Copper-alloy 'binding strips' and shield mounts from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries (original) (raw)
Related papers
The origins of the Anglo-Saxon shield are to be found in the Roman Iron Age on the Continent. The Early Saxon shield has the same basic form as the shields in Danish and North German bog deposits: a flat circular board of small to medium size, made up of several planks set side by side, and fitted with an iron boss and grip. The types of Early Saxon iron bosses and grips were also rooted in Roman Iron Age types, and the main constructions of wooden handles (particularly ones using a lap-joint) were already used on third/fourth-century shields in Jutland. In the typological series of Early Saxon bosses, stylistic change, functional requirements and technical improvements are interlinked. The changes in boss types may reflect changes in fighting practices, but they certainly reflect an advance in iron-working skills which is particularly obvious in the sixth-century transition from heavy to light bosses. By contrast, it is not clear what the grip typology reflects, but it is noteworthy that long iron grips, and flanged grips (short or long) in general, were just an episode which was limited mainly to the sixth century. Changes also affected the wooden board: it became larger, thicker and, therefore, heavier. The adoption of larger and more unwieldy boards, coupled with the change-over to taller bosses from the late sixth century, but particularly in the seventh century, may reflect the emergence of group combat because it coincides with an increasing popularity of the seax, the ideal weapon for the mêlée. But the typology and technology of the shield do not only show changes over time, they also demonstrate geographical differentiation and hierarchies. The local patterns of shield deposition in the graves are varied, and differ from cemetery to cemetery. At the regional level, the shield can be shown to have been, to a certain degree, interchangeable with the sword in the burial rite, and the extent of this interchangeability is correlated with regional wealth. Apart from its practical, military function, the shield had a symbolic role in Germanic society. In the Early Saxon burial rite, it is linked, in particular, to adulthood. The variety of decorative shield appliqués and some unusual forms of board fittings, including a unique boss in an anomalous burial, suggest that the shield displayed not just wealth and status, but also individualism and occasionally perhaps even eccentricity.
Purely decorative? Technical analysis of a fifteenth-century northern European parade shield
A fifteenth-century decorative parade shield (1863,0501.1) held at the British Museum is a finely crafted, three-dimensional object thought to be of Burgundian origin. Little was known about its painting technique, construction, and function before the study presented in this paper. Concerns over the object's stability and specific mounting needs for its inclusion in the recently refurbished medieval galleries prompted the detailed research undertaken collaboratively between the Courtauld Institute of Art, London and the British Museum. There were three areas of focus: a study of the original materials and techniques, a survey of the conservation history and materials, and recommendations for display. Analysis revealed that the painting method was analogous to fifteenth-century northern European easel painting practice and the structure similar to that reported in parade shields of the period and region. The study also revealed extensive damage to the wooden core. Further damage to the shield's edges, and degradation of the numerous repair materials, have left these areas vulnerable to environmental fluctuations. These findings prompted development of a supporting mount, identification of optimum environmental conditions and recommendations for future conservation. The accompanying stylistic research supported a fifteenth-century origin and suggested links to the 'Master of the Princely Portraits'. It is likely that the shield was used for display purposes, perhaps during parades at court festivals, or as a tournament prize.
During the conservation of a late fourteenth-century 'kettle-hat' helmet in preparation for its loan to the Royal Armouries Museum, traces of red surface decoration were discovered. This previously unrecorded feature initiated the most in-depth examination of the helmet since its acquisition by the British Museum in 1856.
Early or Late Medieval? Metal Strap-Decorations That Caused Some Confusion
Slovenska archeologia, 2022
The paper aims at refining the information about the composition of a 'hoard' found by amateur treasure hunters in Dolné orešany, Trnava dist. in Slovakia. The 'hoard' contains 86 bronze decorations and, initially, it was attributed to the turn of the 8 th and 9 th centuries. Most items are late avar decorations the origin and chronology of which is beyond any doubt. Several items, however, aroused suspicions. one of the fittings was classified as carolingian and, unfortunately, was published as such. Further studies revealed that the 'hoard' included items that should be dated back to the period between 1300 and 1450 AD instead. This applies to the fitting initially described as carolingian. The paper also questions the chronology of some well-known finds that have long been considered to be early medieval.
Medieval Archaeology, 2019
This paper introduces and discusses a group of broadly 14th-century single-looped buckles. These oval buckles are characterised by an outer edge which widens gradually towards its centre, thus providing a sizeable field either side of the pin rest. Two-thirds of the corpus of over 100 examples are decorated with engraved and punched motifs. These motifs comprise abstract forms, schematic or realistic vegetal or animal motifs, representations of humans and architectural features, and religious inscriptions. Such buckles are typical of the South of France, but are documented here for the first time from the eastern and southern coasts of England. Their presence in England can be framed in a commercial context; once diffused, they might have been copied, and other decorative motifs introduced in order to meet local needs. Compositional analyses revealed the existence of alloy groups with high proportions of lead or tin, potentially testifying to production in separate workshops.
During the conservation of a late fourteenth-century 'kettle-hat' helmet in preparation for its loan to the Royal Armouries Museum, traces of red surface decoration were discovered. This previously unrecorded feature initiated the most in-depth examination of the helmet since its acquisition by the British Museum in 1856. The red material was identified as vermilion, and a thorough mapping of the areas in which it had survived showed it had been applied in a quartered arrangement. The presence of vermilion suggested that, despite modification of the helmet into what was assumed to be a cooking vessel, the object was not used as such after the decoration was applied. This was further confirmed when metallurgical analysis showed the metal was unlikely to have been heated after the initial forging process. Examination of the metallographic structure showed it bears much in common with other helmets dated stylistically to the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The quartered dec...
A group of enigmatic late 11th- to 12th-century mounts
MEDIEVAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 2017
No convincing explanation of the function or functions of a very small group of decorated medieval gilt copper-alloy mounts has yet been put forward. They are characterised by an integral flat flange that projects from the reverse and which is unpierced and is accompanied by an integral rivet in Type 1, while in Type 2 there are one or two holes for separate rivets and the flange is pierced. One Type 1 example, from Somersham (Suffolk), has been published. The others noted below have been recorded by the PAS and/or in the Norfolk HER. Decoration can be simply described as zoomorphic, foliar and geometric. The paper was published in Medieval Archaeology 61.2 (pages 412-14 ). It runs from page 13-15 in the PDF.