ANGLO-SAXON JEWELLERY (FIFTH TO SEVENTH CENTURY)--MEROVINGIAN JEWELLERY
Upon the invasion of Britain by the Teutonic races in the fifth century
personal ornaments lost their Roman character, and assumed a peculiar
type which betrays the impress of a fresh nationality on design and
workmanship.
A near alliance by origin and geographical position existed between the
Jutes, Angles, and other kindred tribes commonly known as the Saxons,
who settled in Britain, and the Franks, who stationed themselves in
Gaul. The ornaments of all these tribes bear on this account a close
similarity. Hence Anglo-Saxon jewels may for the most part be taken as
representative of all the rest; and the only contemporary Merovingian
ornaments to be noticed will be those that differ from the Anglo-Saxon
types.
In England as well as in France this remarkable group of jewellery
belongs to the period which immediately followed the extinction of the
Roman power in both countries, and extends from the fifth to the middle
of the seventh century. Personal ornaments in England were the last in
Europe to receive a characteristic species of surface decoration: for
Kent and the Isle of Wight form the extreme limit of the geographical
area in which jewellery ornamented with cloisonné inlay has been found.
The process attained here the highest point of excellence.
Anglo-Saxon jewellery occupies an exceedingly important position in the
history of the goldsmith's art. Its beauty lies in its delicate goldwork
and peculiarly harmonious blending of colours. So remarkable is the
fertility of fancy with which each jewel is adorned, that scarcely any
two are exactly identical in ornamentation. However complicated the
system of knotwork, and however frequently the same form might require
filling in, each workman appears to have been eager to express his own
individuality, and to originate some fresh method of treatment or new
variety of design.
In common with other Teutonic nations, the Anglo-Saxons were peculiarly
fond of personal ornaments. They held in high esteem both the smith--the
producer of weapons--and the goldsmith who manufactured the rings and
bracelets employed as rewards of valour. A passage in the "Exeter Book,"
which dilates on the various stations in life and the capacities
required for them, refers thus to the goldsmith: "For one a wondrous
skill in goldsmith's art is provided: full oft he decorates and well
adorns a powerful king's nobles, and he to him gives broad land in
recompense."
The graves or barrows of our Anglo-Saxon ancestors have proved
singularly prolific in personal ornaments. Extensive cemeteries have
been discovered in the midland, eastern and southern counties, and
particularly upon the downs of Kent, Sussex, and the Isle of Wight. The
barrows of Kent have revealed personal ornaments of greater wealth and
refinement than those of any other parts.
The majority of Anglo-Saxon pins were no doubt employed for fastening up
the hair. They often have as a head the figure of a bird or grotesque
animal, ornamented with garnets, like similar pins from the Continent.
One of the best, which comes from the Faversham graves in Kent, is in
the Gibbs Bequest, now in the British Museum. It is of silver, formerly
gilt; its upper part is flat and in the form of a bird set with cut
garnets. Gothic tribes had a great predilection for the bird as a
decorative subject.[14]
[14] De Baye (J.), _The industrial arts of the Anglo-Saxons_, p. 45.
A certain number of earrings have been found, but they are not common.
They are generally a ring of silver wire, plain, or twisted into a
spiral form, and hung sometimes with beads of coloured glass or clay.
The earrings worn by the Franks during the contemporary Merovingian
period are of a type unrepresented in Anglo-Saxon jewellery. They
differ in size, but are nearly all of the same pattern, and have a
plain hoop. One end is pointed to pierce the ear, and on the other
end is a polygonal metal cube, each side of which is set with a slice
of garnet or red glass.
Anglo-Saxon necklaces are composed of beads of many varieties. The
commonest, of glass, of numerous colours and shapes, are very similar to
the Roman beads. Beads of amethystine quartz, probably of Transylvanian
or German origin, and particularly beads of amber from the Baltic, are
found strung on necklaces, or were hung singly from the neck. When one
remembers the superstitious respect which was universally paid to
precious stones, and especially to amber, in early times, it is probable
that these were regarded as amulets. The more sumptuous necklaces, which
must have been worn by ladies of rank, are composed of gold beads or of
precious stones in delicate settings of twisted or beaded gold.
