The Alfred Jewel: An Historical Essay

by John Earle

In putting forth this Essay, I desire to convince the reader only as fully as I am convinced myself, that is to say, with a conviction which makes no claim to finality, but lies open to correction in case of new light or better use of old data; yet which nevertheless, in the mean time and for the main issues of the enquiry, reaches a degree of probability whereby all doubt and uncertainty is practically excluded.

J. E.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER I
	PAGE
Description of the Alfred Jewel	[1–9]
The place of its deposit	[1]
Structural details of the Jewel	[2]
The name of Alfred upon it	[4]
Question what this name imports	[id.]
Other persons bearing this name	[5]
The perfection of the Jewel suggested doubt	[7]
The firm judgement of Dr. George Hickes	[8]
Nevertheless, the question must be kept in view throughout this Essay	[9]
CHAPTER II
The Epigraph or Legend	[10–21]
The forms of the lettering	[10]
The Syntax of the Sentence:	[12]
(1) as to collocation	[13]
(2) usage of words	[id.]
(3) flexional construction	[15]
(4) active and passive structure	[16]
Other time-indications in the Epigraph	[17]
Quotation from Alfred’s Prologue to his Pastoralis	[19]
Similarity between the Prologue and the Epigraph	[21]
CHAPTER III
Early Speculations about its Design and Manner of Use	[22–30]
The Epoch of the Discovery—The Royal Society	[22]
The persons who first were conversant with the new-found object—Colonel Nathaniel Palmer	[23]
Dr. Hans Sloane—The British Museum	[24]
Robert Harley, first Earl of Oxford	[id.]
First published notice of the Jewel—Dr. William Musgrave	[25]
Hickes’s Thesaurus	[id.]
Variety of opinions about the Jewel	[id.]
Francis Wise—Samuel Pegge	[27]
Mr. Philip Duncan	[28]
St. Neot and St. Cuthbert	[29]
Abortiveness of these attempts	[30]
CHAPTER IV
Bishop Clifford’s Theory	[31–43]
Bishop Clifford	[31]
The handle of a choirmaster’s wand	[32]
Identical with the ‘æstel’?	[34]
Given by Alfred to Athelney Abbey and there kept to Henry VIII’s time	[35]
This theory inapplicable to the Jewel	[37]
But perhaps applicable to the ‘æstel’	[41]
Theory of sceptre-tip	[42]
CHAPTER V
A Jewel in the Crown	[44–50]
Form convenient for erection in the helmet	[44]
Transforms the helmet into a Coronet	[45]
The minor jewel from Minster Lovel	[46]
Dr. Wilson and Dr. Griffiths	[48]
Quotations from Beowulf and Laȝamon	[49]
The Crown of Queen Victoria	[50]
CHAPTER VI
The Boar’s Head	[51–60]
Diversity of opinion about the animal’s head	[51]
Testimony undesigned	[52]
The wild boar in the helmet	[id.]
Quotations from the Beowulf	[53 ff.]
The Boar’s Head at Queen’s College, Oxford	[57]
Religious origin of the Boar’s Head as a Crest	[59]
CHAPTER VII
The Figure in Enamel and the Engraved Plate at the back of it	[61–91]
Our Chief Problem is ‘A figure hard to characterize’	[61]
Division of this Chapter	[62]
Enamelling as an artistic industry	[id.]
Enamel cloisonnée	[63]
Chief extant specimens according to M. Labarte	[64 ff.]
The Enamelled Ouche of Mr. Roach Smith	[68]
Enamel champlevée	[id.]
Obscurity of the history of enamelling	[69]
Philostratus	[70]
Enamelled horse-gear	[71]
The Symbolism of the icuncula and its Source	[74]
The Book of Kells	[76 f.]
Relations of Alfred with Irish travellers	[78]
The Tufa	[79]
Evidence for the Enamel’s being an insular product	[80]
Allegorical engraving on the back-plate	[81]
Dualistic theory of Sir Francis Palgrave	[83]
The brothers John and Philip Duncan	[84]
Unity of thought in the Jewel	[86]
Alfred’s Epilogue to his Pastoralis	[87 ff.]
Summary of this Chapter	[90]
CHAPTER VIII
Alfred in Somerset beyond Pedrida	[92–132]
The central episode of Alfred’s career	[92]
Suddenness of the surprize at Chippenham	[94]
Apprehension of attack on north coast of Wealcyn	[95]
Alhstan, bishop of Sherborne	[96]
Meditations of king Alfred	[id.]
Danish invasion of Wessex	[97]
Placable temper of the West Welsh	[98]
Hostility of the ‘North Welsh’	[id.]
Alfred’s disguise	[99 f.]
The Jewel must be buried	[100]
Selwood	[101]
Story of Denewulf	[id.]
Hingston Down	[102]
The Danes in Exeter	[id.]
