De un message a me: >>>>>> Dear Stan, A source for information on the Internet: http://www.eye.etmem.edu/history/glass.html Here are some quotes from the writer, Dr. Richard D. Drewry, M.D.: Nero used an emerald help up to his eye while he watched gladiators fight. This is not proof that the Romans had any idea about lenses, since it is likely that Nero used the emerald because of its green color, which filtered the sunlight. Roger Bacon in 1298 noted the effect of looking at things through crystals. It appears that the first eyeglasses were made between 1268 and 1289. In 1306 a monk of Pisa delivered a sermon in which he stated: "It is not yet 20 years since the art of making spectacles... was discovered. I myself have seen and conversed with the man who made them first." The name of the true inventor of eyeglasses remains lost in obscurity. The first spectacles had quartz lenses because optical glass had not been developed. >From this, I would assume that the Germanic name for eyeglasses came from the name of the crystal first used in aiding the eyes in reading. The monks used these crystals early to reading manuscripts as with magnifying glass effect. I hope that this helps. Morey Brill