"Daniel did what Rumpole at the Old Bailey would do if he thought he was cross-examining witnesses who were telling lies. One has to say that in real life Daniel would have been extremely lucky to have been thought to have demolished the witnesses, and to demonstrate their dishonesty by asking them one question each, but the principle is quite clear, and Daniel was clearly a very skilful cross-examiner."

Each scene on the crystal is a masterpiece of miniature carving, and in every scene, the artist has still found space for a small text in Latin, explaining what is going on. In the final scene is the ringing phrase, "Et salvatus est sanguis innoxius in die illa" - "And that day, innocent blood was saved".

The king who commissioned the Susannah Crystal was descended from one of the great figures of medieval Europe - Charlemagne. Around 800, Charlemagne, King of the Franks, had created an empire that covered most of western Europe, including northern Italy, western Germany and modern France. This was the largest state that western Europe had seen since the disintegration of the Roman Empire, and the stability and prosperity of Charlemagne's empire allowed a great flourishing of the arts in the years after 800. Our crystal is a magnificent example of this so-called Carolingian Renaissance. This is a jewel that has always been valued and, for most of its existence, it was in the abbey of Waulsort in modern Belgium, in the centre of Charlemagne's empire. It was certainly there in the twelfth century, when the abbey's chronicle clearly describes it.