The Celtic brooch, more properly called the penannular brooch, and its closely related type, the pseudo-penannular brooch, are types of
brooch
A brooch (, also ) is a decorative jewelry item designed to be attached to garments, often to fasten them together. It is usually made of metal, often silver or gold or some other material. Brooches are frequently decorated with vitreous enamel, ...
clothes fasteners, often rather large; penannular means formed as an incomplete ring. They are especially associated with the beginning of the
Early Medieval
The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...
period in Ireland and Britain, although they are found in other times and places—for example, forming part of traditional female dress in areas in modern North Africa.
Beginning as utilitarian fasteners in the
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
and Roman period, they are especially associated with the highly ornate brooches produced in precious metal for the elites of
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
and
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
from about 700 to 900, which are popularly known as Celtic brooches or similar terms. They are the most significant objects in high-quality secular metalwork from Early Medieval
Celtic art
Celtic art is associated with the peoples known as Celts; those who spoke the Celtic languages in Europe from pre-history through to the modern period, as well as the art of ancient peoples whose language is uncertain, but have cultural and styli ...
, or
Insular art
Insular art, also known as Hiberno-Saxon art, was produced in the post-Roman era of Great Britain and Ireland. The term derives from ''insula'', the Latin term for "island"; in this period Britain and Ireland shared a largely common style dif ...
, as art historians prefer to call it. The type continued in simpler forms such as the thistle brooch into the 11th century, during what is often known as the
Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
Age in Ireland and Scotland.
Both penannular and pseudo-penannular brooches feature a long pin attached by its head to a ring; the pin can move freely around the ring as far as the terminals, which are close together. In the true penannular type, the ring is not closed; there is a gap between the terminals wide enough for the pin to pass through. In the pseudo-penannular type, the ring is closed, but there are still two separately defined terminals, which are joined by a further element. The penannular type is a simple and efficient way of fastening loosely woven cloth (where the pin will not leave a permanent hole), but the pseudo-penannular type is notably less efficient.
The brooches were worn by both men and women, usually singly at the shoulder by men and on the breast by women, and with the pin pointing up; an Irish law code says that in the event of injury from a pin to another person, the wearer is not at fault if the pin did not project too far and the brooch was worn in these ways by the sexes. The most elaborate examples were clearly significant expressions of status at the top of society, which were also worn by clergy, at least in Ireland, though probably to fasten
cope
The cope (known in Latin as ''pluviale'' 'rain coat' or ''cappa'' 'cape') is a liturgical vestment, more precisely a long mantle or cloak, open in front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colours, litu ...
s and other
vestment
Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially by Eastern Churches, Catholics (of all rites), Anglicans, and Lutherans. Many other groups also make use of liturgical garments; this ...
s rather than as everyday wear. The ''Senchas Mór'', an
early Irish law
Early Irish law, historically referred to as (English: Freeman-ism) or (English: Law of Freemen), also called Brehon law, comprised the statutes which governed everyday life in Early Medieval Ireland. They were partially eclipsed by the Norma ...
tract, specified that the sons of major kings, when being
fostered, should have "brooches of gold having crystal inserted in them", while the sons of minor kings need wear only silver brooches.
Terminology
"Annular" means formed as a ring and "penannular" formed as an incomplete ring; both terms have a range of uses. "Pseudo-penannular" is a coinage restricted to brooches, and refers to those brooches where there is no opening in the ring, but the design retains features of a penannular brooch—for example, emphasizing two terminals. Some pseudo-penannular brooches are very similar in design to other penannular brooches, but have a small section joining the two terminals. Others have fully joined terminals, and emphasize in their design the central area where the gap would be—for example the Tara Brooch. Pseudo-penannular brooches may also be described as "annular", or as "ring brooches".
![RogartDSCF6220](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/RogartDSCF6220.jpg)
The terms "open brooch" or "open ring brooch" are also sometimes used for penannular brooches. There is a scheme of classification originally set out, in relation to earlier types, by Elizabeth Fowler in the 1960s, which has since been extended in various versions to cover later types.
