The Middleham Jewel © York Museums Trust/Yorkshire Museum
Throughout the history relating to the domesticated lives of women, seeking solace throughout the tribulations of childbirth - often ending in death - has remained a constant. Rather than employing the modern-day uses of epidurals and Entonox, noblewomen who could often afford domestic luxuries relied on the use of holy relics; which served as a substitute for the support and assistance medicinal remedies failed to offer. A case of such can be recognised in the Middleham Jewel, an intricately encrusted piece of golden medieval finery estimated to be worth five million pounds. Situated in the heart of the prominent Neville family and their place in the period coined as the Wars of the Roses, the Middleham Jewel reveals these sparsely appreciated figures in a light relating to the protection and superstition they would have understood.
The initial portion of this article will discuss the properties of the Middleham Jewel and the purpose of its key identifiable components, namely the visible religious imagery and the sapphire adorned on the upper face. The second section will go on to consider the fortification relics such as thus offered to a medieval society that was founded on maternal mortality and magical superstition, and why they retained such a significant domestic role during the medieval period. The following section will aim to discuss the jewel’s influences in relation to precautions of certain disabilities, namely Epilepsy, proportionate to a fifteenth century understanding. Finally, we will consider the contenders in relation to who may have possessed or perhaps commissioned the jewel.
The date attributed to the Middleham Jewel’s construction has been estimated to between 1470 to 1475, likely crafted by one of London’s finest goldsmith’s. Through the imagery on the parallel sides of the trinket, an initial understanding of its purpose can be designated. Situated at merely 6.4 centimeters long, the upper face of the piece reveals a depiction of the crucifixion alongside a square shaped sapphire resting atop. An inscription dating back to the thirteenth century, the hymn coined as the Angus Dei, borders the face of the trinket, closely translating to: ‘Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.’
An illustration of the Nativity can be found on the lower-facing side level to depictions of fifteen saints who stand in prayer. However, what brands the trinket as a holy relic can be found inside it’s hollow interior, where three disks of embroidered silk reside, reputed to be fragments of a saint. Although the precise intention of these selected Biblical imaginings may never be sufficiently deciphered, both scenes withheld a notable relation to childbirth. Therefore, the craftsman may have employed these acts to provide comfort during the noblewoman’s childbed experiences. As women during this era were not allowed to attend church after their period of ‘confinement’ before labour began, a relic such as this would have withheld notable intercessory power. This surreptitious interior likely served as a call of intercession to saints closely associated with childbirth, namely St. Erasmus or St. Collette.
Deriving from its lavish exterior, the Middleham Jewel arguably harbours an additional insight into magical superstitions, revealing the complex Medieval relationship between religion and domestic alchemy. As well as supposedly assisting in the enrichment of prayers, sapphires were understood to harbour healing properties which were believed to cure ulcers, headaches, poor eyesight and stammers. Various charms relating to protection against certain illnesses can be found across the jewel’s exterior, particularly the charm Ananizapta. Deriving from a 1349 manuscript, Ananizapta served as a form of sanctuary against Epilepsy, or what was previously interpreted as ‘falling sickness.’ Despite conditions including Epilepsy being generally associated with demonic possession, particular doctors during this period began to suggest opposing origins, notably John of Gaddesen (1280-1361) {1}. During the fourteenth century, Gaddesen sought to evolve the understanding of Epilepsy from an affliction to evil spirits to an obstruction of nerves, serving an artery blockade housed between the heart and brain. Nevertheless, a physical grounds for epilepsy remained a problematic concept in a fifteenth century society. Furthermore, the symbolism displayed across the jewel perhaps indicates their comprehension of ‘Falling Sickness.’
The question of the jewel’s ownership remains relatively uncertain, but the most likely candidate is Anne Neville, the wife of Richard III and future Queen of England. It was during Anne’s tenure at Middleham Castle as Duchess of Gloucester that the trinket was constructed, particularly during the pinnacle of Anne’s childbearing in her early marriage. Her only surviving child and successful pregnancy that has been effectively documented, Edward, was born at Middleham potentially in 1473. Albeit no other cases of Anne’s miscarriages or stillborn pregnancies were documented, this was commonplace and does not necessarily indicate that Anne did not undergo the abovementioned. Additionally, Anne’s mother, Anne, was reported to have been residing within the Middleham during the jewels construction. Anne Beauchamp, previously reputed as the Countess of Warwick, was renowned for her frequent attendances and effective assistance at labours.
In his study of the Middleham Jewel, The Middleham Jewel and Ring (1994), historian John Cherry argues that Beauchamp is the most likely candidate for the charm’s ownership. {1} Perhaps the jewel served as a personal gift to her newly-wedded daughter, either before or during her pregnancy at Middleham. Despite the precise identity in relation to the Middleham Jewel’s owner remaining inconclusively verified, it is arguably likely that such persons lie in the Neville affinity, situated at Middleham in the 1470’s.
The Middleham Jewel retains a character of fascination to historians of the period inferred as the Wars of the Roses. Particularly due to it’s notable features as a domestic, personal trinket in an era dominated by military prowess, political instability and familial intrigue. The personal lives of those corresponding, namely Richard III and the Neville affinity are so often easily undermined and this surviving trinket sufficiently revives them. The historian henceforth achieves a maternal insight that is not often conceivable, serving as a living and breathing indicator of a medieval woman’s childbed experiences. To conclude, the Middleham Jewel embodies a shadowy borderline between religious belief, medical understanding and magical superstition that dominated the Medieval world.
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