The Danes at Cynwit	[103]
The political import of Pedrida	[104 f.]
Selwoodshire	[105]
The Transpedridan dialect	[106]
The Devonian ‘u’	[107]
The Pixies	[108]
Somerset in Alfred’s day	[109]
Subsidence of the land	[110 f.]
Elm-trees	[112]
Red Deer	[113]
Leland’s Itinerary	[115]
Etymology of ‘Pedrida’	[117]
British policy of Wessex	[id. f.]
Aldhelm’s letter to Gerontius	[119]
His little church at Bradford-on-Avon	[120]
Associations of Glastonbury	[id. ff.]
Asser’s Life of Alfred	[124]
The Fort at Athelney	[128]
Brixton Deveril	[129]
The buried Jewel not recovered	[130]
The Peiwar Kotal (1878)	[131]
‘What follows is like a dream’	[132]
CHAPTER IX
Newton Park and Fairfield House	[133–145]
‘Newton Park’	[133]
Ælfric, archbishop of Canterbury	[134]
The Forest of North Petherton	[id.]
Three co-heiresses	[135]
The Perambulation of the Forests	[id.]
Gefferey Chaucer	[136]
The improvements of Sir Thomas Wrothe	[137]
A surmise about the Manor of Newton	[138]
Petherton Park	[139]
The parish of Stogursey	[id.]
Fairfield House	[140]
‘Always a Vernai at Fairfield’	[142]
The Palmer family	[id.]
Nathaniel Palmer	[144]
Thomas Palmer	[id.]
Two co-heiresses	[145]
CHAPTER X
Gold Rings contemporaneous	[146–156]
The Enamelled Ouche of Mr. Roach Smith	[146]
The Ring of Alhstan	[147]
The place of its discovery	[148]
The Ring of Alfred’s father	[149]
The place and manner of its discovery	[150]
The Ring of Alfred’s sister	[151]
The manner of its discovery	[153]
The Ring of Æthred	[154]
Runes intermixed with Roman lettering	[155]
The artist bears a Saxon name	[156]
CHAPTER XI
Some Closing Reflections	[157–174]
Fine workmanship no longer an objection	[157]
Early cumulation of evidence	[158]
Evidence added since	[id.]
Rejected theories	[159]
The Cynehelm theory	[id.]
The unity of the work makes for Alfred of Wessex	[160]
Outline of the Symbolism	[id.]
My surprize at the latent meanings	[161]
The fondness of king Alfred for imagery	[id. ff.]
The Simile of the Waggon	[163]
The Jewel illustrated by the Writings of king Alfred	[165]
The Jewel probably records a Crisis	[166]
At what Epoch designed?	[id.]
Double process of investigation	[167]
Date of Alfred’s return from Rome	[170 f.]
The nature of Probable Evidence	[172 ff.]
Conclusions from the above data	[174]
APPENDICES
Appendix A. The First published Notice of the Alfred Jewel (to pp. 25 and 144)	[175]
Appendix B. St. Neot and St. Cuthbert (to pp. 29 and 74)	[177]
Appendix C. The Two-sceptered Figure in the Book of Kells (to p. 78)	[181]
Appendix D. The British Origin of the Enamelled Figure (to p. 91)	[184]
Appendix E. Athelney Abbey (to p. 115)	[189]
Appendix F. North Newton Church (to p. 139)	[192]
Appendix G. The Presentation of the Alfred Jewel to the University of Oxford (to pp. 140 and 145)	[194]
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
	PAGE
The Alfred Jewel in four aspects, with separate Figure of Enamel	[Frontispiece]
The Inscription on the Jewel	[1]
The Minster Lovel Jewel	[to face 47]
Illumination from the Book of Kells	[” 77]
The Isle of Athelney	[” 92]
Fairfield House	[141]
Inscription on the Ring of Æthelwulf	[149]
The Ring of Æthelwulf	[150]
The Ring of Queen Æthelswith, the bezil	[151]
Inscription within the Ring of Queen Æthelswith	[152]
The Ring of Queen Æthelswith showing niello	[153]
Inscription on Æðred’s Ring	[154]
The Jewel, Front and Back	[to face 174]
Sculptured Bosses found at Athelney Abbey	[189, 191]
Tower of North Newton Church	[to face 192]
Map of the Isle of Athelney	[At end]

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THE ALFRED JEWEL

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CHAPTER I
DESCRIPTION OF THE ALFRED JEWEL

THE subject of this Essay is preserved in the Ashmolean Museum, which has been its home for a period of time now approaching two hundred years. It is there installed under glass in such a manner that every side of it is plainly exhibited to the eye of the visitor. It bears an inscription in conspicuous lettering which sets forth that by Alfred’s order it was made, and this is the ground upon which it is known as The Alfred Jewel.