LATE ANGLO-SAXON JEWELLERY (SEVENTH TO NINTH CENTURY)
After the landing of St. Augustine in 597 and the baptism of Ethelbert,
King of Kent, the conversion of the upper classes in England appears to
have been rapid, and by the third decade of the seventh century the
greater part of the country had accepted Christianity. Old customs,
however, with regard to burial and the adornment of the corpse, were
slow in disappearing, and even as late as the time of Charlemagne
(742-814) we hear of orders being issued that the Saxons were no longer
to follow the pagan mode of burial, but to inter their dead in
consecrated ground.
The general abandonment of the custom of burying ornaments with the dead
is responsible for the small number of the later Anglo-Saxon jewels now
extant. But the few examples surviving from the period which terminated
at the Norman Conquest are of exceptional merit.
There can be no doubt that the introduction of Christianity produced a
profound change in the character of personal ornaments. New forms and
methods, due to closer association with the Continent, were introduced
into the goldsmith's productions by the Church, which at the same time
fostered the splendid traditions of the older English jewellers.
The characteristic of the finest pieces of Saxon jewellery of the
Christian period is their ornamentation by means of cloisonné enamel. It
has already been noticed that Anglo-Saxon jewels were decorated with
gold wires, some twisted or beaded, or rolled up and plaited together,
and soldered on to a thin gold plate; while others were flattened into
strips forming compartments, which were filled with pieces of garnet or
coloured glass cut to shape. When the spaces between strips, so disposed
as to make up the outlines of figures or ornament, were filled with
enamel paste and fired, the result was enamel of the cloisonné type.
This cloisonné enamel naturally resulted as soon as the Saxon jeweller
had mastered the art of fusing vitreous colours upon metal. From whom
did he learn this art? Was enamelling introduced by the followers of
Augustine from Rome or Byzantium, or did the Irish missionaries bring
afresh into England an art of which the Celts were past masters? The
question is one that cannot be answered; but it is not without interest
to note the great influence of the Irish craftsmen on the art
productions of the time.
A remarkable development of goldsmiths' work in Ireland succeeded the
introduction of Christianity. Enamel was largely employed in the
decoration of early objects of ecclesiastical metal-work, and attained
perfection in the translucent cloisonné enamel of the Tara brooch and
the Ardagh chalice. The far-reaching influence and extraordinary
activity of the Irish missionaries, many of them no doubt skilled
goldsmiths, are well known. "Irish missionaries laboured among the Picts
of the Highlands and among the Frisians of the northern seas. An Irish
missionary, Columban, founded monasteries in Burgundy and the Apennines.
The canton of St. Gall still commemorates in its name another Irish
missionary."[19] The processes of their artistic metal-work must have
made themselves felt wherever these Irish missionaries penetrated. The
wandering scholars and artists of Ireland left both their books and
their art-apprentices in England, as they had left them along the Rhine
and the Danube. At Glastonbury, St. Dunstan, the patron saint of English
smiths, lingered as a youth among the books with which the Irish
missionaries had endowed the monastery, and associated doubtless with
the monastic craftsmen who had learned the arts of their Celtic
predecessors.
[19] Green (J. R.), _Short history of the English People_
(1875 ed.), p. 21.
Every priest was trained in some handicraft, and many monks became
excellent goldsmiths. St. Dunstan (924-988), like St. Eloi of France
(588-659), at once a goldsmith and a royal minister, himself worked in
the precious metals; and he appears to have been a jeweller as well, for
we find in old inventories, entries of finger rings described as the
productions of the great prelate. In the Wardrobe Account of Edward I,
in 1299 (_Liber Quotidianus_, p. 348), is "Unus anulus auri cum saphiro
qui fuit de fabrica Sancti Dunstani ut credebatur"; and in the inventory
of that mediæval fop, Piers Gaveston, 1313 (Rymer, _Foedera_, II, i.
p. 203), is: "Un anel d'or, à un saphir, lequel seint Dunstan forga de
ses mayns."
