The Eyeglasses and It's History

The eyes, they say, are the windows to one's soul. Look a person in the eye, and you can see if he/she is sincere. This is something that I believe is true. But what if you yourself cannot see clearly? That, then, becomes a problem.

Thankfully, eyeglasses came into the picture, making it possible for those even with eyesight problems see things clearly. The origin of this very clever piece of craftsmanship dates back around 65AD (or maybe earlier) in Italy and they weren't even in the form that we are now familiar with. Early reports said that this device originated from a glass globe filled with water used as a magnifier by a Roman philosopher to read "all the books of Rome". In the year 1000, the crafty glass blowers of Italy were credited for producing devices very similar to the magnifiying lens that we have today.

It is still the Italians who are believed to have created the first form of eyeglasses in the late 13th century. And did you know that eyeglasses were called "spectacles" in the olden days? The first two artworks depicting a subject wearing these so called "spectacles" were the ones from Italian artists Tommaso da Modena and Crivelli in 1352. The former painted a series of frescoes where one subject is a monk who was reading manuscripts with eyeglasses perched on his nose and the latter painted Hugh of St. Cher, wearing bulky spectacles. Perhaps in those days, it would be so bothersome to wear these spectacles since they are heavy and bulky but since then, eyeglasses have evolved a lot. Today, one can even choose frames made of Titanium, a material which is very light yet very durable.

I used to wear eyeglasses back in my teenage days when I was myopic. It really helped especially in easing my headaches and in helping me get through all the readings and studying that I needed to do. Thankfully, my eyes are feeling better now and my optometrist even told me I don't need to wear eyeglasses when the myopic symptoms came back some months ago. I wouldn't mind wearing eyeglasses again though, especially if they will help make me look more chic and cool.

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