The Ripon Jewel

In a world where power and status were shown by dazzling display, St. Wilfrid believed that the finest craftsmanship and costliest materials were appropriate for the worship of God. The altar at Ripon was covered in a purple cloth woven with gold thread, and there were adornments of purple silk. A gospel book, written in gold letters on purple parchment was kept in a book cover made of gold and inlaid with the most precious gems.

The ‘Ripon Jewel’, found close to the Cathedral in 1976, is the only surviving trace of this magnificence. It is a small gold roundel, 29mm (just over an inch) in diameter. The back is a plain gold sheet, but settings for gems have been fashioned on the front with strips of gold. The four square cells have been filled with amber, and the smaller triangular cells with garnets. The central setting and inner arcs of inlay are now missing.

This type of inlaid jewellery was fashionable during Wilfrid’s lifetime. Kings and nobles wore brooches and pendants made in this way; so did important churchmen such as Saint Cuthbert. The cross design formed by the amber inlays hints that the ‘Ripon Jewel’ may have been made to embellish a relic casket, a cross or some other church fitting ordered by Saint Wilfrid.