The artistic traditions of the old Saxon jewellers became almost the
sole property of the clergy; and the Venerable Bede, writing at the
commencement of the eighth century, alluding to the monastic jewellers
of his day, describes how "a skilled gold-worker, wishing to do some
admirable work, collects, wherever he can, remarkable and precious
stones to be placed among the gold and silver, as well to show his skill
as for the beauty of the work." The description of these stones as
"chiefly of a ruddy or aerial colour" would seem to indicate that
garnets and turquoises had not even then been entirely supplanted by
enamels. Certain it is that the earlier Christian jewels retained for a
time the technique of those of pagan Saxondom. For example, the gold
cross of St. Cuthbert (d. 687), discovered in his tomb in Durham
Cathedral in 1827 and now preserved in the Cathedral Library, is inlaid
with garnets in the cloisonné manner (Pl. XIII, 3).
The internecine wars of the Saxons and the early ravages of the
Norsemen, from which England was delivered by Alfred during the ninth
century, can have left the country little repose for the cultivation of
the jeweller's art. Yet, in spite of the unhappy condition of England,
the art, judging from inscribed jewels noticed hereafter, was still
practised, and needed only some presiding genius to awaken it to new
life.
There is little reason to doubt that jewellery was among the foremost of
the arts which Alfred is known to have encouraged; indeed, his interest
in such work is asserted by a well-sustained tradition. And if the
world-famed jewel to be described is, as seems probable, to be
associated with Alfred of Wessex, he must then have personally
supervised the production of other contemporary jewels. The Alfred
jewel, the finest example left of Anglo-Saxon craftsmanship, and the
most famous of all English jewels, is preserved in the Ashmolean Museum
at Oxford. It was found in 1693 at Newton (or Petherton) Park, three
miles from the Isle of Athelney, Somerset, whither Alfred had fled from
the Danes in the year 878, and was presented to the museum in 1718 by
Thomas Palmer, grandson of Colonel Nathaniel Palmer, near whose estate
it was found. The jewel is 2 inches long, 1-1/5 wide, and half an inch
in thickness. It somewhat resembles a battledore in shape; it is flat
front and back, while the other parts of its surface are rounded.
The obverse is of rock crystal, beneath which is a plaque of
semi-transparent cloisonné enamel of blue, white, green, and brown,
representing the figure of a man. Upon the reverse is an engraved gold
plate. The smaller end of the oval is prolonged into the form of a
boar's head, from the snout of which projects a hollow socket. Around
the sloping sides of the jewel, from left to right, runs the legend
AELFRED MEC HEHT GEWYRCAN (_Alfred ordered me to be made_), in gold
letters, exquisitely chiselled in open-work upon the band which
encircles the enamel and its crystal covering. The whole of the goldwork
is beautifully executed in filigree and granulation (Pl. XIII, 1, 2).
[Illustration: _PLATE XIII_ LATE ANGLO-SAXON JEWELLERY
(7TH-9TH CENTURIES)]
There is considerable doubt as to the actual use of this precious jewel.
Professor Earle has placed it among the category of personal ornaments,
and holds that it was executed under the personal supervision of Alfred
the Great, and formed the central ornament of his helmet or crown.[20]
The enamelled figure is probably intended for that of Christ,
represented, as is frequently done in early ecclesiastical art, holding
two sceptres. The gold setting of the jewel, it is generally agreed, was
made in England, and in the opinion of many the enamel is of native
origin.[21]
[20] _The Alfred Jewel_, p. 45. 1901. Others consider that the
jewel was the head of a book-marker or pointer.
[21] M. Molinier (_Histoire générale des arts appliqués à
l'industrie_, IV, p. 93) is of the opinion that the enamel is English,
and not, as some hold, of Byzantine origin. See also _Victoria County
History of Somerset_, I, p. 376. 1906.
Somewhat similar in shape to the Alfred jewel, and probably employed for
the same purpose, is a jewel known as the Minster Lovel jewel, which was
found half a century ago in a village of that name near Oxford, and is
now preserved in the Ashmolean Museum. It is 1¼ inches in length,
circular above, with a projecting socket below. The upper part is
ornamented with a cross-shaped design in cloisonné enamel.
