For this venerable relic7, even if regarded only in its material aspect as an ingenious62 mechanical product, and as a specimen8 of a once flourishing art, is rare and curious to so high a degree as to confer rank upon any Museum (however otherwise rich) that is so fortunate as to possess it.
Behind the Enamel, in the position of a backboard to a picture-frame, is a separate gold plate bearing a significant device which is certainly intended as a counterpart to the Figure of the obverse. From the relation observable between these two representations we may gather a constructive9 inference. Thus we have three subjects for our consideration in the present chapter, and it will be convenient to give to each of them a separate section by itself. Accordingly, the plan of this chapter will be as follows:—I. The Enamel as an artistic10 product; II. The inward signification of the enamelled Figure, and of the Engraving12 at the back of it; III. A Constructive Inference.
I
The Enamel as an Artistic Product
Of enamels13 we may say that they are a sort of paintings or embroideries;—only not made63 with liquid pigments14 nor with variegated15 threads, but with molten glass diversely tinted16 by means of metallic17 oxides[16]. On the one hand they are the precursors18 of our painted windows, and on the other they are the parents of the famous works of the artists of Limoges. Of this artistic industry the Alfred Jewel preserves a specimen of the rarest kind. It belongs to the type which is designated cloisonnée, because the outlines of the design have first been made by little slender barriers of gold which serve as fences between the colours. Into the compartments20 so enclosed the material of the enamel is deposited in the form of a vitreous paste, that is, glass ground to a fine powder, and mixed with the colouring material and moistened. So prepared, the work is passed into an oven, with a heat to melt the glass, but not the metal plate upon which the design has been laid. If the64 process is successful, the work is substantially achieved when it comes out of the oven, and nothing remains21 to be done but the dressing22 and finishing of the surface. Of this cloisonnée type M. Labarte, in enumerating23 nine examples, as being the chief works of this kind now extant, gives to all of them the title ‘Byzantine.’
The chief extant Monuments in Byzantine Enamel Cloisonnée, according to Labarte.
The celebrated24 crown of gold, which goes by the name of the Iron Crown, is the oldest extant jewel that is enriched with enamel. It was given to the cathedral at Monza by Theodelinda, the Lombard queen, who died in 625[17].
The enamels in the altar of St. Ambrose of Milan, executed in 835, must have been executed by Greek artists, who were numerous in Italy at that time. It is to be noted25 that the flesh tints26 are rendered by opaque27 white.
The enamels in the cross called the Cross of Lothaire in the treasury28 of the cathedral at Aix-la-Chapelle, which we hold to be Byzantine work.
65 “A jewel preserved in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford29. It was discovered in 1696 (sic), near the Abbey of Athelney, in which Alfred the Great took refuge when he was defeated by the Danes in 878. Mr. Albert Way has given a description of it, with engravings of front and back, and in section (The Arch?ological Journal, vol. ii, p. 164). The inscription30 AELFRED MEC HEHT GEVYRCAN (Alfred ordonna que je fusse fait) which stands in the thickness of the piece, is thought to leave small room for doubt as to the origin which is attributed to it. The enamel of the obverse is executed by the process of cloisonnage; it represents a figure hard to characterize (il reproduit une figure dont il est difficile de déterminer le caractère). The flesh portions are in whitish enamel; the colours employed in the drapery are pale green and ruddy brown semi-transparent; the ground is blue. The jewel terminates in the head of an animal, in golden filigree31, with all the characteristics of the oriental style.
“Admitting that the inscription may apply to Alfred the Great, this jewel would not by itself be sufficient to prove that the art of enamelling66 was practised in England in the ninth century. The inscription might have been engraved32 after the king had purchased it (possibly) of a merchant from the East.”
The enamels which environ the gold crown preserved in the treasury of St. Mark’s, at Venice. We see there a bust33 of the Emperor Leo the Philosopher (886–911), who was probably the donor34 of this votive crown, which was made to be suspended over an altar.
The enamels on a chalice35 in the same treasury; it appears by the inscription to have been executed for an emperor who died in 944.
The enamels on the reliquary of Limburg. This magnificent piece was executed before 976.
The enamels upon eight gold plates which were found at Nyitra, in Hungary. Seven of them are in the Museum at Pesth. These eight plates unite to form a crown, one in front and one at back, and three on either side. Each has its enamelled picture. The front piece has a portrait of Constantinus Monomachus (1042). The pieces to right and left of this represent the Empresses Theodora and Zoe; the next two on either side represent actresses; the third on67 either side contains an allegorical figure of a woman, the one being Humility36, with hands crossed in front, the other Truth, bearing a cross. The eighth, which is the hindmost, is circular, and represents St. Andrew[18].