Brooches of either penannular or annular type, where the pin is very large in relation to the ring, so that the ring cannot play any part in the fastening of the brooch, may be called "ring brooches", "pin brooches", or "brooch-pins"; or, especially where the ring is small and plain, "ringed pins". In these, the design of the pin head typically shows that the pin is intended to sit underneath the ring (seen from the front), rather than on top of it as in the larger brooches.
"Celtic" is a term avoided by specialists in describing objects, and especially artistic styles, of the Early Middle Ages from the British Isles, but is firmly fixed in the popular mind. The term
Insular art
Insular art, also known as Hiberno-Saxon art, was produced in the post-Roman era of Great Britain and Ireland. The term derives from ''insula'', the Latin term for "island"; in this period Britain and Ireland shared a largely common style dif ...
is used to describe the distinct style of art originating in the British Isles and combining Germanic, Celtic, Pictish and Mediterranean elements. Although some simpler and relatively early penannular brooches are found in
Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
contexts, and some sub-types predominantly so, as far as is known the Anglo-Saxons did not use these brooch styles for prestige elite jewellery. However, there are elements in the style of Irish and Scottish brooches deriving from
Anglo-Saxon art
Anglo-Saxon art covers art produced within the Anglo-Saxon period of English history, beginning with the Migration period style that the Anglo-Saxons brought with them from the continent in the 5th century, and ending in 1066 with the Norma ...
, and related to Insular work in other media, especially
illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, the ...
s.
''
Fibula
The fibula or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. Its upper extremity is ...
'' is Latin for "brooch" and is used in modern languages to describe the many types of Roman and post-Roman Early Medieval brooches with pins and catches behind the main face of the brooch. The brooches discussed here are sometimes also called ''fibulae'', but rarely by English-speaking specialists.
File:Bronze zoomorphic penannular brooch.jpg, Bronze zoomorphic
The word ''zoomorphism'' derives from the Greek ζωον (''zōon''), meaning "animal", and μορφη (''morphē''), meaning "shape" or "form". In the context of art, zoomorphism could describe art that imagines humans as non-human animals. It c ...
penannular brooch, Co. Antrim
County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of a ...
, 6th century AD. The Hunt Museum
The Hunt Museum ( ga, Iarsmalann Hunt) is a museum in the city of Limerick, Ireland. The Hunt Museum holds a personal collection donated by the Hunt family, it was originally situated in the University of Limerick, before being moved to its pr ...
(Limerick
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
, Ireland).
File:Medieval silver annular brooch.jpg, Plain silver medieval annular brooch; note that the pin cannot move along the ring
File:Brit Mus 13sept10 brooches etc 027.jpg, Romano-British penannular brooch in bronze
File:Brit Mus 13sept10 brooches etc 016.jpg, Simple pseudo-penannular brooch (pin missing)
File:Brit Mus 13sept10 brooches etc 031.jpg, Pin-brooches and ring-pins
Fastening the brooches
![BvbfgfDSCF9200 brooch mock-up](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/BvbfgfDSCF9200_brooch_mock-up.JPG)
With a penannular brooch, the pin is pushed through folds of the cloth, which are then pulled back inside the ring; the free end of the pin passes through the gap in the ring. The pin is then rotated around the ring by 90 degrees or so, so that as long as the pin is held down by slight pressure it cannot escape over the terminals, and the fastening is secure.
With pseudo-penannular brooches, things are not so simple and the manner in which they were used is still debated; the method was probably not the same for all brooches. One method may have been to pull folds of the cloth through the ring until they could be pierced by the pin, and then pull the cloth back until the pin rested on the ring. This would work best with brooches with a pin not much longer than the diameter of the ring, which some have, but others do not. The second method might have been simply to pin the cloth vertically, leaving the ring hanging unattached to the cloth; this does not seem very secure. The third method relied on a length of chain or cord attached to the ring near the "terminals" (which in pseudo-penannular brooches do not actually terminate), which was used to secure the pin by tying it down, perhaps with a small pin at the end, which was also put through the cloth. The
Tara Brooch
The Tara Brooch is an Irish Celtic brooch, dated to the late-7th or early-8th century, of the pseudo-penannular type (i.e., with a fully closed head or hoop). It is made from bronze, silver and gold, with a head formed from a circular ornate ri ...
