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Peridot
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As
discussed previously, the Septuagint’s ‘ Topazion’
denotes what we call Peridot.
However, it is very unlikely that the green Peridot was the ‘Pitdah’ gemstone of Aaron’s breastplate
at the time of the exodus in 1444 B.C. We can conclude
this, as Peridot’s discovery took place around the same
time as the Septuagint’s translation, under the reign
of the Pharaoh Ptolemy II circa 300 B.C. In addition,
we know that the Septuagint’s misappropriation of ‘Topazion’ led to the misnomer of the 1611 ‘King James Version,’
denoting it as ‘ Topaz’. But what of the word Peridot and its etymological roots, how did it receive its current
moniker?
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The origin of the word Peridot itself is unclear. However,
one thing is sure, that the term was not in existence
before the 1st Century A.D. at the time of Pliny: As
he clearly refers to Peridot from the Island of Zabargad
as 'Topazion' or ‘Topazos’. In fact this term was used to
denote Peridot up until the fall of the Roman Empire. |
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During
Pliny’s time it was not uncommon that gemstones received
more than one name, and that unrelated gems share names
in common: a modern example of this is Olivine and Chrysolite,
both used to denote Peridot. Another such generic appendage
was ‘Paederos’ (Greek for: ‘Beautiful Youth’),
or the later version of ‘Pederote,’ (Latin: pronounced Ped-or-oat):
employed by Pliny to denote amethyst and opal. However, the less descerning Roman public used ‘Pederote’
to refer
to most good-looking gems.
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Towards
the end of the Roman Empire, Western Europe fell to
the barbarians, but in the Near East Roman culture survived
within the Byzantine Empire. Under the Byzantines, words
and languages bequeathed by the previous Greek and Roman
cultures were continued. Similarly art and culture prospered,
especially the skills of the lapidaries.
However, soon enough the East became the envy of the West, and under the pious concept of reuniting Christendom with the West, the crusades began. France, at the fore of the eight crusades taking place between the 10th and the 12th Centuries, was represented in the Holy Lands by the Templar Knights. During the two centuries the Templars amassed great wealth, returning to Europe with their newly acquired booty of precious metals, jewelry and gemstones: amongst which, was the comparitvley unknown golden gemstone we know today as Peridot. |
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It
was during the crusades of the medieval period that
a perversion of the word ‘Pederote’ resurfaced.
It appeared in the French book ‘Les Lapidaires Français,’
written sometime between 1100 and 1250 A.D. The ‘Lapidaire Français.' was written specifically for the use of the educated Norman aristocracy who also occupied England at the time. The book
outlined 60 gems giving their medicinal value, magical
properties and moral significations: one of the featured
gems was the ‘ Pedoretés’ (pronounced Peh-door-ray). The first recorded instance of this word in popular
use by the aristocracy appears in a 11th Century message
written by the French lord, Mont Cassin de Solinus,
where he uses a word to describe a green gemstone: ‘Perodote’ (pronounced Peh-roh-doh). |
However, comparing Solinus' later ‘Perodote' (Peh-roh-doh) with the earlier ‘Lapidaire Français' ‘Pedoretés' (Peh-door-ray), we can hear and see that there has been a reversal of the second and third syllable. In linguistics this is called a ‘Metathesis': a phenomenon where two sounds appearing in particular order in one word, overtime will
occur in the reverse order in the same word. French
etymologists from the ‘Académie Français’
believe that this explains the shift in the two words.
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The
excerpt below was taken from a later book ‘Lapidaire
Des Pierres Gravées’ documenting the etymology
of ‘ Peridot’ in France from the 13th Century onwards.
It gives Peridot’s name during the 13th Century as ‘Peridol’
(pronounced Peh-rii-dole), and as ‘Peridon’ (pronounced
Peh-rii-dohn) during the later 14th Century.
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Peridon (Peridol) [ Peridot gemstone, also called green-yellowish olivine. ‘A gem called peridon enclosed
in gold.’ xx sols t, (invoice of the Duke of Berry,
year 1416.)- viii ‘gemstones of which there were a grenas,
a lopue, an ametiste and a peridol’ (invoice of the Duke of Anjou year 1360.] ” |
As
mentioned before, the Norman French occupied England
during this period, and the aristocracy imposed their
language upon their English subjects. This greatly influenced
the development of the English language: causing Old
French words to be assimilated into the Middle English
language. However, Peridot wasn’t the only alias to
be appropriated to the green gemstone from these sources.
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Up until the 19th Century A.D., another
Greek word was also used to denote Peridot and
gemstones similar in aspect: Chrysolite. This originally
came from the Greek ‘Khrysolithos’, ‘Khryso’ meaning
golden and ‘Lithos’ meaning stone. It transformed into
‘Chrysolithus’ in Latin, and ‘Crisolite’ in Old French,
eventually becoming ‘Chrysolite’ in Middle English. |
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The
French poet Philippe de Thaon wrote the following excerpt
in 1112 A.D.: ‘Crisolite ure celeste, qui ourent
out vie terrestre.’ Translated the passage reads:
‘ Chrysolite the celestial happiness, which they
had with the terrestrial life.’ However, there
is no conclusive proof to indicate that he was talking
of our Peridot, as Chrysolite was also used to describe
the majority of all yellow to yellow-green transparent
gemstones including: Topaz, prehnite, apatite, sapphire,
chrysoberyl, beryl, tourmaline, and andradite garnet.
By today’s standards such an inaccurate, generic term
is disused. |
A similar term of equally broad connotations
was also appropriated to Peridot: Olivine. This originated
from the Greek ‘Elaiw’ or ‘Elai’, transforming to the
Latin ‘Olva’ and eventually to the French ‘Olivine’.
In 17th Century France it was a jeweler’s term for a
variety of their Chrysolite, today it is a term used
to denote one of the most common mineral types on the
Earth’s surface, a magnesium/iron silicate in which
the ratio of magnesium and iron vary between the two
mineral extremities: Forsterite (Mg2SiO4) and Fayalite
(Fe2SiO4). Peridot is actually a rare sub-species of
the Olivine group: Forsterite-Olivine. Forsterite, the
mineralogical term used to denote the Olivine species of Peridot, was named in honor of the German mineralogist
J. R. Forster. |
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It is important to state that the etymological theories on these
pages are speculative, and should not be taken as gospel.
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