The enamels which decorate the royal crown of Hungary, which was sent as a present to Geysa I, king of Hungary, who died in 1077.
In this list the famous ‘iron’ crown of Monza holds the first place, being, in fact, an ample golden fillet richly decorated with enamels, and containing within it a narrow hoop37 of iron, which is reputed to have been made of a nail from the Cross.
The fourth place in this catalogue is assigned by M. Labarte to the Alfred Jewel, and by this classification it is referred to a Byzantine source. But as it is plain from the matter as well as the manner of his description that his acquaintance with the Jewel is second-hand39, we pass over this local element, while we accept his classification so far as it refers to structural40 affinities41.
In the spring of 1839, during some excavations68 in Thames Street, was discovered a fibula which happily passed straightway into the hands of Mr. Roach Smith, and he wrote a memoir42 upon it which may be seen in the Arch?ologia for 1840, accompanied with a splendid illustration in colour and gold. It contains a bust in cloison-work enamel, and invites comparison with our Jewel more than any of those in the above list, probably more than any other extant specimen. It is now in the British Museum. Both the figure and the filigree are of superior workmanship to the Alfred Jewel, as if it were a later and more refined product of the same school. A French critic calls it Byzantine, and assigns it to the eleventh century[19].
So far about other extant specimens43 of enamel cloisonnée. This species of enamel rises like an island out of the broad level of the enamel champlevée, in which the plate was prepared for the vitreous deposit by scooping44 the pattern upon it. To this common method belong the older and more rudimentary enamels of the British horse-gear, correctly described by Philostratus,69 who will be quoted below. To this belong also the late enamels, for which during the thirteenth century Limoges was famous.
The history of the art of enamelling is very imperfectly known, and the paucity45 of extant specimens makes the investigation46 the more difficult. The canvas upon which these pictures were laid consisted of plates of the precious metals, the smaller works being laid upon gold or silver, the larger on copper47. As a natural consequence it happened that as soon as they were antiquated48 or had served their turn, they were lightly cast into the melting-pot, save where they were protected by some peculiar49 veneration50.
Hence it has come to pass that a favourite art of the Dark and Middle Ages, which we have reason to believe was for centuries very prolific52 (until it was superseded53 by the increased vigour54 of painting and sculpture in the fourteenth century), is now represented by a few specimens only, and its history is hard to retrace55. I shall make no attempt to supply this want, and shall only rehearse a few interesting facts which the present investigation has brought70 to my knowledge. Origins I leave to specialists: but this I may say, that such evidence as the present enquiry has brought within the circle of my observation seems to suggest a Keltic source for the Enamel in our Jewel.
The earliest mention of enamel to which we can confidently point is found in the book of Philostratus entitled Pictures (Icones56, Ε?κ?νε?). This author was a Greek rhetorician and connoisseur57 in Art, who came to Rome (a.d. 200) in the reign58 of Severus, attracted by the Court of Julia Domna, who (in the words of Gibbon) was the patroness of every art and the friend of every man of genius. In his Icones he makes pictures the text of his elegant and fashionable discourse59. Whether his pictures were real or imaginary is a matter of no consequence to our present purpose. The picture in which we are interested is one that represents a Meet for a Boar-hunt. The writer comments upon the well-equipped company, the horses and their riders, in the splendour of their get-up for the sport, drawing special attention to the curiosity and costliness60 of their horse-trappings. Their bits are silvern, and their head-stalls are decorated with gold71 and enamelled colours. For the production of these colours it is said that ‘the barbarians61 who dwell in the ocean do smelt62 them upon heated copper, and that in cooling they do set and harden and keep the design[20].’
It has been questioned who are meant by the barbarians in the ocean. Modern French writers have generally applied63 it to the Gauls; but Olearius, the editor of Philostratus (1709), understood the Keltic peoples; and certainly the expression appears more applicable to the British Isles64 than to Gaul. Moreover, it is in Britain, and not in Gaul, that enamelled horse-trappings have been found. Some of these may be seen in the Ashmolean, and more in the British Museum.
‘The antiquities65 discovered at Stanwick in Yorkshire, Polden Hill in Somersetshire, Saham Toney in Norfolk, Westhall in Suffolk, and at Middleby in Annandale, Scotland, which are all of Celtic workmanship, consist principally of bits and portions of horse-furniture of various 72kinds which have preserved, in many cases, the enamel with which they were decorated[21].’
