The English were skillful workers in metal, especially in gold and
silver, and also in the illumination of manuscripts.[1] Alfred's
Jewel, a fine specimen of the blue-enameled gold of the ninth century,
is preseved in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. It bears the
inscription: "Alfred me heht gewurcan," Alfred caused me to be worked
[or made].
[1] These illuminations get their name from the gold, silver, and
bright colors used in the pictures, borders, and decorated letters
with which the monks ornamented these books. For beautiful specimens
of he work, see Silvestre's "Pale'ographie."
The women of that period excelled in weaving fine linen and woolen
cloth and in embroidering tapestry.