Middleham Jewel, obverse - hi-res YORYM 1991 43

The Middleham Jewel is a late 15th-century gold pendant, set with a large blue

sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, vanadium, or magnesium. The name sapphire is derived via the Latin "sap ...

stone. Each side of the lozenge-shaped pendant is engraved with a religious scene. It was discovered by a metal detectorist in 1985 near

Middleham Castle Middleham Castle is a ruined castle in Middleham in Wensleydale, in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It was built by Robert Fitzrandolph, 3rd Lord of Middleham and Spennithorne, commencing in 1190. The castle was the childhood home ...

, the northern home of

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Bat ...

, and acquired by the

Yorkshire Museum The Yorkshire Museum is a museum in York, England. It was opened in 1830, and has five permanent collections, covering biology, geology, archaeology, numismatics and astronomy. History The museum was founded by the Yorkshire Philosophical Soci ...

York York is a cathedral city with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many hist ...

for £2.5 million.

Description

The pendant is a gold pendant with a blue

stone set on one face. It measures approximately across. The obverse bears a representation of the

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the ...

, including the

Crucifixion of Jesus The crucifixion and death of Jesus occurred in 1st-century Judea, most likely in AD 30 or AD 33. It is described in the four canonical gospels, referred to in the New Testament epistles, attested to by other ancient sources, and conside ...

, bordered by a Latin inscription "Ecce Agnus Dei qui tollis peccata mundi ... miserere nobis ...

tetragramaton The Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew theonym (transliterated as YHWH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four letters, written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are ''yodh'', '' he'', '' waw'', and ...

... Ananyzapta" (Translation: "Behold the Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world. Have mercy upon us..."), with “Ananyzapta” possibly a magic word intended to protect the user from

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...

. The reverse bears an engraving of the Nativity, with the

Lamb of God Lamb of God ( el, Ἀμνὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, Amnòs toû Theoû; la, Agnus Dei, ) is a title for Jesus that appears in the Gospel of John. It appears at John 1:29, where John the Baptist sees Jesus and exclaims, "Behold the Lamb of God wh ...

, bordered by the faces of fifteen saints, some bearing attributes that allow them to be identified as

St Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupati ...

St George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

, St Barbara, St Margaret of Antioch,

Catherine of Alexandria Catherine of Alexandria (also spelled Katherine); grc-gre, ἡ Ἁγία Αἰκατερίνη ἡ Μεγαλομάρτυς ; ar, سانت كاترين; la, Catharina Alexandrina). is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, w ...

Dorothea of Caesarea Dorothea of Caesarea (''Dorothea, Dora''; often just called ''Saint Dorothy'', died ca. 311 AD) is a 4th-century virgin martyr who was executed at Caesarea Mazaca. Evidence for her actual historical existence or ''acta'' is very sparse. She is cal ...

and

St Anne According to Christian apocryphal and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim come ...

. Suggestions for the others include

St Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afric ...

, St Nicholas of Myra,

St Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is comm ...

Anthony of Padua Anthony of Padua ( it, Antonio di Padova) or Anthony of Lisbon ( pt, António/Antônio de Lisboa; born Fernando Martins de Bulhões; 15 August 1195 – 13 June 1231) was a Portuguese Catholic priest and friar of the Franciscan Order. He was b ...

, St Agnes, St Cecilia, St

Clare of Assisi Clare of Assisi (born Chiara Offreduccio and sometimes spelled Clara, Clair, Claire, Sinclair; 16 July 1194 – 11 August 1253) was an Italian saint and one of the first followers of Francis of Assisi. She founded the Order of Poor Ladie ...

and

St Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...

Bridget of Sweden Bridget of Sweden (c. 1303 – 23 July 1373) born as Birgitta Birgersdotter, also Birgitta of Vadstena, or Saint Birgitta ( sv, heliga Birgitta), was a mystic and a saint, and she was also the founder of the Bridgettines nuns and monks after ...

. The pendant may originally have been further decorated with enamelling on each face and pearls around the edge. The back panel slides to reveal a hollow interior, which originally contained three and a half tiny discs of silk embroidered with gold thread. The textile contents identify the jewel as a

reliquary A reliquary (also referred to as a '' shrine'', by the French term ''châsse'', and historically including '' phylacteries'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a ''fereter'', and a chapel in which it is housed a ''fe ...

, containing a fragment of holy cloth. It would have been worn by a high-status lady as the centrepiece for a large necklace. The sapphire may represent heaven and could have been an aid to prayer.

Significance

A high-status item, it may have been owned by a relative of Richard III, possibly his wife,

Anne Neville Anne Neville (11 June 1456 – 16 March 1485) was Queen of England as the wife of King Richard III. She was the younger of the two daughters and co-heiresses of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick (the "Kingmaker"). Before her marriage to Ri ...

