The Alfred Jewel, an Historical Essay, Earle John, 1901
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F — — ALFEED JEWEL. tAv£S 3JD-6/. THE — THJ!; ALFIiED JEWEL. TIMES. TO THE EDITOR OF THE TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES. have been treading it is oir -Where so many angels Sir, —Mr. Elworthy would appear to be incapable of hnmble student to ventnre in. &tm, apprehending " perhaps rmwise for a my particular predicament in this Five another guess at the \"^^he worth whUe to make o'clock tea" controversy over the " Al frcd Jewel " jewel. which simply is that the traces of Oriental truth about the Alfred influence to be Musgrave, a Fellow of the Royal observed in its form and decoration support Professor Since 1698, when Dr. the the first notice of the jewel m Earle's contention that it was meant to be worn on a Society, published Tnmsactions"(No 247) It has been helmet. Surely this very humble suggestion is deserving f< Sophi-l " have been (1) an amulet of some consideration, especially as the " Alfred Jewel en^.ested that the jewel may a pendant to a chaan or was fastened to whatever it was attached in the same Musgrave's suggestion) ; (2) mT " " " of a roller for a M.S. ; manner as the two parts—the knop" and the flower • or head (3) an umbilicus, collar book-pomter (5) the head of a ; —of the Mo(n)gol torn were, and are, fastened together. the' top of a stilus ; U) sceptre standard; (7) the head of a ; After Professor Earle's suggestion of the purpose of 6 the top of a xs tbe " for .Alfred's helmet. This last the jewel," I should be inclined to accept that of Lady 8 S ornament Professor Earle, ^d is rn^t Huggins. Mr. Elworthy sneers at it, but he, trans- ecent svxggestion of his interesUng book, The parently, Icnows nothing of th© attiring of womeid^ind engagingly presented in or he would know that pins for female wear are still Alfred Jewel." . , various views^^d made in the East of all sizes, up to fiin. and Sin. in Without criticizing in detafl these suggestion or two, I should like to length, and of the most beautiful forms, ^vith eveiy before offering a new the book-pomter view-the one elaboration of art ; and that, in the way cheap trinkctry, point out apropos of address at Winchester similar pins are often to be seen for sale in the shop -win- Loured by Sir John Evans in his means uncomfortable m the dows of Regent-street and the Burlington-arcade. The -that tbe jewel is by no with one of the excellent very etymology of the word "pin" goes to prove that the wd A little experimenting 'H: the Millenary proves this. article signified by it is intended not only for the mere Scsimiles which we owe to head but the artistic adorning the jewel may have been the mechanical use of women Also, the view that sufScient it being the same word as " pink," to embroider to have received ; sceptre scarcely seems of a of " the painted bird " pica," originally The illumination from the Book finch," ; the consideration. " view, illuminated initial in black letter manuscript ; picca- Professor Earle refers to for his own Kells which " an embroidered collar ; pickles," mixed a sceptre with a flat head. dilly," at leak suggests " use acetified vegetables ; picture," &c., and in Latin any suggestion as t<) its probable In considering " pingere," to paint, and in Greek " Poecile " (compare the Alfred jewel is not must be remembered that it and circular. Piccadilly), the Painted Porch, and in Sanscrit pecas, jewel, smaller it is true unique. A a " jewel," and pecalas, " adorned." I have the honour to be. Sir, your most obediei^; servant, 1101. •59 St. Pihtas Day, GEORGE BIRnWOr<J,% -rr ^Tolv^^- TEE ALFRED JEV/EL. ffOO). • ^ TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES. Sir^_Somo weeks ago you were good enough to print the millenary is two letters from myself, and now that columns on this over and you have again opened your refer to it onco subject I trust you will permit me to in your issue of to- pu. .^eup, more. Lady Huggins's suggestion '.oddn. iSf " " have been the head f ^^^^JSI^ day, that the so-caUed jewel may will hardly bear ex- of a pin for female wear, is new, but uo is nearly large enough Us^a J« ^r'^^r ^'T:^' 'IS old moLmmoo s,t amination, inasmuch as the socket pin of that size for to hold an ordinary lead pencil, and a i:paiiu9 -^somtr: spuadep ^^^^^^^^-^^^-^^ ^^slaoau qons fastening any garment would be monstrous. " " the handle of a ,nowv^neq..dmon. o, .iepi|V- l^^:}^^;il My contention that the jewel was with much pointer was met by Sir George Birdwood eomJOTis -jon op ^I^^'^'' P' "^ the etymology of the emn qsamsuq ttsiiSu^ learning. Oriental and classical, as to for pre- ppoqs ^^^aco icioiemmoo word jewel, while I was allowed to bo castigated ano o^^pimi^s ^ ^^^^ from that of Pro- differing Smio^Sunn^^ ^oj ^^J pe^urds suming to offer an opinion «",f^^^^fJ^oi,OT5Bd the puB Ti^mjap there it was left. In your report of .