was probably fastened in this way. In some cases the pin was fitted with a bolt or rivet to make it removable. A further complication is that in some pseudo-penannular brooches the pin is fixed to lie in front of the ring, as in the
Londesborough Brooch
The Londesborough Brooch is a Celtic pseudo-penannular brooch from Ireland. Dating from the late eighth or early ninth century, it is a particularly elaborate example of a dress fastener dated to Ireland's artistic golden age, when objects such as ...
(below), but in others it crosses through the ring, starting with the head end in front of the ring, but the middle of the pin behind the ring by the point where it crosses at the other side; the Tara Brooch has been displayed set up in both ways. The latter arrangement seems more common in later brooches, of the 9th century.
It is fair to say that scholars remain slightly puzzled that the effective and simple penannular brooch developed in this direction, though it is presumed that the reuniting of the terminals of pseudo-penannular brooches was partly to strengthen the brooch. In many penannular brooches, the gap between the terminals is now too narrow for the pin to pass through; whether this was always the case is uncertain.
History
Roman and early Insular period
![Trumpet brooch, British, 1st or 2nd century](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Trumpet_brooch%2C_British%2C_1st_or_2nd_century.jpg)
Small and simple penannular brooches in bronze, iron, and, rarely, silver were common in the Roman period as a practical fastener, but were not used for high-status objects, and any decoration was normally limited to bands around the ring or other simple patterns. Often the extra thickness at the terminal, necessary to prevent the pin just falling off, is achieved simply by turning back the ends of the ring.
![Brooch, 1st c, Trinity Dublin](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Brooch%2C_1st_c%2C_Trinity_Dublin.jpg)
In the late Roman period in Britain in the 3rd and 4th centuries, a type of penannular brooch with
zoomorphic
The word ''zoomorphism'' derives from the Greek ζωον (''zōon''), meaning "animal", and μορφη (''morphē''), meaning "shape" or "form". In the context of art, zoomorphism could describe art that imagines humans as non-human animals. It c ...
decoration to the terminals appeared, with human or animal heads, still not much wider than the rest of the ring. Some examples had
enamel decoration, and the pin did not extend much beyond the ring. These are found especially in southwestern Britain and
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
, and seem to have developed in these areas. This type fell from favour in southern Britain by the 5th century, but was developed in Ireland by the 6–7th centuries.
These types considerably extended the size of the terminals, which now presented a flattish area often decorated with enamel or glass inlay, mostly using abstracted patterns but sometimes zoomorphic decoration. The length of the pin is now often about twice the diameter of the ring. The Irish cultural zone in this period included much of Western Scotland, and in
Pict
The Picts were a group of peoples who lived in what is now northern and eastern Scotland (north of the Firth of Forth) during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and what their culture was like can be inferred from ear ...
ish East Scotland a similar development took place, though the forms are somewhat different here. The decoration paralleled that on other metalwork fittings such as pieces of harness-tackle, and the few remaining early Christian
reliquaries
A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', by the French term ''châsse'', and historically including '' phylacteries'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a ''fereter'', and a chapel in which it is housed a ''fe ...
and other pieces of church metalwork.
Golden Age
![Ireland 2010 etc 028 (2)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Ireland_2010_etc_028_%282%29.jpg)
By shortly after 700, highly elaborate, large brooches in precious metal and gems were being produced. These were clearly expressions of high status for the wearer, and use the full repertoire of
goldsmith
A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), pl ...
's techniques at a very high level of skill. They continued to be produced for about 200 years; the Pictish brooches are much more homogeneous in design than the Irish ones, which may indicate a shorter period of production, possibly from "the mid-eighth to the beginning of the ninth centuries". Each surviving design is unique, but the range of types established in the more modest earlier brooches are developed and elaborated upon. There was no previous tradition of very ornate brooches in Ireland, and this development may have come from contact with Continental elites who wore large
''fibulae'' as marks of status. Such contacts were certainly made, especially by travelling monks.
