Where does this come from, and can I check it?

A Florentine sermon from 1306 mentions lenses made only recently. The figure is taken from Wellcome Collection, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a history fact?

Yes. It sits on the History shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

Spectacles appeared in Italy in the late thirteenth century

A Florentine sermon from 1306 mentions lenses made only recently Eyeglasses for reading were being made in northern Italy by the 1280s, and a sermon preached in Florence in 1306 refers to the invention as fresh. Riveted lenses perched on the nose rather than hooking over the ears. Whoever the inventor was, the claim that it was a single named individual rests on no contemporary evidence. It sits in Mondo's history collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

Wellcome Collection

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

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Tags: spectacles, optics, invention

Spectacles appeared in Italy in the late thirteenth century: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: A Florentine sermon from 1306 mentions lenses made only recently. The figure is taken from Wellcome Collection, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a history fact?: Yes. It sits on the History shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.