidary (text)
A lapidary is a text in verse or prose, often a whole book, that describes the physical properties and virtues of precious and semi-precious stones, that is to say, a work on gemology. It was frequently used as a medical textbook since it also comprises practical information about each stone's medical application. Several lapidaries also provide information about countries or regions where some rocks were thought to originate, and others speculate about the natural forces in control of their formation. Lapidaries were very popular in the Middle Ages when belief in gems' inherent power for various purposes was widely held. Among the wealthy, collecting jewels was often an obsession and a popular way to store and transport capital. In the Middle Ages, scholars often distinguish "three different kinds of lapidaries: 1. the scientific lapidary 2. the magical or astrological lapidary that sets the relationship between the Signs of the zodiac and a particular gemstone and 3. the Christian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Priestly Breastplate
The priestly breastplate or breastpiece of judgment ( he, חֹשֶׁן ''ḥōšen'') was a sacred breastplate worn by the High Priest of the Israelites, according to the Book of Exodus. In the biblical account, the breastplate is termed the ''breastplate of judgment'' ( he, חֹשֶׁן מִשְׁפָּט ''ḥōšen mišpāṭ'' - ), because the Urim and Thummim ( he, הָאוּרִים וְהַתֻּמִּים ''hāʾūrīm wəhattummīm'') were placed upon it.(). These elements of the breastplate are said in the Exodus verse to carry the judgement ( he, מִשְׁפָּט ''mišpāṭ'') of God concerning the Israelites at all times. Hebrew Bible According to the description in Exodus, this breastplate was attached to the tunic-like garment known as an ephod by gold chains/cords tied to the gold rings on the ephod's shoulder straps, and by blue ribbon tied to the gold rings at the belt of the ephod. The biblical description states that the breastplate was also to be made f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theophrastus
Theophrastus (; grc-gre, Θεόφραστος ; c. 371c. 287 BC), a Greek philosopher and the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He was a native of Eresos in Lesbos.Gavin Hardy and Laurence Totelin, ''Ancient Botany'', Routledge, 2015, p. 8. His given name was Tyrtamus (); his nickname (or 'godly phrased') was given by Aristotle, his teacher, for his "divine style of expression". He came to Athens at a young age and initially studied in Plato's school. After Plato's death, he attached himself to Aristotle who took to Theophrastus in his writings. When Aristotle fled Athens, Theophrastus took over as head of the Lyceum. Theophrastus presided over the Peripatetic school for thirty-six years, during which time the school flourished greatly. He is often considered the father of botany for his works on plants. After his death, the Athenians honoured him with a public funeral. His successor as head of the school was Strato of Lampsacus. The interests of Theophrastus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flavius Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly descent and a mother who claimed royal ancestry. He initially fought against the Romans during the First Jewish–Roman War as head of Jewish forces in Galilee, until surrendering in 67 AD to Roman forces led by Vespasian after the six-week siege of Yodfat. Josephus claimed the Jewish Messianic prophecies that initiated the First Jewish–Roman War made reference to Vespasian becoming Emperor of Rome. In response, Vespasian decided to keep Josephus as a slave and presumably interpreter. After Vespasian became Emperor in 69 AD, he granted Josephus his freedom, at which time Josephus assumed the emperor's family name of Flavius.Simon Claude Mimouni, ''Le Judaïsme ancien du VIe siècle avant notre ère au IIIe siècle de notre ère : Des ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was affiliated with the Reformed Church in America, Dutch Reformed Church. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States, the second-oldest in New Jersey (after Princeton University), and one of the nine U.S. colonial colleges that were chartered before the American Revolution.Stoeckel, Althea"Presidents, professors, and politics: the colonial colleges and the American revolution", ''Conspectus of History'' (1976) 1(3):45–56. In 1825, Queen's College was renamed Rutgers College in honor of Colonel Henry Rutgers, whose substantial gift to the school had stabilized its finances during a period of uncertainty. For most of its existence, Rutgers was a Private university, private liberal arts college but it has evolved int ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toadstone
The toadstone, also known as bufonite (from Latin , "toad"), is a mythical stone or gem that was thought to be found in the head of a toad. It was supposed to be an antidote to poison and in this it is like batrachite, supposedly formed in the heads of frogs. Toadstones were actually the button-like fossilised teeth of ''Lepidotes'', an extinct genus of ray-finned fish from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. They appeared to be "stones that are perfect in form" and were set by European jewellers into magical rings and amulets from Medieval times until the 18th century. Beliefs From ancient times people associated the fossils with jewels that were set inside the heads of toads. The toad has poison glands in its skin, so it was naturally assumed that they carried their own antidote and that this took the form of a magical stone. They were first recorded by Pliny the Elder in the first century. According to Paul Taylor of the London Natural History Museum: The true toadst ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hyraceum
