The Lemon in China and Elsewhere (article)

The Lemon in China and Elsewhere
By Berthold Laufer, for Journal of the American Oriental Society (1934)

Okay, let me preface this (because I can never focus, damnit) by saying that I have a few articles by Laufer on a variety of topics and I quite like him.

The Lemon in China and Elsewhere: this article is mostly irrelevant, but it presents a discussion of the earliest records of lemons as a medicinal and edible resource in Indian, Chinese, Arabic and European literature. It makes useful reference to Friar Odoric and Ibn Battuta.

(Speaking of which, votes: should I re-read Ibn Battuta? His travel narrative was assigned to me by an enthusiastic art history professor who was teaching a class on Islamic art that I ended up dropping like acid. But I still read Ibn Battuta, because he seemed cool, and my vague, useless recollection of the text is positive. Thoughts?)

I’m skipping over the majority of the article and jumping to the last few pages, where Laufer brings in some of the later European threads of the lemon story. If it becomes important later, note to self: the majority of the article is a detailed chronicle of the lemon as it moves through Eastern literature.

On to Europe: “The earliest references to lemons in India on the part of European travelers are by the two friars, Odoric of Pordenone and Jordanus” (157). Arabic writers note the fruit much earlier (lemons make frequent appearances in Arabian Nights) and Ibn Battuta, like Odoric, details their use in deterring and removing stubborn leeches. Jordanus speaks to the diversity of lemons – some sweet, some sour. Eventually, as Laufer notes, the lemon migrates to Europe and becomes well established in Italy and then Germany and France. It is not until the reign of James I that lemons are definitely cultivated in England.

Is Laufer still alive? He might document the migration of lemons to North America, right to the point that coastal eccentric Jean-Marc planted a huge organic fruit garden/grove in his greenhouse on Denny Island, across the channel from Bella Bella.