Grave-mounds and Their Contents / A Manual of ArchAEology, as Exemplified in the Burials of the Celtic, the Romano-British, and the Anglo-Saxon Periods

CHAPTER XV.

Anglo-Saxon Period—FibulÆ—Enamelled circular FibulÆ—Gold FibulÆ—Pendant Cross—Cruciform FibulÆ—Penannular FibulÆ—Irish and English examples—Pendant Ornaments, etc.

The fibulÆ of the Anglo-Saxon period are the most remarkable, perhaps, of any of the products of the grave-mounds of that people. They are of extreme interest, not merely from their design and the excellence of their workmanship, or from their various forms and styles of ornamentation, but because by their varieties the different races to which they belonged can, in great measure, be determined.

The more beautiful and elaborate, and at the same time the richest in effect, of these various forms of fibulÆ are those of circular form, which, although found in various parts of the kingdom, are more abundant in the barrows of Kent than elsewhere. The finest of these ever discovered was found in 1771, “near the neck, or rather more towards the right shoulder,” of the female skeleton in a grave six feet deep, ten feet long, and eight feet wide, on Kingston Down, along with some small silver fibulÆ, a golden amulet, some small hinges, a chain, some bronze vessels, pottery, and a variety of other articles. This fibula, here engraved (fig. 443), which is quite unique, “stands at the head of a class by no means extensive, characterized by being formed of separate plates of metal, enclosed by a band round the edges. The shell of this extraordinary brooch is entirely of gold. The upper surface is divided into no less than seven compartments, subdivided into cells of various forms. Those of the first and fifth are semi-circles, with a peculiar graduated figure, somewhat resembling the steps or base of a cross, which also occurs in all the compartments, and in four circles, placed cross-wise with triangles. The cells within this step-like figure and the triangular are filled with turquoises; the remaining cells of the various compartments with garnets, laid upon gold-foil, except the sixth, which forms an umbo, and bosses in the circle, which are composed apparently of mother-of-pearl. The second and fourth compartments contain vermicular gold chain-work, neatly milled and attached to the ground of the plate. The reverse of the fibula is also richly decorated.”

Fig. 443.

The vertical hinge of the acus is ornamented with a cross set with stones, and with filigree work round its base. The clasp which receives the point of the acus is formed to represent a serpent’s head, the eyes and nostrils of which, and the bending of the neck, are marked in filigree. This precious jewel was secured by a loop which admitted of its being sewn upon the dress.

Another remarkably fine example, found on the breast of a female skeleton in Berkshire, is now in the Ashmolean museum. It measures two inches and seven-eighths in diameter. The base is formed of a thin plate of silver, above which, resting apparently on a bed of paste, is a plate of copper, to which is affixed a frame-work of the same metal, giving the outline of the pattern. The four divisions of the exterior circle were originally filled with paste, on which were laid thin laminÆ of gold, ornamented with an interlaced pattern in gold wire of two sizes, delicately milled or notched, resembling rope-work. Of these compartments one is now vacant. This wire ornament was pressed into the gold plate beneath, and there are no traces of any other means than pressure having been used to fix it. The four smaller circles and that in the centre are ornamented with bosses of a white substance, either ivory or bone, but the material is so much decomposed it is difficult to say which; these bosses are attached to the copper plate beneath by iron pins. The entire face of the fibula was originally set with small pieces of garnet-coloured glass laid upon hatched gold-foil. The upper and lower plates of this ornament are bound together by a band of copper gilt, slightly grooved. The acus is lost.

Fig. 444.

Fig. 445.

The magnificent circular fibula of gold here engraved (fig. 444) was discovered some years ago in a barrow on Winster Moor, in Derbyshire. It was formed of gold filigree work, which was mounted on a silver plate. It was set with stones or paste on chequered gold-foil, and measured two inches in diameter. Along with this fibula were found the following interesting articles: a cross of pure gold, ornamented, like the fibula, with filigree work, and having a garnet cut in facets set in its centre (fig. 445); a silver armlet; two glass vessels, and a number of beads. These and some other articles were all found by the sides of two cinerary urns.

Many of the circular fibulÆ are, of course, of a much smaller and less elaborate character than those here given. They all, however, bear, exclusive of the fact of their being found along with other evidences of the period to which they belong, characteristics which cannot well be mistaken.

Fig. 446.

Fig. 447.

Fig. 448.

These circular fibulÆ appear to have been worn by the Anglo-Saxon ladies on the breast or, occasionally, shoulder. They were probably, therefore, used for fastening the dress on the bosom, as is so often seen in illuminated MSS. and on tombs of a later period.

Fig. 449.

Fig. 450.

Another extensive class of Anglo-Saxon fibulÆ are what are usually called, though not very satisfactorily, cruciform, or cross-shaped. FibulÆ of this class are, perhaps, most abundant in the midland and south-eastern counties, but they are of very rare occurrence in Kent. They would appear, therefore, to have appertained mostly to the Angles, who were the inhabitants of Mercia, East Anglia, and Northumbria. They are sometimes of silver, but usually of bronze, and are variously ornamented with interlaced work, heads, and borders of various designs. Their form will be best understood from the accompanying engravings, which exhibit some of the most usual varieties. They are from Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire, and will serve as typical examples of this class of brooch.

Fig. 451.

Fig. 452.

Fig. 453.

Another totally distinct kind of fibula, or brooch, which is considered to be peculiarly of Irish type, but which, nevertheless, is occasionally met with in England, remains to be noticed. I allude, of course, to brooches of the penannular form,57 the general type of which will be understood by the engravings given on figs. 453, 454, and 455, which are all Irish examples of more or less decorative character. The originals are in the museum of the Royal Irish Academy, as are also many other exquisite specimens of these interesting examples of early art.