The Romans or Romanized populations continued the practice of this art, and from the evidence of the finds that occur from time to time it appears probable that some of the finest specimens were made in Britain. A large flat plate, representing an altar, which was found in London and is now in the British Museum, has all the appearance of being unfinished. A curious cup, which was found at Rudge in Wiltshire, has round it the names of five of the towns on the Roman Wall. And this specimen appears, by peculiarities66 of workmanship, to be nearly related to the beautiful vase which was found in a tumulus on the Bartlow Hills, in Essex, where it seems to have been deposited after the time of Hadrian. And if the Saxon invasions of the fifth and sixth centuries did, as it is thought, obliterate67 all traces of this art in the other parts of the west, this could only have had the effect of making the practice of it peculiar73 to Ireland; and the Irish were not a stay-at-home race, neither did they hide their gifts from other people.
There is a Keltic aspect in the enamelled designs which was remarked by Franks, and which may have accompanied the tradition of this art even when it passed out of Keltic hands[22].
In short, all the indications which this enquiry has brought to my notice concerning the technical history of our Enamel do seem to localize it in the British Isles. At a later stage of this chapter we shall be met by evidence of a different kind, tending in the same direction.
II
The Inward Signification of the Figure, and of the Engraving at the back of it
About the signification of this Figure the conjectures68 have been diverse, but they have 74all agreed in recognizing the two sceptres as the characterizing attribute. Hickes, in his first interpretation, thought that the icuncula represented the glorified69 Saviour70 with a lily sceptre in either hand, denoting his twofold realm of heaven and earth: or else the pontiff of Rome as his vicegerent wielding71 both the temporal and the spiritual power. Afterwards, however, when he had read in pseudo-Ingulph the story of St. Cuthbert’s appearance to Alfred, and had contemplated72 in the Lichfield Book the figure of St. Luke (seemingly, but not really two-sceptered), he was moved to think that the icuncula represented a saint, and was, perhaps, meant for St. Cuthbert[23].
I think Hickes was right in his first interpretation, and especially in the second member of his alternative, wherein he referred it to the pope. In the ninth century the thought of Christ was easily blended with that of his vicegerent upon earth: and it is plain that the Figure is arrayed in precisely73 those insignia which best represent the dominant74 thought of the papacy at that epoch75. The two sceptres75 aptly symbolize76 the claim and aspiration77 of the Western hierarchy78 during those very years which Alfred spent in Rome.
Leo IV, the pontiff who welcomed the princely boy to Rome, had already, as the organizer of victory over the Saracens, done much to prepare the exaltation of the Roman See. Many causes conspired79 to the same result. This was just the moment when the famous Decretals were ready to start upon their triumphant80 career. A first display of their working was seen in 858, when the novel solemnity of coronation was added to the consecration81 of Nicholas I. And, as I apprehend82 the course of events, this falls within the period of Alfred’s sojourn83 at Rome.
Not long after this the surprizing spectacle was seen of the pope on horseback, and the emperor on foot walking by his side and holding his bridle84 as he rode. This pontiff gave commands to kings and ruled over them as lord of the whole world; and he actually realized his ambition of making all secular85 power subject to the papacy.
He claimed the subjection of all national churches to the bishop86 of Rome. He decreed,76 in 866, that no archbishop might be enthroned or might consecrate88 the eucharist, until he had received the pallium from the Roman pontiff.
There was much in the conditions of the time and in his own experience to cause Alfred to view these things wholly on their favourable89 side. The enamelled head is probably not meant for a portrait of Leo IV or any particular pope, but we can hardly be mistaken if we interpret it as a symbolical90 figure to represent the papal authority as the vicar and vicegerent of Christ.
And if this be a true solution of the problematical icuncula, there is yet something more which we naturally desire to know. We naturally inquire about the composition of the symbol, of what elements is it made up, and from what source did the suggestion come?
ILLUMINATION FROM THE ‘BOOK OF KELLS.’
In the Library of Trinity College, Dublin, is preserved a very famous book, known as the Book of Kells, a monument of Irish learning and art in that period when Ireland most justly earned the glorious title of ‘Insula Sanctorum.’ One of the full-page illuminations which adorn91 that book represents a scene of the Temptation, in which Jesus is on the pinnacle92 and Satan is77 near. Such is the action represented: but besides the action the same picture conveys also a reflection or comment upon the action. Lower down, and more in the body of the building, there is a window at which is seen a majestic93 personage holding a sceptre in either hand, which leans and rests on either shoulder. At first sight the effect is quaint38, bizarre, and puzzling; but a little attention makes all plain. It becomes clear that a contrast is intended between the humiliation94 and the triumph of the Christ; and perhaps also, by the association of ideas which the last two verses of St. Matthew’s Gospel have made familiar, to suggest the duty (zealously discharged by the early Irish Church) of missionary97 devotion. No one who has given time and thought to this picture can doubt that the two-sceptered figure is Christ. Here is no question of the pontiff of Rome. In the seventh century, to which the Book of Kells is assigned, the papal claims were not admitted, much less glorified, by those of the Scotian rite51. Therefore the interpretation of that Irish picture is quite simple, and it represents the glorified Christ inhabiting his temple78 and looking out over his Church as Lord of heaven and earth[24].