Archaeological, and some literary, evidence suggests that brooches in precious metal were a mark of royal status, along with wearing a purple cloak, and it is probably as such that they are worn by
Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...
on a
high cross
A high cross or standing cross ( ga, cros ard / ardchros, gd, crois àrd / àrd-chrois, cy, croes uchel / croes eglwysig) is a free-standing Christian cross made of stone and often richly decorated. There was a unique Early Medieval traditi ...
at
Monasterboice
The Monasterboice ( ga, Mainistir Bhuithe) ruins are the remains of an early Christian monastic settlement in County Louth in Ireland, north of Drogheda. The ruins are a National monument of Ireland and also give their name to the local villag ...
and by the
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
on another. All surviving examples, numbering over 50 (not all complete) in the case of the Irish ones, have been recovered by excavation, or at least finding in the ground, but where the detailed circumstances of the find are known, few are from graves, and finds in hoards are much more common. When they were in graves, the burials are often much later than the date of the brooch, as in a brooch in the Irish 8th century style found in a Norse burial in
Westray
Westray (, sco, Westree) is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, with a usual resident population of just under 600 people. Its main village is Pierowall, with a heritage centre, the 15th-century Lady Kirk church and pedestrian ferry servic ...
,
Orkney
Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...
, and possibly the Kilmainham Brooch. Elaborate brooches often have one or more names—presumed to be those of owners—scratched on the reverse, often in
rune
Runes are the letter (alphabet), letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, a ...
s. Plainer brooches in bronze and similar alloys continue to be found in much larger numbers.
![Kilmainham brooche NMI](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Kilmainham_brooche_NMI.jpg)
The most elaborate Irish brooches are pseudo-penannular, while the Scottish ones mostly retain true penannular forms. Most are
silver-gilt
Silver-gilt or gilded/gilt silver, sometimes known in American English by the French term vermeil, is silver (either pure or sterling) which has been gilded with gold. Most large objects made in goldsmithing that appear to be gold are actually ...
, the gilding often partial. Some are gilded base metal, of bronze or copper-alloy; only one solid gold Irish brooch is known, a 9th-century one from Loughan,
County Londonderry
County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. B ...
, which is less elaborate than most of the series, though the standard of work is very high. However, some brooches have a hidden recess which may have contained small lead weights to make the precious metal used seem more valuable than it actually was.
In Ireland, the head of the pin might be turned into a focus for decoration, sometimes using a "kite"-shaped plate, such as that on the Tara Brooch; in Scotland, the pin-heads were simple circles formed by bending the pin back on itself. Scottish terminals are more often distinct lobed or square shapes extending beyond the circle of the ring on both sides, while in Irish examples, the terminals typically extend inside the ring forming another curve, but not much outside it, or sometimes form a straight line across the interior of the ring. Irish brooches may only join the two terminals by narrow strips, or not only eliminate the gap entirely, but have a central zone of decoration where the gap between the terminals would have been; the brooches found with the
Ardagh Chalice
The Ardagh Hoard, best known for the Ardagh Chalice, is a hoard of metalwork from the 8th and 9th centuries. Found in 1868 by two young local boys, Jim Quin and Paddy Flanagan, it is now on display in the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin. I ...
show both types.
![Brit Mus 17sept 016](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Brit_Mus_17sept_016.jpg)
The main body was normally cast, and a number of elements of two-piece moulds have been found. Many brooches have cells for studs or bosses that are most often round hemispheres, but may be square, lozenges or other shapes; very often the studs themselves are now missing. These are in a variety of materials including glass, enamel,
amber
Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In Ma ...
, and gemstones found locally, although not including any of the classic modern "precious stones", or even the
garnet
Garnets () are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives.
All species of garnets possess similar physical properties and crystal forms, but differ in chemical composition. The different s ...
s found in Anglo-Saxon jewellery. However the ''
millefiori
Millefiori () is a glasswork technique which produces distinctive decorative patterns on glassware. The term millefiori is a combination of the Italian words "mille" (thousand) and "fiori" (flowers). Apsley Pellatt in his book ''Curiosities of ...
