The Alfred Jewel
The Alfred Jewel is among the most famous of Anglo-Saxon objects. It was discovered at North Newton in 1693, not far from the abbey at Athelney, founded by Alfred the Great. Around the edge are the words AELFRED MEC HEHT GEWYRCAN (‘Alfred ordered me to be made’).
Over the years the jewel has been the cause of as much speculation as admiration. Precisely what its purpose was has remained a source of much uncertainty. The jewel may have been the head of a pointer used for following words in a book.
The original jewel is preserved in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and was made in about AD 890. This replica, which was made in 1901 to mark the thousandth anniversary of Alfred’s death, can be seen in the ‘Making Somerset’ gallery in the Museum of Somerset.
Over the years the jewel has been the cause of as much speculation as admiration. Precisely what its purpose was has remained a source of much uncertainty. The jewel may have been the head of a pointer used for following words in a book.
The original jewel is preserved in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and was made in about AD 890. This replica, which was made in 1901 to mark the thousandth anniversary of Alfred’s death, can be seen in the ‘Making Somerset’ gallery in the Museum of Somerset.