The pendent ornaments hung to the necklaces are very beautiful. Some are
formed of large, finely coloured garnets cut into triangle or pear
shapes and mounted in gold. Others, generally circular, are of pure gold
worked in interlaced or vermiculated patterns and set with precious
stones. A striking group of pendants is formed of coins of foreign
origin, Roman or Byzantine, or rude copies of them made in England by
Anglo-Saxon goldsmiths. In the British Museum is an elaborate necklace
of glass and terra-cotta beads with pendent gold coins of the seventh
century, which was found, together with a splendid brooch, at Sarre, in
Kent. Three of the pendants are coins of Emperors of the East--Mauricius
and Heraclius--and the fourth is a coin of Chlotaire II of France. The
central pendant, also circular, is ornamented with a section from a rod
of Roman millefiori glass set in gold.
Besides coins--the frequent use of which in late Roman jewellery has
already been noticed--there exists a well-known class of personal
ornaments known as _nummi bracteati_, bracteate coins, and sometimes as
"spangle money." They are thin discs of metal stamped in a die, so that
the design appears in relief on the face and incuse on the back. They
are generally of gold, have a beaded edging, and are supplied with
loops, also of gold, for suspension.
Fibulæ or brooches are the most numerous of all Anglo-Saxon ornaments.
They are remarkable both for their beauty and their excellence of
workmanship. Probably more than one was usually worn; and four or five
have been found in the same grave on different parts of the body. The
different types of brooches from various districts of England are
sufficiently clearly marked to permit their classification as the
ornaments of distinct peoples. For the present purpose it is convenient
to divide them into three main classes, each class consisting,
naturally, of many varieties. (1) Circular jewelled brooches found among
the remains of the Kentish Saxons, and of the Jutes of the Isle of
Wight. (2) Brooches of the sunk or concave circular type worn by the
Saxons of Berks, Oxford, and Gloucestershire. (3) Cruciform brooches--a
type of the elongated form of brooch. They are peculiar to the Angles
who formed the population of Mercia, East Anglia, and Northumbria.
(1) The circular jewelled brooches found in the cemeteries of Kent and
sometimes in the Isle of Wight, but scarcely ever in other parts of
England, may be subdivided again into three classes. The first of these,
and the most numerous, is composed of a single piece of metal decorated
with chased work and set with jewels. The second group comprises those
formed of a disc of bronze or silver, decorated with a disc of gold foil
covered with inlaid cells forming triangles and circles, with three
bosses grouped round a central boss. This type is rarer than the first,
and is often of great beauty. The third group, the finest and rarest, is
distinguished by being formed of two plates of metal joined by a band
round the edges, the upper part being prepared in the cloisonné manner
for the reception of stones or pastes, while the pin or _acus_ is fixed
to the lower. Brooches of this type, in which the stones, mostly
garnets, are set upon hatched gold foil between delicate gold cloisons,
represent at its utmost perfection the process of inlaying already
described. Three of the finest circular jewelled brooches are: the
Kingston brooch in the Mayer Collection at Liverpool, the Abingdon
brooch in the Ashmolean Museum, and the Sarre brooch in the British
Museum. The first, which is certainly the most beautiful, is 3-3/16
inches in diameter. The front is divided into compartments subdivided
into cells of various forms, enriched with vermicular gold, with
turquoises and with garnets laid upon gold foil. Concentric circles
which surround a central boss are treated alternately in coloured
stones and worked gold.[15] The Abingdon brooch is divided into four
compartments, each decorated with interlaced gold wire, and mounted with
a boss of ivory, horn or shell, with a fifth boss in the centre of the
brooch. The rest of the ground is decorated with garnets upon hatched
gold foil.[16] The Sarre brooch, 2-5/8 inches in width, is ornamented in
a similar manner, and has a large central and four smaller bosses
composed of a substance resembling ivory, set with carbuncles[17]
(Pl. XI, 1).
[15] Faussett (B.), _Inventorium sepulchrale_, p. 78, Pl. 1.
[16] _Arch. Journal_, IV, p. 253. Another similar brooch from
Abingdon is in the British Museum. See Akerman (J. Y.), _Remains
of pagan Saxondom_, Pl. iii.
[17] _Archæologia Cantiana_, II, Pl. iii.
[Illustration: _PLATE XI_ ANGLO-SAXON AND ROMANO-BRITISH BROOCHES,
ETC.]
(2) The next main class of brooches comprises the concave circular,
known also as the cupelliform or saucer-shaped, found in the West Saxon
cemeteries. They are of bronze or copper, thickly gilt, and very rarely
decorated with jewels. They have a plain edge, and a centre covered with
interlaced and other ornamental patterns.
(3) Cruciform brooches form the last and most widely distributed group.