, his mother,

Cecily Neville Cecily Neville (3 May 1415 – 31 May 1495) was an English noblewoman, the wife of Richard, Duke of York (1411–1460), and the mother of two kings of England— Edward IV and Richard III. Cecily Neville was known as "the Rose of Raby", becaus ...

, or his mother-in-law, Anne Beauchamp (1426–92), widow of

Warwick the Kingmaker Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Wh ...

. The blue colour of the sapphire (related to the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

), the presence of several female saints and the depiction of the Nativity scene suggest that the jewel may have been intended to assist childbirth. The sapphire set above the Crucifixion may have been intended to have other magical or medicinal qualities as well, being able to cure ulcers, poor eyesight, headaches and stammers. The two words that follow the main Latin text - Tetragrammaton (the Latinised Hebrew name of God) and Ananizapta - may have been used as a charm against epilepsy.

Discovery and acquisition

The jewel was found in 1985 on a

bridle path A bridle path, also bridleway, equestrian trail, horse riding path, ride, bridle road, or horse trail, is a trail or a thoroughfare that is used by people riding on horses. Trails originally created for use by horses often now serve a wider r ...

near

by Ted Seaton using a

metal detector A metal detector is an instrument that detects the nearby presence of metal. Metal detectors are useful for finding metal objects on the surface, underground, and under water. The unit itself, consist of a control box, and an adjustable shaft, ...

. At a

treasure trove A treasure trove is an amount of money or coin, gold, silver, plate, or bullion found hidden underground or in places such as cellars or attics, where the treasure seems old enough for it to be presumed that the true owner is dead and the he ...

inquiry it was declared lost or abandoned and sold at

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

in 1986 for £1.4 million, but an export licence was temporarily refused to allow matching funds to be raised. It was acquired by the

in 1992 for £2.5 million, using funds raised by a public appeal, including £1.7 million from the

National Heritage Memorial Fund The National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) was set up in 1980 to save the most outstanding parts of the British national heritage, in memory of those who have given their lives for the UK. It replaced the National Land Fund which had fulfilled the ...

, £350,000 from

John Paul Getty, Jr Sir Paul Getty (; born Eugene Paul Getty; 7 September 1932 – 17 April 2003), known widely as John Paul Getty Jr., was a British philanthropist and book collector. He was the third of five sons born to J. Paul Getty (1892–1976), one of the ...

, £180,000 from the

National Art Collections Fund Art Fund (formerly the National Art Collections Fund) is an independent membership-based British charity, which raises funds to aid the acquisition of artworks for the nation. It gives grants and acts as a channel for many gifts and bequests, as ...

, £75,000 from the Headley Trust, £60,000 from the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and ...

, £25,000 from the

Goldsmith's Company The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, commonly known as the Goldsmiths' Company and formally titled The Wardens and Commonalty of the Mystery of Goldsmiths of the City of London, is one of the Great Twelve Livery Companies of the City of Lond ...

and £20,000 from members of the public. There were also donations from

North Yorkshire County Council North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) is the county council governing the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire; an area composing most of North Yorkshire in England. The council currently consists of 90 councillors. The council is current ...

, the

Richard III Society Ricardians are people interested in altering the posthumous reputation of King Richard III of England (reigned 1483–1485). Richard III has long been portrayed unfavourably, most notably in William Shakespeare's play ''Richard III'', in which R ...

and the

Wolfson Foundation The Wolfson Foundation is a charity that awards grants to support excellence in the fields of science and medicine, health, education and the arts and humanities. Overview The endowment of the Wolfson Foundation is currently some £800 million, ...

Public display

The jewel forms part of the permanent collection of the Yorkshire Museum and has been included in many public exhibitions since its discovery. It first went on public display at the Yorkshire Museum in March 1991, while the export ban was in place but before it was acquired by the museum. During the 2009–2010 closure of the Yorkshire Museum for a major refurbishment the pendant was displayed in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docume ...

as part of the exhibition 'Treasures from Medieval York: England's other capital'. When the museum reopened in August 2010 it was displayed in the Medieval gallery in the exhibition 'Medieval York: The Power and the Glory'. From 2012 to 2013 it was displayed in the 'York 1212: The Making of a City' exhibition, celebrating 800 years since York had received a

Royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

. From March 2015 to January 2016 it featured in the exhibition 'Richard III: Man & Myth'. From 2017 it featured in the 'Medieval York: Capital of the North exhibition'. A replica is on display at Middleham Castle.

References

{{reflist

External links

Middleham Jewel
A History of the World, BBC
Middleham Jewel
History of York 15th century in England Individual pendants Christian reliquaries Medieval European metalwork objects Metal detecting finds in England Collections of the Yorkshire Museum Middleham 1985 archaeological discoveries