'' glass rods sometimes used appear to have been imported from Italy, like those used in the Anglo-Saxon jewellery from
Sutton Hoo
Sutton Hoo is the site of two early medieval cemeteries dating from the 6th to 7th centuries near the English town of Woodbridge. Archaeologists have been excavating the area since 1938, when a previously undisturbed ship burial containing a ...
; examples of the rods have been excavated in both Ireland and England.
Like the Insular chalices and other metalwork, the very ornate Irish brooches were mostly made in many pieces which are pinned or slotted together. Filigree decoration was often made on "trays" which fitted into the main ring — on the Tara Brooch many of these are now missing (most were still in place when it was found in 1850).
![Brit Mus 13sept10 brooches etc 015-crop](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Brit_Mus_13sept10_brooches_etc_015-crop.jpg)
Techniques include
chip-carving
Chip carving or chip-carving, ''kerbschnitt'' in German, is a style of carving in which knives or chisels are used to remove small chips of the material from a flat surface in a single piece. The style became important in Migration Period metalw ...
, cast "imitation chip-carving",
filigree
Filigree (also less commonly spelled ''filagree'', and formerly written ''filigrann'' or ''filigrene'') is a form of intricate metalwork used in jewellery and other small forms of metalwork.
In jewellery, it is usually of gold and silver, ma ...
,
engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ...
, inlays of various types including
niello
Niello is a black mixture, usually of sulphur, copper, silver, and lead, used as an inlay on engraved or etched metal, especially silver. It is added as a powder or paste, then fired until it melts or at least softens, and flows or is pushed ...
, glass and
champlevé
Champlevé is an enamelling technique in the decorative arts, or an object made by that process, in which troughs or cells are carved, etched, die struck, or Casting (metalworking), cast into the surface of a metal object, and filled with vitre ...
enamel, and various hammering and chasing techniques: "the range of materials and techniques is almost the full range known to man." Two techniques that do not appear are the "true pierced openwork ''
interasile
Opus interrasile, ''lit''. 'work shaved or scraped in-between' is a pierced openwork metalworking technique found from the 3rd century AD, and remaining popular in Byzantine jewellery. It was developed and popularized in Rome, where metalworkers us ...
'', much used in Byzantine jewellery", and the
cloisonné
Cloisonné () is an ancient technique for decorating metalwork objects with colored material held in place or separated by metal strips or wire, normally of gold. In recent centuries, vitreous enamel has been used, but inlays of cut gemstones, ...
work that typified much Western European jewellery, and especially large fibulae, at the time, whether in enamel or stone inlays like the garnets used so effectively at Sutton Hoo and in the Anglo-Saxon
Staffordshire Hoard. In the gilded brooches, enamel is restricted to studs that punctuate the composition like gems; the larger areas of champlevé found on the flared terminals of earlier types perhaps continue in simpler types, though dating is difficult.
On some brooches the decoration is too detailed to be appreciated when the brooch is being worn, and some of the most elaborate brooches have their backs, invisible when worn, decorated almost as elaborately as their fronts. The Tara Brooch shows both features, and in addition, shares with some others a difference in decorative styles between front and back, with "Celtic"
triskele
A triskelion or triskeles is an ancient motif consisting of a triple spiral exhibiting rotational symmetry.
The spiral design can be based on interlocking Archimedean spirals, or represent three bent human legs. It is found in artefacts of ...
s and other spiral motifs restricted to the back, while the front has more
interlace and zoomorphic elements. These features are also shared by the most ornate brooches in London and Edinburgh, respectively the Londesborough and
Hunterston Brooch
The Hunterston Brooch is a highly important Celtic brooch of "pseudo-penannular" type found near Hunterston, North Ayrshire, Scotland, in either, according to one account, 1826 by two men from West Kilbride, who were digging drains at the foot ...
es. This may be because decoration on the backs relies more on engraving than filigree, which would risk wires getting caught in the clothing on which the brooch was worn.
