Medieval Sourcebook:
Procopius: The Roman Silk Industry, c. 550
Procopius shows how the silk industry was first introduced into Europe from the
Orient.
About the same time there came from India certain monks; and when they had satisfied
Justinian Augustus that the Romans no longer should buy silk from the Persians, they
promised the emperor in an interview that they would provide the materials for making silk
so that never should the Romans seek business of this kind from their enemy the Persians,
or from any other people whatsoever. They said that they were formerly in Serinda, which
they call the region frequented by the people of the Indies, and there they learned
perfectly the art of making silk. Moreover, to the emperor who plied them with many
questions as to whether he might have the secret, the monks replied that certain worms
were manufacturers of silk, nature itself forcing them to keep always at work; the worms
could certainly not be brought here alive, but they could be grown easily and without
difficulty; the eggs of single hatchings are innumerable; as soon as they are laid men
cover them with dung and keep them warm for as long as it is necessary so that they
produce insects. When they had announced these tidings, led on by liberal promises of the
emperor to prove the fact, they returned to India. When they had brought the eggs to
Byzantium, the method having been learned, as I have said, they changed them by
metamorphosis into worms which feed on the leaves of mulberry. Thus began the art of
making silk from that time on in the Roman Empire.
Source.
From: Procopii Caesariensis Historiarum Temporis Sui Tetras Altera. De Bello Gothico,
trans. Claudius Maltretus (Venice, 1729), Lib. IV, cap. XVII, p. 212; reprinted in Roy C.
Cave & Herbert H. Coulson, eds., A Source Book for Medieval Economic History, (Milwaukee:
The Bruce Publishing Co., 1936; reprint ed., New York: Biblo & Tannen, 1965), pp.
244-245.
Scanned by Jerome S. Arkenberg, Cal. State Fullerton. The text has been modernized by
Prof. Arkenberg.
This text is part of the Internet
Medieval Source Book. The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and
copy-permitted texts related to medieval and Byzantine history.
Unless otherwise indicated the specific electronic form of the document is copyright.
Permission is granted for electronic copying, distribution in print form for educational
purposes and personal use. If you do reduplicate the document, indicate the source. No
permission is granted for commercial use.
© Paul Halsall, October 1998
halsall@fordham.edu
The Internet History Sourcebooks Project is located at the History Department of Fordham University, New York. The Internet
Medieval Sourcebook, and other medieval components of the project, are located at
the Fordham University Center
for Medieval Studies.The IHSP recognizes the contribution of Fordham University, the
Fordham University History Department, and the Fordham Center for Medieval Studies in
providing web space and server support for the project. The IHSP is a project independent of Fordham University. Although the IHSP seeks to follow all applicable copyright law, Fordham University is not
the institutional owner, and is not liable as the result of any legal action.
© Site Concept and Design: Paul Halsall created 26 Jan 1996: latest revision 15 November 2024 [CV]
|