Though we know only of a single extant copy of this picture, we may confidently assume that among the manifold activities of the monks98 and hermits99 and missionaries100 and pilgrims from Ireland it was multiplied and disseminated101. It is (I think) impossible to compare our Figure of the ninth century with that of the seventh, without coming to the conclusion that the one is a descendant of the other. We need not be incredulous about the chance of Alfred’s being acquainted with Irish iconography. The narrative102 in the Chronicle (ā. 891) of three Irish exiles who found their way to king Alfred, reflects a valuable light on his kindly103 relations with the learned and pious104 from the sister island. This connexion was neither new nor immature105. When they found themselves ashore106 on the coast of Cornwall they set out ‘at once’—such is the effect of sona—for king Alfred[25].
Moreover, the Irish picture furnishes a welcome79 light upon an obscure detail of our enamelled Figure. How are the heads of the sceptres to be explained? Some have taken them for palms, and others for lilies, but the Irish drawing shows them rather as plumes107. And this finds support in a singular passage of Bede’s Ecclesiastical History. Speaking of Oswald the Bretwalda, Bede describes him as a prince who carefully upheld his imperial dignity, insomuch that, not only when he rode through his provinces did his standard go before him, but even when he walked forth108 in the streets he was always preceded by an apparitor bearing the Tufa, which (he adds) was in the vernacular109 called Tuuf. We learn from Du Cange that the Tufa was a wand with a head of plumes, and this is what we see in the sceptres of the Irish drawing. Sir Francis Palgrave divined that the Saxon Bretwaldadom had inherited this emblem110 of authority from the provincial111 dignitaries of the empire.
From these data the natural conclusion is that the Figure in this Jewel was derived112 from an Irish, and not from an Oriental, nor from any continental113 source. It was taken from an Irish symbolical drawing of Christ triumphant and80 reigning114 over his Church, and it was adapted by the king in a sense which his experience had made real and concrete and practical. As Chaucer was called ‘grand translateur,’ so we may call Alfred a grand adapter. Whoever has been drawn115 in to study both Alfred and Dante may have observed this in common to the two, that what they borrow they transfigure, their touch imparts to it the colour of their mind. King Alfred in early youth was tied by every thread of religious conviction and political interest and personal sentiment to the See of Rome, and he meant this Jewel to enshrine the frontispiece of his profession and the ensign of his creed87 ecclesiastical, political, and personal.
At the close of the former section I said that the conclusion there arrived at would be confirmed by another kind of evidence in the sequel. Up to that point the argument had run upon the technical aspects of our enamelled Figure, and these had seemed to indicate the British Isles as its native region. Since that stage our argument has turned upon the conception and pedigree of the device; and here again we find that an insular116 rather than a foreign81 source is indicated. Further evidence, pointing in the same direction, will be advanced before the close of the present chapter[26].
At the back of this Enamel there is a gold plate which serves the same purpose as a backboard to a picture, and it is secured by an overlapping117 undulating border of gold. In the Minster Lovel jewel this member consists of a blank gold plate, but in the Alfred Jewel this surface is occupied with an engraving which is certainly allegorical. At first sight it seems to be no more than a decorated pattern made upon the idea of a tree with branches and blossoms and fruit[27]. But upon closer inspection118 this tree appears to be a sword with its point buried in a human heart, and when this is discovered it becomes plain that the branches and blossoms must be allegorical.
82
A sword with its point planted in a human heart may mean compunction for sin and mortification119 of the natural man; it may also mean resignation in adversity to the overruling providence120 of God. Such a disposition121 of mind is productive of flowers and fruit, that is, of conduct which is beautiful and profitable, and (on great occasions) of action which is heroic. This mode of symbolical expression may be seen in the figure of St. Luke in St. Chad’s Book at Lichfield. The Evangelist holds in his right hand a pen, the feathery part of which branches out into flowers and fruit, to signify the fruitful nature of the writings of St. Luke[28].
These are the obvious meanings of such a symbolical device, and this being so, it plainly results that the Figure and its back-plate are united by correlation122 of thought. The enamelled Figure is the symbol of religion in its ecclesiastical and political aspect; the engraved plate represents the inward disposition of the heart, the root and fount of personal religion. The former is of the nature of a public 83profession, and as such is openly displayed to view; the latter is reserved, out of sight, facing the wall.