They have trefoil or cruciform tops; but must not be held to have any
connection with Christianity because they approach the form of a cross,
for they are found in purely pagan graves. Some varieties are found in
other parts of England besides Mercia, East Anglia, and Northumbria, but
they are rare in Kent. These cruciform Anglian brooches are of cast
bronze, generally gilt, but sometimes plated with silver. They are often
of enormous size, and covered with rude and elaborate patterns such as
are found upon early Scandinavian objects. Since the patterns were
added after the brooches were cast, it happens that, though forms are
frequently identical, decorations differ on nearly every specimen. With
the rarest exception, they are never garnished with precious stones.
This kind of brooch appears to have been evolved about the fourth
century.
There are other brooches somewhat of the same form, but not usually
found in England. Amongst these is a type which, instead of having a
trefoil ornament at the top, is square-headed. Though not unknown in
France and Germany, brooches of this design are chiefly Scandinavian. An
important series of both of the types last mentioned is preserved in the
British Museum; while the fine collection belonging to Sir John Evans
contains many splendid specimens.
Another variety is known as the "radiated" brooch, from the fact that
its upper part, which is rectangular or semicircular, is ornamented with
obtuse rays. The finest example of this type, and the largest known (it
measures 6¼ inches), is in the Bavarian National Museum at Munich. It
dates from about the sixth century; and was found in a rock tomb near
Wittislingen on the Danube in 1881. It is silver, gilt upon the upper
side, enriched with a cloisonné inlay of garnets in a variety of
patterns, and further ornamented with interlaced gold filigree
(Pl. XII, 7). A Latin inscription on the under side contains the name
UFFILA. Radiated brooches, which Mr. Roach Smith[18] considers to be
prior in point of date to all other Anglo-Saxon types, extend over the
greater part of Europe. But they are rare in England, though a few have
been found in Kent and are preserved among the Gibbs Bequest.
[18] _Catalogue of Anglo-Saxon antiquities_, p. xv.
There is yet another type of Anglo-Saxon brooch, annular in shape. It
consists of a plain ring, with a pin travelling round it attached to a
small cylinder. This annular brooch is comparatively rare in Saxon
times. Its interest lies in the fact that it is the parent of a much
more important brooch worn throughout the Middle Ages.
In common with all primitive peoples, the Saxons held rings in less
esteem than other ornaments. The few that have been found are simple
bronze hoops. Rings were more frequent, however, among the Merovingians.
The chief feature in Merovingian rings, which are often of gold, is that
the bezel is for the most part large and circular. It is either
roughly engraved in the manner of Childeric's signet, or else is
ornamented with cloisonné inlay. Other rings have a high projecting
bezel.
[Illustration: _PLATE XII_ ANGLO-SAXON AND FRANKISH JEWELLERY
(5TH-7TH CENTURIES)]
Buckles of gold, silver, and bronze, used to fasten the belt or girdle,
or employed on some other part of the dress, are particularly abundant
in Kentish graves. They vary considerably, many being of particularly
good design, set with garnets and ornamented with gold filigree. The
largest examples can be assigned to the girdles of men, the smallest and
richest to those of women. Some of the best are in the Gibbs Bequest.
One of the finest examples of Anglo-Saxon jewellery is the magnificent
gold buckle discovered in a grave near Taplow, Bucks, and now in the
British Museum. The base of the tongue and the oval ring are inlaid with
glass pastes upon gold foil; while the buckle plate, enriched with three
garnets, is bordered with many graduated rows of finely twisted gold
wire, and has its centre filled with a sort of vermiculated pattern upon
repoussé ground (Pl. XII, 6).
Women's graves have generally yielded a number of objects of personal
use as well as of adornment. Articles of toilet, such as tweezers,
etc., are found by the side of the skeleton, and resemble the modern
chatelaine. There exist, in addition, curious bronze pendants sometimes
shaped like a pot-hook, which, found in pairs near the waists of female
skeletons, are known generally as girdle-hangers. Their exact purpose
was for a long time a mystery, but archæologists are now mostly of the
opinion that they were fastenings for bags or purses suspended from the
girdle.
With the exception of the brooch-pin, which is always made of iron,
Anglo-Saxon jewellery is almost invariably composed of gold, silver, or
of some alloy, and is very rarely of iron like the buckles found in the
Frankish cemeteries. These iron buckles, owing to the perishable nature
of their material are often much disfigured by rust, but many are
sufficiently well preserved to exhibit a beautiful and elaborate inlay
of silver, sometimes accompanied by gold. Many examples of them
are preserved in the museums of France and Germany. Some are of
extraordinary size. The buckle and plate alone of one in the museum at
Berne measures no less than 8-5/8 by 4½ inches and half an inch in
thickness. Buckles of this kind have never been found in England.