Few of the major brooches, or indeed other metalwork, have been found in contexts that can be easily dated, and much of the dating of at least the earlier ones comes from comparison with Insular
illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, the ...
s, though the dating of these is often itself far from certain. The Tara Brooch has long been recognised as having clear stylistic similarities to the
Lindisfarne Gospels
The Lindisfarne Gospels (London, British Library Cotton MS Nero D.IV) is an illuminated manuscript gospel book probably produced around the years 715–720 in the monastery at Lindisfarne, off the coast of Northumberland, which is now in the B ...
, thought to date to about 698–715. Many of the similarities are to the
carpet page
A carpet page is a full page in an illuminated manuscript containing intricate, non-figurative, patterned designs.Moss, 57 They are a characteristic feature of Insular manuscripts, and typically placed at the beginning of a Gospel Book. Carpet p ...
s, highly detailed ornamental pages filled with decoration, which share with the brooch a certain ''
horror vacui'' that leaves no area unembellished, and also complex decoration that is extremely small and perfectly executed, and best appreciated when seen at a larger than actual scale, whether in the original or in photographs. Both combine elements from many stylistic origins into a style that is distinctly Insular: La Tène Celtic art, Germanic
animal style
Animal style art is an approach to decoration found from China to Northern Europe in the early Iron Age, and the barbarian art of the Migration Period, characterized by its emphasis on animal motifs. The zoomorphic style of decoration was used ...
, and classical and other Mediterranean styles.
File:NMSHunterstonBrooch4 (cropped).jpg, Rear of the Hunterston Brooch
The Hunterston Brooch is a highly important Celtic brooch of "pseudo-penannular" type found near Hunterston, North Ayrshire, Scotland, in either, according to one account, 1826 by two men from West Kilbride, who were digging drains at the foot ...
, an early and elaborate Irish-style brooch found in Scotland, showing a much later Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
owner's inscription
File:St Ninian's Isle TreasureDSCF6199.jpg, The Pict
The Picts were a group of peoples who lived in what is now northern and eastern Scotland (north of the Firth of Forth) during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and what their culture was like can be inferred from ear ...
ish brooches in the St Ninian's Isle Treasure, with typical Pictish lobed terminals
File:St Ninian's Isle TreasureDSCF6202det.jpg, Pictish confronted animal terminals, St Ninian's Isle Treasure
File:Brit Mus 17sept 014-crop.jpg, "Brambled" terminal on a thistle brooch
Later brooches, and the Vikings
![Britishmuseumpenrithhoardbrooches](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Britishmuseumpenrithhoardbrooches.jpg)
The
Vikings
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
began to raid Ireland from 795, with catastrophic effect for the
monasteries
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
in particular. However, although the Vikings established several
longphorts, initially fortified encampments for over-wintering, and later towns like
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
,
Wexford
Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...
,
Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
, and
Waterford
"Waterford remains the untaken city"
, mapsize = 220px
, pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe
, pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe
, pushpin_relief = 1
, coordinates ...
(the first real urban centres in Ireland), the native Irish were more successful than the English and Scots in preventing large-scale Viking takeovers of areas for settlement by farmers. By about the year 1000, the situation was relatively stable, with a mixed population of
Norse-Gaels in the towns and areas close to them, while the Gaelic Irish, whose elite often formed political alliances, trading partnerships and inter-marriages with Viking leaders, remained in control of the great majority of the island, and were able to draw tribute from the Viking towns.
