24-10-2018, 07:41 PM
Apropos of nothing, I seem to remember that the Romans made a luxury cloth woven out of asbestos. Must have been scratchy!
It was certainly well known as a novelty throughout antiquity and the middle ages. Charlemagne had an asbesto tablecloth he used to perform tricks with.
In the link MarcoP provides above, the correct latin word amianto[n] is used, not anchiton. Which is strange, because in Biblia Santa... it's clearly anchiton, and has a marginalia reference to prove it. I wonder why the difference?
In Bibliorium sacrorum et glossa ordinaria (You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.) there are two index cross references to anchiton where it is described as a tree giving a strong and clean burning fire:
It was certainly well known as a novelty throughout antiquity and the middle ages. Charlemagne had an asbesto tablecloth he used to perform tricks with.
In the link MarcoP provides above, the correct latin word amianto[n] is used, not anchiton. Which is strange, because in Biblia Santa... it's clearly anchiton, and has a marginalia reference to prove it. I wonder why the difference?
In Bibliorium sacrorum et glossa ordinaria (You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.) there are two index cross references to anchiton where it is described as a tree giving a strong and clean burning fire:
Quote:anchiton ligni genus vel ligno simile, quanto plus arserit, tan to mundius inenitur (p.1.col.773.a)(I haven't tracked down where the cross reference is taking us yet...)