Hyraceum () is the petrified and rock-like excrement composed of both urine and feces excreted by the Cape hyrax (''Procavia capensis'', also referred to as the rock hyrax or dassie). The rock hyrax defecates in the same location over generations, which may be sheltered in caves. These locations form middens that are composed of hyraceum and hyrax pellets, which can be petrified and preserved for over 50,000 years. These middens form a record of past climate and vegetation. It is also a sought-after material that has been used in both traditional South African medicine and perfumery. Hyraceum in perfumery The material hardens and ages until it becomes a fairly sterile, rock-like material (also referred to as "Africa Stone") that contains compounds giving it an animalic, deeply complex fermented scent that combines the elements of musk, castoreum, civet, tobacco and agarwood. The material is harvested without disturbing the animals by digging strata of the brittle, resinous, ir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward Topsell
Edward Topsell (''circa'' 1572 – 1625) was an English cleric and author best remembered for his bestiary. Topsell was born and educated in Sevenoaks, Kent. He attended Christ's College, Cambridge, earned his B.A. and probably an M.A., as well, before beginning a career in the Church of England. He served as the first rector of East Hoathly in Sussex, and subsequently became the perpetual curate of St Botolph's, Aldersgate (1604). He was the author of books on religious and moral themes, including ''The Reward of Religion'' (1596) and ''Time's Lamentation'' (1599), among others. Topsell's ''The History of Four-footed Beasts'' (1607) and ''The History of Serpents'' (1608), both published by William Jaggard, were reprinted together as ''The History of Four-Footed Beasts and Serpents'' in 1658. An 1100-page treatise on zoology, Topsell's work repeats ancient and fantastic legends about actual animals, as well as reports of mythical animals. Topsell, not a naturalist himself, rel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Danish Language
Danish (; , ) is a North Germanic language spoken by about six million people, principally in and around Denmark. Communities of Danish speakers are also found in Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and the northern German region of Southern Schleswig, where it has minority language status. Minor Danish-speaking communities are also found in Norway, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Brazil, and Argentina. Along with the other North Germanic languages, Danish is a descendant of Old Norse, the common language of the Germanic peoples who lived in Scandinavia during the Viking Era. Danish, together with Swedish, derives from the ''East Norse'' dialect group, while the Middle Norwegian language (before the influence of Danish) and Norwegian Bokmål are classified as ''West Norse'' along with Faroese and Icelandic. A more recent classification based on mutual intelligibility separates modern spoken Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish as "mainland (or ''continental'') Scandinavian", while I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jacinth
Jacinth (, ) or hyacinth () is a yellow-red to red-brown variety of zircon used as a gemstone. In Exodus 28:19, one of the precious stones set into the ''hoshen'' (the breastplate worn by the High Priest of Israel) is called, in Hebrew, '' leshem'', which is often translated into English as "jacinth". The true identity of this stone has been a source of confusion since at least the first century; the modern identification of ''leshem'' with jacinth seems to have been popularised by Martin Luther, who may in turn have been following a fourth-century tradition. In Revelation 21:20, one of the foundation stones of the New Jerusalem is hyacinth (Greek: ''hyakinthos''). However, ''Strong's Concordance'' and ''Thayer's Greek Lexicon'' describe this as a stone of the colour of the hyacinth plant, i.e. dark blue. The stone intended may be the sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elemen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Book Of Exodus
The Book of Exodus (from grc, Ἔξοδος, translit=Éxodos; he, שְׁמוֹת ''Šəmōṯ'', "Names") is the second book of the Bible. It narrates the story of the Exodus, in which the Israelites leave slavery in Biblical Egypt through the strength of Yahweh, who has chosen them as his people. The Israelites then journey with the prophet Moses to Mount Sinai, where Yahweh gives the 10 commandments and they enter into a covenant with Yahweh, who promises to make them a "holy nation, and a kingdom of priests" on condition of their faithfulness. He gives them their laws and instructions to build the Tabernacle, the means by which he will come from heaven and dwell with them and lead them in a holy war to possess the land of Canaan (the "Promised Land"), which had earlier, according to the story of Genesis, been promised to the seed of Abraham. Traditionally ascribed to Moses himself, modern scholars see its initial composition as a product of the Babylonian exile (6th ce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