III
A Constructive Inference
And this raises a consideration to which I invite careful attention. These two pictures, the one enamelled, the other engraved, are complementary the one to the other; they are two parts of one design, and as such they combine to declare the unity123 of thought which locks together the composition and fabric124 of this Jewel into one constructive whole. And this observation, once verified and clearly apprehended125, must henceforth exclude the theory of Sir Francis Palgrave which explained this Jewel as being derived from two diverse sources in the following manner:—
‘Alfred’s Jewel, in the mechanical workmanship of the metallic portion, offers a close resemblance to the Icelandic ornaments126, now made in the island, where the mode has probably continued by usage from the most remote84 periods. The enamel within, on the other hand, resembles some ornaments of the Carlovingian era now existing on the continent, which have been generally considered as Oriental. The head at the extremity128 of the ornament127 is extremely like what is found in those architectural ornaments usually called Saxon, e. g. the porch of St. Margaret’s at York. Whether St. Neot be the personage represented in the enamel I rather doubt; and I think it possible that the enamel itself was brought from the continent, and that the setting only was made in England. This would reconcile the two styles of workmanship; the metallic portion is unquestionably Anglo-Saxon, the enamel may be supposed to be from another country. But altogether it is one of the most curious relics129 of the kind; and no one, taking all the points of evidence together, can reasonably doubt but that it did belong to king Alfred.’
This is copied from the Ashmolean Catalogue, 1836 (p. 138), the work of Mr. Philip Duncan, or rather perhaps of the two brothers, John and Philip Duncan, both Fellows of New College, and successively Keepers of the Ashmolean85 Museum, men famous in their generation for their zeal95 in promoting all that was good and generous and beautiful; and graced, both of them, with a strong and manly130 beauty worthy131 to support the nobility of their character and set it forth to the best advantage.
I take the above to be an extract from a letter to one of the brothers in answer to enquiries addressed to Sir Francis Palgrave, asking his opinion about the Jewel, and especially whether he thought the evidence warranted the conclusion that it had really belonged to the great king of Wessex. The answer has a peculiar value, because of the firm judgement it supplies upon the main problem. The deliberate opinion of the most competent authority of the time upon this point is of permanent value. Of a different nature is the other part of his answer, in which he embarked132 upon a bold antiquarian diagnosis133, and broached134 his dualistic theory. This solution was accepted at the time as furnishing a solid basis for the interpretation of the Jewel, and it has held its ground ever since.
This new hypothesis gave satisfaction on three grounds: first, in that it accounted for the86 quaintness136 of the Figure as being probably Byzantine or Oriental; secondly137, in that it lightened the burden of credit demanded for our insular jewellers of the ninth century; and thirdly, because it squared so well with the accredited138 fact that Alfred did receive presents from foreign potentates139. On all these grounds the dual135 hypothesis of Sir Francis Palgrave gave general satisfaction and seemed to be absolutely final.
For myself, I adopted it as the pivot140 of my interpretation, and as such I used it in the last lecture I gave on the subject, which was in May, 1899. But now at length, by the wider and more searching investigation which has been required in the preparation of this Essay, I have satisfied myself that all the parts of this composite work are bound together by a unity of thought which manifests the effort of a single mind.
All available testimony141 indicates that this was none other than the mind of king Alfred. In support of this broad assertion I will here bring forward a new illustration from the original writings of the king. When he had translated the Pastoral Care he furnished it with87 a prologue142 and an epilogue, both in verse: the prologue is given above, in the second of these chapters; the epilogue is quoted here. It illustrates143 his love of figure and symbol, and his aptness for the development of a train of allegorical thought:
Dis is nu se w?terscipe
This is now the watering
ee us wereda God
which the world’s Creator
to frofre gehêt
for refreshment144 promised
fold buendum.
us who till the field.
He cw?e e?t he wolde
He said it was his will
that in the world thenceforth
of e?m innoeum
out of the inward soul
a libbendu w?tru fleowen
waters aye enduring flow
ee wel ón hine gelifden under lyfte.
of loyal believers under heaven.
Is hit lytel tweo
There is little doubt
e?t e?s w?terscipes
that of this watering
welsprynge is
the well-spring is
on hefonrice;
in the heavenly kingdom;
e?t is Halig Gast.
for it is the Holy Ghost.
Donan hine hlodan
From that fountain fetched it
halge and gecorene,
faithful men elect,
88
sieean hine gierdon
and at length ’twas guided
ea ee Gode herdon
by hearers of God
eurh halgan bêc
through holy books
hider on eorean
hither on earth
geond manna m?d
missenlice.
in manners diverse.
