Middleham Jewel

The Middleham Jewel is a late 15th-century gold pendant, set with a large blue sapphire 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, the northern home of Richard III, and acquired by the Yorkshire Museum in York for £2.5 million.

The pendant is a 68 grams (2.4 oz) gold pendant with a 10 carats (2.0 g) blue sapphire stone set on one face. It measures approximately 6.4 centimetres (2.5 in) across. The blue jewel was believed to have medicinal qualities, providing protection against illness, and was considered to be a cure for aliments such as ulcers, poor eyesight, headaches and stammers. Blue is also the colour of the Virgin Mary, and the jewel may have been intended to assist childbirth.

The obverse bears a representation of the Trinity, including the Crucifixion of Jesus, bordered by a Latin inscription "Ecce Agnus Dei qui tollis peccata mundi ... miserere nobis ... tetragramaton ... Ananyzapta" – the last possibly a magic word, intended to protect the user from epilepsy. The reverse face bears an engraving of the Nativity, with the Lamb of God, bordered by the faces of fifteen saints, some bearing attributes that allow them to be identified as St Peter, St George, St Barbara, and St Margaret of Antioch, Catherine of Alexandria, Dorothea of Caesarea, and St Anne. Suggestions for the others include St Augustine of Hippo, St Nicholas of Myra, St Jerome, Anthony of Padua, St Agnes, St Cecilia, St Clare of Assisi, and St Helena or Bridget of Sweden. The pendant may originally have been further decorated with enamelling on each face and pearls around the edge.

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