Another remarkable jewel, preserved in the British Museum, is termed the
Dowgate brooch, or the Roach Smith nouche (or brooch), in memory of the
learned and energetic antiquary whose property it once was. The brooch
was found near Dowgate Hill in Thames Street, London, in 1839. It is
composed of a circular enamel representing a full-faced head and bust,
enclosed in a border of rich gold filigree covered with beaded ornament
and set at equal distances with four pearls. The fine cloisons of the
enamel work are arranged so as to mark the outlines of the face, a crown
upon the head, and the folds of the drapery of a mantle or tunic. The
dress is classical in appearance, and seems to be fastened on the right
shoulder[22] (Pl. XIII, 4).
[22] _Archæologia_, XXIX, p. 70, Pl. x.
Two other enamelled brooches of the same kind of workmanship, also in
the British Museum, are the Townley brooch, also known as the Hamilton
brooch, which is said to have been found in Scotland, and the Castellani
brooch, formerly in the collection of Signor Castellani, and stated to
have been found at Canosa, Italy (Pl. IX, 9, 11).
The latter brooch is set with a circular enamel representing the bust of
a royal personage wearing large earrings, and upon the front of the
dress a circular brooch with three pendants hanging below it. At the
lower part of the gold and enamel frame of the Castellani brooch itself
are three loops, which must have held pendants exactly similar to those
attached to the brooch worn by the enamelled figure. Pendants of this
kind are represented, as has been seen, on the Ravenna mosaics, and
appear to be characteristic of Byzantine brooches. And it is probable
that this, as well as the Townley brooch, as explained in the
_Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries_ (2nd Series, Vol. XX,
p. 64), is of Continental origin.
Though similar in some respects to the other enamelled jewels, these two
brooches differ considerably from them. "These differences," says a
recent writer, "seem to accentuate the difficulty of tracing the origin
of this enamelled work. It may well be that some of it was executed in
this country by the craftsmen in the employ of King Alfred; but it may
fairly be assumed that on the journeys to Rome and elsewhere, undertaken
by Ethelwulf, Alfred, and Ethelswitha, they and their suites would
acquire jewellery of this class, which must have been comparatively
common in Rome, and in other important centres at that time."[23]
[23] _Catalogue of the Alfred the Great millenary exhibition in
the British Museum. 1901._
The rings dating from the time of pagan Saxondom are few and
unimportant; those, on the other hand, that belong to this later period,
though rare, are more numerous, and are of considerable historical and
artistic interest. It is somewhat curious that the finest date almost
exclusively from the ninth century, and that most of them are inscribed.
It is to this fact, doubtless, that they owe their preservation.
No Anglo-Saxon rings, as far as we are aware, are ornamented with
enamel. Many are enriched with inlays of niello. Gold rings thus inlaid
sometimes have the appearance of having been enamelled, for the niello
seems to have a bluish tinge, but this may be due, as Mr. Davenport
suggests (_Anglo-Saxon Review_, Vol. V), to some optical effect caused
by the yellow gold.
The most important inscribed Saxon rings, three in number, are
historical relics of the highest order. They belonged respectively to
Alhstan, Bishop of Sherborne (824-867); Ethelwulf, King of Wessex
(836-858), father of Alfred the Great; and Ethelswith, Queen of Mercia,
and sister to King Alfred.
The ring of Alhstan, at once the earliest episcopal finger ring and the
first in chronological order of these inscribed gold rings, was found in
1753 at Llys-fæn, in the county of Carnarvonshire. It was one of the
chief treasures of the famous collection of finger rings formed by the
late Edmund Waterton, and is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
The initials of its owner are inscribed in niello upon four circular
compartments, separated by four lozenge-shaped compartments also inlaid
with niello (Pl. XIII, 9).
The most famous of all English rings--"une pièce excessivement
précieuse," says M. Fontenay, "par son originalité et son caractère"--is
that of Ethelwulf, King of Wessex. It is in the form of a bishop's mitre
with only one peak, and bears the inscription ETHELVVLF Rx, above which
are two peacocks pecking at a tree. The legend and subject are reserved
in gold upon a nielloed ground. The ring was picked up in its present
bent condition in 1780 by a labourer in a field at Laverstoke, near
Salisbury, where it had been pressed out of a cart-rut. It is now in the
British Museum (Pl. XIII, 5).
