LOCUSTS (Carob)

3rd February 2024

Photo Credits: Carob Tree, Michel Viard (Getty Images); Pod & Beans ValentynVolkov (Getty Images), CANVA

QUOTATION

The food that to him now is as luscious as locusts shall be

to him shortly as bitter as coloquintida.

She must change for youth. When she is sated with his body

She will find the error of her choice.

IAGO: Othello, Act 1, Scene 3

LOCUSTS (Carob: Ceratonia siliqua)

There is only one reference in Shakespeare and the context makes it clear that it is the Carob Tree rather than the insect which is intended. The quotation celebrates the sweetness of the Carob seed which has been used as a sweet food, famine food and Cocoa substitute.

John Gerard (1597) calls the Carob Tree ‘St John’s Bread’ and recognises that it is also sometimes called ‘Locusts’ after the Bible reference although he disagrees with the reasoning. He says that it grows in parts of the Mediterranean including Palestine, but that it also grows in the West Indies and Virginia, and the dried beans are used as a sweet treat and a famine food. He also says ‘I have sowne the seeds in my garden, where they have prospered exceeding well.’ In the Geneva Bible Matthew 3:4 and also Mark 1:6 there is a reference to locusts which are sometimes identified as Carob beans. ‘Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of skin about his loins: and he did eat locusts and wild honey’.

The Carob bean was connected with the name and the weight of the ‘carat’ the unit of measurement for gemstones and gold purity. The tradition was that Carob beans were so consistent in weight that they could be used a standard unit of measurement. Recent scientific studies have challenged this assumption.

The Carob Tree is a medium sized tree of the Fabaceae (Legume Family) which grows long pods containing beans which turn dark brown when they are mature. It is native to parts of the Mediterranean, South East Europe, up to Iran but it has been introduced into many countries.

More Information

Folger Shakespeare Library: Search Shakespeare’s Works

John Gerard 1597, The Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes (accessed via Archive.org)

Geneva Bible 1599 Edition: Accessed via Bible Gateway

Kew Plants of the World Online: Ceratonia siliqua

Turnbull et. al. 2006, Seed size variability: from carob to carats. Biology Letters, Sep 22; 2(3): 397–400 (view article)