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 hisPastoralis
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’sThesaurus
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 theBeowulf
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.
Enamelcloisonnée
63
Chief extant specimens according to M. Labarte
64 ff.
The Enamelled Ouche of Mr. Roach Smith
68
Enamelchamplevée
id.
Obscurity of the history of enamelling
69
Philostratus
70
Enamelled horse-gear
71
The Symbolism of theicunculaand its Source
74
TheBook 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 hisPastoralis
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’sItinerary
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’sLife 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 theBook 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 face47
Illumination from theBook 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 face174
Sculptured Bosses found at Athelney Abbey
189, 191
Tower of North Newton Church
to face192
Map of the Isle of Athelney
At end