Top Spec!

The photo shows a medieval wood carving in a glass case in the wall of Llandaff Cathedral, Cardiff. It's my old Comprehensive school church and I've always marvelled at the arched statue of Christ (often photographed by blippers) and this very old carving dated 1430. What I like is the figure in the bottom right is wearing spectacles!

It's believed the first european glasses were invented about 1280 in Italy as the Venetians were leading glass makers at the time. By the 1450's one was able to get specs in varying strengths. Glasses made it possible for people of all walks of life to continue to read, to write, and to work at both their hobbies and professions much later in life. It also meant that people could overcome vision problems that would have been nearly insurmountable before. No wonder Fra Giordano called making glasses “an art which is one of the best and most necessary in the world.”