Fig. 454.

Fig. 455.

Fig. 456.

The one next figured (fig. 456) was discovered in Westmoreland, and described and engraved in the ArchÆological Journal, vol. ix. page 90. This beautiful fibula I here engrave of a reduced size. The ring, it will be seen, moves freely round the upper half of the brooch, the lower or flat part of which is divided so as to allow of the passage of the acus through it. “It is set with flat bosses, five on either side. Each of these flat dilated parts of this curious ornament appears to proceed from the jaws of a monstrous head, imperfectly simulating that of a serpent or dragon; and between the jaw is introduced the intertwined triplet, or triquetra, the same ornament which is found on the sculptured cross at Kirk Michael, Isle of Man, and on some Saxon coins.” This example is of silver. With it was found a silver armlet—a simple twisted bar of decreasing thickness towards the extremities, which are hooked. The dimensions of the fibula are, length of acus, eleven inches; greatest diameter of circular part, five inches; width of the dilated part, two inches; weight, 8 oz. 8 dwt.

Fig. 457.

By far the finest example found in England is the one next figured (fig. 457). It was found in 1862, near the picturesque village of Bonsall, in the High Peak of Derbyshire. It is of bronze, and is here engraved of its full size. The ring measures three inches and seven-eighths in its greatest diameter, and the acus, which is not engraved of its full length, is six inches and three-quarters long.

It has originally been set with amber or paste, and has been richly gilt and enamelled. The interlaced ornaments are most exquisitely and elaborately formed, and are of great variety, and the heads of animals are of excellent and characteristic form. The head of the acus, or pin, is large and beautifully ornamented, and, like the ring, has been set with studs. The pin itself, as will be seen by the accompanying engraving (fig. 458), is flattened and made thin at its upper end, and bent so as to allow of the free passage of the ring through it, and is riveted on to the ornamented plate in front.

Fig. 458.

It is remarkable that, in this fibula, the ring, which, like other examples of this form of brooch, has been made to play freely for half its circumference through the acus, has been riveted to the head of the pin in the position shown in the engraving. That it has been much worn in this position—across the breast or shoulder—is evident from the ring being much worn where the pin has pressed against it when clasped. I believe this is the only example on record in which the pin has been fixed to the side of the ring, and this was certainly not the original intention of the maker of the brooch, but was done subsequently. This will be seen by the engraving of the profile of the head of the acus, on fig. 458. On one or two examples of penannular brooches, inscriptions in Ogham characters have been found, and it is highly interesting to be able to add that, on the back of the Derbyshire example, faint traces of Oghams still remain.

Fig. 459.

Another brooch, of silver, found in England, though different in form from the expanded examples just given, and although of later date, is nevertheless of the same construction. It is engraved of a reduced size on fig. 459. “The acus has been broken off. There appears to have been a third knob, now lost, which should correspond with the knob B, the acus passing between the two. The upper knob A is very loose, and moves freely around the ring. The knob B turns, but much less freely, and does not pass over C, having merely a lateral motion of one-fourth of an inch.” The diameter of the widest part is nearly five and a half inches; the globular ornaments measure one and a quarter inches in diameter. The under side of each of the balls is flat, and is engraved with ornaments, as shown on the engraving. This brooch belongs to Mr. C. Carus Wilson, and closely resembles some of the Irish examples.

Of the mode of wearing penannular brooches, the late Mr. Fairholt says: “By the sumptuary laws of the ancient Irish, the size of these brooches, or fibulÆ, were regulated according to the rank of the wearer. The highest price of a silver bodkin for a king or an ollamh, which, according to Vallancy, was thirty heifers, when made of refined silver; the lowest value attached to them being the worth of three heifers. From this it may be inferred, that the rank of the wearer might always be guessed at from the fibulÆ he wore.” The rank of the wearers of the “Tara Brooch”—the most famous of all the Irish brooches at present known—and of the Derbyshire example, must, judging from their large size and truly exquisite workmanship, have been high.

The extreme rarity of brooches of this form in England, leads one, naturally, to the conclusion that they were not much worn by the inhabitants of this country, and that, therefore, they can hardly be considered to belong to the nationality, if I may so speak, of the Anglo-Saxons. Nevertheless, examples having been here found in close proximity to undoubted Anglo-Saxon remains, and the style of ornamentation being strictly in keeping with much belonging to that period, there can be no doubt that they must be included amongst our Anglo-Saxon antiquities.

Some of the most beautiful objects, along with the fibulÆ, which the graves of the Anglo-Saxons yield, are the pendant ornaments of various kinds which were worn by that race of people. The objects of this class are extremely varied; but their beauty, like those of the richly studded and gilt fibulÆ, and the enamelled studs and bosses, cannot well be understood without the aid of coloured illustrations. Of these a set of exquisite pendants were found along with several other interesting objects, in a barrow on Brassington Moor, by Mr. Bateman. Eleven of these pendants are large and brilliantly coloured garnets beautifully set in pure gold, two are entirely of gold, and the third, also of gold, is of spiral wire. Two beads, one of green glass, the other of white and blue glass, were also found.

Gold drops of a similar character to those just described have been frequently found in the Kentish graves, as have also one or two crosses very similar to the one engraved on a previous page (fig. 445). Circular pendants of gold and other materials, decorated with enamelled or raised interlaced and other ornaments, or set with garnets and other stones, are also found. Among the most interesting of this class of pendant ornaments are coins to which loops have been attached. Examples have been found in Kent and elsewhere, and show that the fashion to some extent indulged in at the present day of wearing coins attached to watch chains, etc., is at least of Anglo-Saxon origin.

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