^q mouooiv P '^o^^ ommaoi^p fessor Earle, and ^°g'J,o Professor Skeat proceedings at Winchester I read that which Alfred was spoke " of the thing called an cestel, certain Bishops witli his said to have presented to he went on to say that one solution of the lq,^6;-po,nq«.uoo ,uesaad o^^ i books," and ^^^^'jg'l'^^^^.^l cestel was an indicator, ' " jewel " mystery was that the Sir John Evans more and this seemed to be his opinion. that it "was the distinctly supported my contention ^3uoa. pe^-y- for pointing out to the '"''fj^^iZV^ ssSn5^?oup.oo o, head (I said handle) of a pointer reader the Une which ha had reached." without oppor- After being sat upon and demolished to an obscure, nobody amq^suios m i tunity of reply, it is satisfactory ,. ©^ ?» -out! ireoDu^ ./sannrcmnH maintaining that after all to find two such authorities one and that it is now generally I his view was the right The Alfred Jewel J. EARLE Henry Frowde, M.A. Publisher to the University of Oxford London, Edinburgh, and New York f^^S. I nom ^- J3MAHa I ^ BACK FRONT ENAMEL RIGHT LEFT THE JEWEL IN FOUR ASPECTS WITH SEPARATE FIGURE OF ENAMEL FRONTISPIECEJ The Alfred Jewel: An Historical Essay By John Earle, M.A., LL.D. Rector of Swanswick, Prebendary of Wells Rawlinsonian Professor of Anglo-Saxon in the University of Oxford With Illustrations and Map Oxford At the Clarendon Press mdcccci 1 Oxford Printed at the Clarendon Press By Horace Hart, M.A. Princer to the University \1 ^34 (V/< 730? 11o( PREFACE IT is full fifty years since I began to contem- plate the Alfred Jewel with a wonder and curiosity which became a habit. At length, in the latter half of that period, the vague attitude of enquiry began to point in a definite direc- tion, and to exhibit susceptibility of develop- ment suggesting promise of possible discovery. Prompted by such anticipations, I one day ventured to express a wish to the Principal of Hertford College that he would exercise his well-known graphic talent upon the Alfred Jewel, and make some enlarged drawings of it suitable for a Public Lecture. The result was that he gave me a beautiful set of coloured drawings of the Jewel in various aspects admir- ably calculated for exhibition in the Lecture vi Treface Room. Thus equipped, I was able to make the subject more intelligible and more attractive, and I lectured upon it the oftener. As it has not been my wont to write my lectures out in full, it was all the more necessary for me on every new occasion to make a fresh study of the Jewel. In this recurring process new lights rose at wide intervals of time, and drew me on to devote more thought to the object and to the times associated with it j and I found more than I had looked for in the design, and more (I think) than I should have found, but for the generous aid so readily extended to me by Dr. Boyd. It was after such a lecture delivered in May, 1899, that I had the great and unexpected pleasure of a proposal from the Delegates of the Press to make a book of it. I was able to accept this proposal without misgiving, because I was satisfied that I had a solid interpretation to offer—one which had been slowly matured and scrupulously tested by Treface vii every means in my power. All the old theories had come to nothing : there was not one of them that could be seriously advocated as resting upon evidence either in history or in common sense and the natural reason of things. In saying so much as this, I am only accounting for my readiness to accept the task, and not by any means prejudging the general verdict upon the validity of my argument. In this argu- ment I seek to establish the intimate relation of the Jewel with the history and the mind and the person of Alfred of Wessex, not indeed as a scientifically demonstrated fact, but as a well-founded and abundantly supported proba- bility. I have no desire that this conclusion should be admitted without a complete and rigid scrutiny. In the carrymg out of this undertaking I have received welcome and much-needed help from many quarters.