The third of this remarkable series of inscribed rings is that of
Ethelswith, Queen of Mercia, daughter of Ethelwulf. It has a circular
bezel, in the middle of which is a rude representation of an _Agnus Dei_
engraved in relief with a background of niello. The inner side of the
bezel is incised with the inscription [Symbol: cross pattée] EATHELSVITH
REGNA. This beautiful ring was found near Aberford, in Yorkshire, about
the year 1870, and came into the possession of Sir A. W. Franks, who
bequeathed it to the British Museum (Pl. XIII, 7).
Several other Saxon rings are preserved in the British Museum. Among
them is one with a plain hoop and beaded edges, bearing around it in
gold letters on a nielloed ground an inscription recording the name of
the owner, Ethred, and the maker Eanred. It was found in Lancashire, and
bequeathed to the museum by Sir Hans Sloane in 1753. Another ring (found
near Peterborough in the River Nene) is peculiar for having two bezels
opposite each other. Both sides of the hoop and each bezel are engraved
with interlaced designs inlaid with niello. The bezels are each flanked
by three small beads of gold--a characteristic ornamentation of a
certain class of Teutonic and Merovingian rings, termed by the French
_bagues à trois grains_. In the Victoria and Albert Museum is a silver
ring of unusual form. It has an oval bezel 1¼ inches in length,
engraved with convoluted ornament in five divisions, the centre being
filled with a serpent-headed monster. It was found in the Thames at
Chelsea in 1856. A type of ring which occurs more than once is formed of
a hoop, which widens gradually into a large oval bezel ornamented with
bands of rich plaited goldwork. One of these rings, found at Bossington,
near Stockbridge, is in the Ashmolean Museum. It has in the centre a
male portrait surrounded by the inscription, NOMEN EHLLA FID IN XPO (My
name is Ella; my faith is in Christ).
More remarkable, perhaps, than any of the above, on account of the
peculiar beauty of its workmanship, is a gold ring in the possession of
Lord Fitzhardinge, and preserved, together with the Hunsdon jewels, at
Berkeley Castle. It has a large bezel of quatrefoil form. In the centre
is a raised circular boss ornamented with a cross or wheel-shaped design
in beaded gold. Radiating from this centre are four heads of monsters,
inlaid with thin lines of niello, and having projecting eyes formed of
dots of dark blue and dark brown glass or enamel. The hoop of the ring,
of considerable girth, is hexagonal in section. At the junction of its
ends at the back of the bezel, immediately behind the monsters' ears, it
is finished with a graduated wire of filigree, terminating with three
small balls. The ring dates from about the tenth century. Nothing is
known concerning its discovery. It is probably Saxon, but may be of
Irish origin (Pl. XIII, 10).
Beyond these finger rings and the enamelled jewellery, we possess few
other examples of later Saxon ornaments; yet there exist a small number,
which, though executed somewhat after the manner of the older jewels,
probably belong to this later period of Saxon art. Among such ornaments
is a necklace from Desborough, Northants, and now in the British Museum.
It is formed of beads of spirally coiled gold wire. Circular pendants,
having one side convex and the other flat, alternate with gold pendants
of various shapes and sizes, set with garnets. From the centre of the
necklace hangs a cross (Pl. XII, 1).
One other ornament in the British Museum, particularly worthy of
attention, is a beautiful set of three ornamental pins of silver gilt,
which were found in the River Witham, near Lincoln. The three pins have
heads in the shape of circular discs, and are connected together by two
oblong pieces of metal with a ring at each end. The pins average four
inches in length. The interlaced ornament on their circular heads
(described in detail in the _Reliquary_, 2nd Series, Vol. X, p. 52), is
arranged in four panels separated by radial divisions.
The penannular brooch, known as the Celtic brooch, so common in other
parts of the British Isles about this period, has rarely been found
in England. A few examples occur in close proximity to undoubted
Anglo-Saxon remains, but they are confined mostly to the north of
England. Its extreme rarity leads one naturally to the conclusion that
it found but little favour in England. In Scotland and Ireland, however,
where it was almost universally worn, this type of brooch attained, as
will shortly be shown, the highest degree of excellence both in design
and workmanship.