Sume hine weriae on gewitlocan
wisdomes stream welerum geh?ftae
wisdom’s stream with closed lips
e?t he on unnyt
so that it fruitlessly
?t ne to fleowee:
flows not away:
ac se w?l wunae
ón weres breostum
in the man’s breast
eurh Dryhtnes giefe
through divine grace
diop and stille.
deep and still.
Sume hine l?tae
Some let it at large
ofer landscare
over the land
rieum torinnan.
in rillets wide-running.
Nis e?t r?dlic eing,
Good rede is it not
gif swa hlutor w?ter
hlud and undiop
run shallow and loud
89
toflowee ?fter foldum
flowing free over fields
oe hit to fenne were.
Ac hladae iow nu drincan
But draw now for your drinking
nu iow Dryhten
now that your Lord
geaf e?t iow Gregorius
Gregorius to you gave,
gegiered hafae
and he hath guided
to durum iowrum
to your doors
Dryhtnes welle.
the spring divine.
Fylle nu his f?tels,
se ee f?stne heder
if sound it be,
kylle brohte:
the pail he brought:
cume eft hr?ee.
come back for more anon.
Gif her eegna hwelc
If any lording here
eyrelne kylle
a leaky pail
brohte to eys burnan,
brought to this burn,
bête hine georne,
eyl?s he forsceade
lest he should spill
scirost w?tra,
the sparkling water,
oeee him lifes drync
or of life’s drink
forloren weoree.
depart forlorn.
The diction of alliterative poetry has fallen out of use, and consequently this illustration90 must labour under the disadvantage of being in a form unfamiliar150 to the general reader. Nevertheless, with a little attention, the essential point will become plain. The royal translator had been refreshed and invigorated with the lucid stream of Gregory’s discourse, and at the moment of parting with a beloved task he sought to relieve his full-fraught soul with a grateful burst of eulogy151. Out of all the topics that were appropriate to the occasion he chose the perennial152 water of life promised at the well of Samaria, and upon this noble theme he expatiated153 with a fertility of invention which makes it the easier for us to attribute to him the rich symbolism of the Alfred Jewel.
And now to gather up the results of this chapter. We have found more than one reason to think that our Enamel was an insular, and not a continental product. This conclusion was reached by two different paths, first when we were tracing the technical history of the fabrication, and again when we were seeking the spiritual meaning of the design; by these two widely different lines of evidence we were led91 severally and independently to infer a British rather than a foreign origin for the Figure[29].
This inference was further confirmed by a third evidential process, arising out of the sympathy of meaning which appears to unite the enamelled Figure with the engraved device upon its back-plate. This led us to question the long-established doctrine154 of duality of origin which rested upon the authority of Sir Francis Palgrave, and to infer that the whole composition of the Jewel had been projected and devised by a single mind.
Finally, we found reason to think that all these features harmonized well with the mind and character of a person with whose name the Jewel is already connected by the Epigraph; and if anything was yet wanting to complete the identification of that person, it seems to be supplied by certain traces of inward affinity155 between the symbolism of the Jewel and that of the epilogue to the translation of the Pastoral Care, one of the surest monuments of the mind of king Alfred.
[16] For the etymology156: enamel is a compound of the simple amel, which is now obsolete157. This was an anglicized form of French émail, which in Old French was esmal, whose cognates were Proven?al esmalt, Spanish and Portuguese158 esmalte, Italian smalto (used by Dante), which, in medieval Latin, was smaltum. The source is Old High German *smaltjan, our verb to smelt, i.e. to fuse by heat (New English Dictionary, v. Amel).
[18] These eight plates have been reproduced by M. de Linas in his Histoire du Travail160 à l’Exposition universelle de 1867, p. 125.
[20] Philostratus, Icones, i. 28:—the horsemen are described as—?ργυροχ?λινοι κα? στικτο? κα? χρυσο? τ? φ?λαρα. Τα?τ? φασι τ? χρ?ματα το?? ?ν ?κεαν? βαρβ?ρου? ?γχε?ν τ? χαλκ? διαπ?ρ?, τ? δ? συν?στασθαι κα? λιθο?σθαι, κα? σ?ζειν ? ?γρ?φη.
[21] Augustus W. Franks, ‘Vitreous Art,’ p. 14 in Art Treasures of the United Kingdom, a book which was brought out in connexion with the Manchester Exhibition of 1857.
[22] Mr. Arthur Evans recognizes a Keltic physiognomy in the eyes of the icuncula; but for me the eyes are as if they were not, being so much sunk out of their place, that through infirmity of sight I am unable to verify them.
[23] Appendix B.
[24] Appendix C.
[25] And ta comon hi ymb vii niht to londe on Cornwalum, and foron ta sona to ?lfrede cyninge.
