In England types from many of these areas were received and modified. The Continental type of gold filigree and garnet work was introduced by the Jutish settlements of Kent, the Isle of Wight and part of Hampshire (Pl. I., figs. 2, 4, 8). In Sussex, Surrey, Berks and Oxon "saucer" fibulae of a type found in the Hanover district are fairly common, while north of the Thames complex Scandinavian types are general. With the intro duction of Christianity such forms as pendant crosses (Pl. I., fig. 7) come in, and Carolingian and Byzantine influence is evident.
Ireland, and in a lesser degree Scotland, had types of their own, of which the most interesting and characteristic is the penannular brooch. Generally of great size, and worn on the shoulder with the pin pointing upwards, it was richly decorated ; and the finest example, the "Tara" brooch, represents the climax of Celtic art as it is known to us, with an infinite variety of the delicate interlaced patterns that are characteristic of Irish work. This probably dates from the 8th century. The type continued in use until the loth century (Pl. I., fig. 9) or later.
With the dawn of the Middle ages the barbarian tradition of form and pattern in jewellery comes to an end; jewellery takes its place as one of the many industrial arts, fostered first in the monastic workshops for the service of the Church, and then by the jewellers of the towns. At the same time our knowledge of it is drawn from different sources. After Carolingian times the custom of burying jewels with the dead fell into disuse ; but with the development of graphic and plastic art more and more jewels were represented in painting and sculp ture, and with the development of a settled society more and more were accurately described in wills and inventories.
The brooch continued to be the most characteristic ornament, but the Roman safety pin type fell into disuse. The mediaeval brooch is nearly always a ring-brooch, of which the pin is held in position by the pull of the stuff through which it passes. The ring-form was modified in endless ways : it might be partly filled in, as on the great Eagle brooch at Mainz (Pl. II., fig. 2) or its rim might be formed as a wreath or a heart or in more fantastic shape. The other characteristic mediaeval jewel is the reliquary or devotional pendant (Pl. II., figs. 4, 6) chased or enamelled with re ligious subjects, of ten set in an architectural frame. In the 14th and 15th centuries jewellery became increasingly a part of dress (q.v.), and was fashioned into belts and chaplets, hair nets and necklaces, and sewn upon garments. The personal motto of the wearer, or an amatory sentiment, was often inscribed upon jewels.
With the Renaissance (q.v.) the link between jewellery and costume became still closer. On occa sions of ceremony the whole dress was sewn with jewels, as many portraits of the 16th century show. A new class of artificers in metal came into being, whose only concern was with such small objects as jewels. Henceforward a gradual loss of plastic quality is noticeable, compensated by an increasing skill in the cutting and display of gems. At the same time the development of the art of engraving, and the publication by this process of designs for jewels, helped to standardize their patterns throughout Europe. Both these developments, however, were gradual; and the design of Renaissance jewels shows no lack of individual fancy, and is often conditioned by the shape of an oddly-formed gem or ba roque pearl. (Pl. II., fig. 8.) The Reformation and the classical revival combined to bring the religious symbolism of mediaeval jewel-design to an end; only in Italy and Spain did the mediaeval reliquary classical types survive; but an occasional allusion in subject (Pl. II., fig. 9) is all that is classical in Renaissance jewels. A new class of portrait-jewels came into being (Pl. II., fig. 5), and many jewelled cases of great beauty were made to contain portrait miniatures.
With the 17th century a certain change is evident. Jewels cease to be works of art with some idea or fancy to express, and become mere personal ornaments beautiful in line and in material but without any deeper significance. (Pl. III., fig. 3.) Many improvements were made in technique; the art of gem-cutting was developed (see GEMS IN ART), and by the middle of the 17th century rose and brilliant cutting had almost superseded the older table cut diamond, and the enamellers produced painted flower enamels of great beauty (see ENAMEL), as well as enamels in such delicate technique as email en resille sur verre, of which the ground is not metal but glass; and the jewellers learnt to mass their gems and to set them with great lightness and elegance in leafy settings of gold and silver (see SILVERSMITH'S AND GOLDSMITH'S WORK). (Pl. III., fig. I.) With the development of this style, which in a modified form still influences jewellery design, the forms of jewels tended to become stereotyped. The characteristic jewel of the 18th century is the parure: ear-rings and brooch, necklace or clasp, and ring and sometimes shoulder-brooches or buckles, all to match, set with diamonds alone or in combination with rubies, topazes, sapphires or emeralds.