[26] For the Irish illumination above referred to I have relied upon Facsimiles of Miniatures and Ornaments of Anglo-Saxon and Irish Manuscripts. By J. O. Westwood. London, 1868. Plate XI.
[27] ‘The back, or reverse, is a plate of gold lying immediately upon the back of the miniature, and this is beautifully worked in foliage161.’ Llewellynn Jewitt, F.S.A., in the Reliquary for October, 1878: vol. xx, p. 66.
[28] Here I follow the old copy of this drawing in Hickes’s Thesaurus (1705) facing p. viij.
[29] Appendix D.
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2
par
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| n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的 | |
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3
shrine
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| n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣 | |
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4
ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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5
fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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interpretation
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| n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理 | |
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relic
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| n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物 | |
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specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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constructive
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| adj.建设的，建设性的 | |
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artistic
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| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
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ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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12
engraving
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| n.版画；雕刻（作品）；雕刻艺术；镌版术v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的现在分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中） | |
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13
enamels
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| 搪瓷( enamel的名词复数 )； 珐琅； 釉药； 瓷漆 | |
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pigments
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| n.（粉状）颜料( pigment的名词复数 )；天然色素 | |
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15
variegated
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| adj.斑驳的，杂色的 | |
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16
tinted
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| adj. 带色彩的 动词tint的过去式和过去分词 | |
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17
metallic
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| adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的 | |
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18
precursors
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| n.先驱( precursor的名词复数 )；先行者；先兆；初期形式 | |
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19
fen
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| n.沼泽，沼池 | |
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20
compartments
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| n.间隔( compartment的名词复数 )；（列车车厢的）隔间；（家具或设备等的）分隔间；隔层 | |
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21
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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22
dressing
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| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
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23
enumerating
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| v.列举，枚举，数( enumerate的现在分词 ) | |
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24
celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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25
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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26
tints
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| 色彩( tint的名词复数 )； 带白的颜色； （淡色）染发剂； 痕迹 | |
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opaque
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| adj.不透光的；不反光的，不传导的；晦涩的 | |
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28
treasury
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| n.宝库；国库，金库；文库 | |
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29
Oxford
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| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
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30
inscription
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| n.（尤指石块上的）刻印文字，铭文，碑文 | |
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31
filigree
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| n.金银丝做的工艺品；v.用金银细丝饰品装饰；用华而不实的饰品装饰；adj.金银细丝工艺的 | |
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engraved
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| v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的过去式和过去分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中） | |
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33
bust
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| vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部 | |
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34
donor
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| n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体 | |
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35
chalice
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| n.圣餐杯；金杯毒酒 | |
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36
humility
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| n.谦逊，谦恭 | |
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37
hoop
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| n.（篮球）篮圈，篮 | |
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38
quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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39
second-hand
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| adj.用过的，旧的，二手的 | |
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40
structural
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| adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的 | |
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41
affinities
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| n.密切关系( affinity的名词复数 )；亲近；（生性）喜爱；类同 | |
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42
memoir
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| n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录 | |
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43
specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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44
scooping
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| n.捞球v.抢先报道( scoop的现在分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等） | |
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45
paucity
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| n.小量，缺乏 | |
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46
investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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47
copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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48
antiquated
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| adj.陈旧的，过时的 | |
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49
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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50
veneration
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| n.尊敬，崇拜 | |
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51
rite
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| n.典礼，惯例，习俗 | |
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52
prolific
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| adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的 | |
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53
superseded
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| [医]被代替的，废弃的 | |
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54
vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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55
retrace
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| v.折回；追溯，探源 | |
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56
icones
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| n.彩色图谱 | |
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57
connoisseur
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| n.鉴赏家，行家，内行 | |
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58
reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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59
discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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60
costliness
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| 昂贵的 | |
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61
barbarians
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| n.野蛮人( barbarian的名词复数 )；外国人；粗野的人；无教养的人 | |
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62
smelt
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| v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼 | |
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63
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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64
isles
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| 岛( isle的名词复数 ) | |
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65
antiquities
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| n.古老( antiquity的名词复数 )；古迹；古人们；古代的风俗习惯 | |
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66
peculiarities
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| n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪 | |
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67
obliterate
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| v.擦去，涂抹，去掉...痕迹，消失，除去 | |
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68
conjectures
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| 推测，猜想( conjecture的名词复数 ) | |
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69
glorified
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| 美其名的，变荣耀的 | |
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70
saviour
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| n.拯救者，救星 | |
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71
wielding
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| 手持着使用（武器、工具等）( wield的现在分词 )； 具有； 运用（权力）； 施加（影响） | |
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72
contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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73
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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74
dominant
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| adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因 | |
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75
epoch
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| n.(新)时代；历元 | |
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76
symbolize
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| vt.作为...的象征，用符号代表 | |
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77
aspiration
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| n.志向，志趣抱负；渴望；(语)送气音；吸出 | |
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78
hierarchy
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| n.等级制度；统治集团，领导层 | |
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79
conspired
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| 密谋( conspire的过去式和过去分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致 | |
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80
triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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81
consecration
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| n.供献，奉献，献祭仪式 | |
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82
apprehend
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| vt.理解，领悟，逮捕，拘捕，忧虑 | |
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83
sojourn
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| v./n.旅居，寄居；逗留 | |
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84
bridle
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| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
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85
secular
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| n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的 | |
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86
bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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87
creed
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| n.信条；信念，纲领 | |
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88
consecrate
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| v.使圣化，奉…为神圣；尊崇；奉献 | |
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89
favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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90
symbolical
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| a.象征性的 | |
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91
adorn
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| vt.使美化，装饰 | |
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92
pinnacle
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| n.尖塔，尖顶，山峰；(喻)顶峰 | |
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93
majestic
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| adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的 | |
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94
humiliation
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| n.羞辱 | |
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95
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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96
zealous
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| adj.狂热的，热心的 | |
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97
missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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98
monks
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| n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 ) | |
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99
hermits
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| （尤指早期基督教的）隐居修道士，隐士，遁世者( hermit的名词复数 ) | |
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100
missionaries
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| n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 ) | |
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101
disseminated
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| 散布，传播( disseminate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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102
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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103
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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104
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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105
immature
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| adj.未成熟的，发育未全的，未充分发展的 | |
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106
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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107
plumes
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| 羽毛( plume的名词复数 )； 羽毛饰； 羽毛状物； 升上空中的羽状物 | |
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108
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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109
vernacular
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| adj.地方的，用地方语写成的；n.白话；行话；本国语；动植物的俗名 | |
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110
emblem
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| n.象征，标志；徽章 | |
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111
provincial
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| adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人 | |
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112
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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113
continental
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| adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的 | |
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114
reigning
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| adj.统治的，起支配作用的 | |
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115
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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116
insular
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| adj.岛屿的，心胸狭窄的 | |
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117
overlapping
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| adj./n.交迭（的） | |
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118
inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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119
mortification
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| n.耻辱，屈辱 | |
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120
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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121
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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122
correlation
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| n.相互关系，相关，关连 | |
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123
unity
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| n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调 | |
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124
fabric
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| n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织 | |
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125
apprehended
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| 逮捕，拘押( apprehend的过去式和过去分词 )； 理解 | |
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126
ornaments
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| n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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127
ornament
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| v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物 | |
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extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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relics
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| [pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸 | |
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manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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132
embarked
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| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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diagnosis
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| n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断 | |
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134
broached
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| v.谈起( broach的过去式和过去分词 )；打开并开始用；用凿子扩大（或修光）；（在桶上）钻孔取液体 | |
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135
dual
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| adj.双的；二重的，二元的 | |
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136
quaintness
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| n.离奇有趣，古怪的事物 | |
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137
secondly
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| adv.第二，其次 | |
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138
accredited
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| adj.可接受的；可信任的；公认的；质量合格的v.相信( accredit的过去式和过去分词 )；委托；委任；把…归结于 | |
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139
potentates
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| n.君主，统治者( potentate的名词复数 )；有权势的人 | |
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140
pivot
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| v.在枢轴上转动；装枢轴，枢轴；adj.枢轴的 | |
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141
testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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142
prologue
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| n.开场白，序言；开端，序幕 | |
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143
illustrates
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| 给…加插图( illustrate的第三人称单数 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明 | |
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144
refreshment
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| n.恢复，精神爽快，提神之事物；（复数）refreshments:点心，茶点 | |
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145
pervade
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| v.弥漫，遍及，充满，渗透，漫延 | |
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146
warily
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| adv.留心地 | |
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147
brooklet
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| n. 细流, 小河 | |
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148
lucid
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| adj.明白易懂的，清晰的，头脑清楚的 | |
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149
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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150
unfamiliar
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| adj.陌生的，不熟悉的 | |
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151
eulogy
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| n.颂词；颂扬 | |
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152
perennial
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| adj.终年的；长久的 | |
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153
expatiated
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| v.详述，细说( expatiate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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154
doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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155
affinity
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| n.亲和力，密切关系 | |
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156
etymology
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| n.语源；字源学 | |
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157
obsolete
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| adj.已废弃的，过时的 | |
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158
Portuguese
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| n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语 | |
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159
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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160
travail
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| n.阵痛；努力 | |
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161
foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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