![Silver brooch in thistle pattern](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Silver_brooch_in_thistle_pattern.jpg)
The period is characterised by a greatly increased availability of silver, presumably the result of Viking raiding and trading, and most brooches are made from silver throughout, as gilding and decoration in other materials nearly disappears. The brooches are often large and relatively massive, but plainer than the most elaborate earlier ones, neither using older local decorative styles nor the Viking styles that were adopted in other media. This continues a trend that can be detected in later brooches from the preceding period, before much Viking influence can have made itself felt. The 9th century
Roscrea Brooch
The Roscrea brooch is a 9th-century Celtic brooch of the pseudo-penannular type, found at or near Roscrea, County Tipperary, Ireland, before 1829.Briggs (2017), p. 74 It is made from cast silver, and decorated with zoomorphic patterns of open-ja ...
is one of a number of transitional brooches; though its form is highly ornate, with a large flat triangular pin head, the ring is thick plain silver, the gold filigree panels occupy relatively small areas, and their workmanship is a "coarse" or "crude" imitation of that of earlier works. The Kilamery Brooch is another ornate and high quality example, with a marked emphasis on plain flat silver surfaces. There are rare exceptions in which a highly decorated brooch shows Scandinavian stylistic and technical influence, notably an Irish brooch from
Rathlin Island
Rathlin Island ( ga, Reachlainn, ; Local Irish dialect: ''Reachraidh'', ; Scots: ''Racherie'') is an island and civil parish off the coast of County Antrim (of which it is part) in Northern Ireland. It is Northern Ireland's northernmost point. ...
, with areas stamped where the Irish tradition would have used casting.
The brooches appear to have been made by "native" metalworkers, but worn by both Vikings and Gaels. The very popular thistle brooches have terminals and often pin-heads that are like
thistle
Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the planton the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves. ...
flowers, with a ball topped by a round projection, often flared; they are called by the term regardless of whether or not the ball is "brambled"—that is, formed with a regular pattern of small tapering projections, like the two lowest brooches from the
Penrith Hoard
The Penrith Hoard is a dispersed hoard of 10th century silver penannular brooches found at Flusco Pike, Newbiggin Moor, near Penrith in Cumbria, and now in the British Museum in London. The largest "thistle brooch" was discovered in 1785 and ...
illustrated here. These, and other globular endings to terminals and pin-heads, were common, but flattened terminals continued to be made, now ornamented by round silver bosses amid simple repeated patterns, or interlace that is larger in scale than in the earlier ornate badges. In these, the ring often ends in a "gripping beast" biting the terminal plate. The mixture of types seen in the 10th century Penrith Hoard is typical.
![Brit Mus 13sept10 brooches etc 036](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Brit_Mus_13sept10_brooches_etc_036.jpg)
Insular brooches had been taken back to Scandinavia, and began to be produced there in the 10th century for wearing singly by men at the shoulder; Viking women wore pairs of characteristic oval brooches on the upper breast. Most were simpler than Insular examples, and several hundred in "tinned bronze rather than silver" are known. The 10th century Danish Møllerløkken Brooch is the most elaborate example known, with a simple overall design with ball terminals and pin-head, but with rich detailing such as interlace panels on the ring and filigree sections on the balls. Other Insular types were also produced in Viking areas of England, especially
Scandinavian York
Scandinavian York ( non, Jórvík) Viking Yorkshire or Norwegian York is a term used by historians for the south of Northumbria (modern-day Yorkshire) during the period of the late 9th century and first half of the 10th century, when it was do ...
. The penannular brooch fell from common use by the end of the 11th century, a time when Ireland and Scotland, and Scandinavia, were adopting general Western European styles in many areas of both art and life.
A distinctly Irish type of brooch found at the end of the Viking period is the kite brooch, whose name derives from the
almond
The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus ...
shape called a "kite" in
heraldry
Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch ...
, though the shapes of the heads are actually highly variable. They were apparently worn, like the larger brooches, singly with the pin pointing upwards. Only "about half a dozen" exist in silver, including examples that are much larger than average, with pins up to 7.9 cm long. In these, there is no ring, but the elaborate head is connected to a pin of very variable length by a short tab of metal that can move on joints at both ends; there is also usually a cord for winding round the pin to secure it. Only 14 of these brooches have been found to date in Ireland, many incomplete, and none elsewhere; five of these are from Dublin, the earliest from the 940s. They appear for about a further two centuries; typical medieval ring brooches dated to after 1200 have few distinctively Irish characteristics.
Celtic Revival
The brooches we have today have been discovered since the 17th century, and their odds on their survival once found have increased greatly over that period, as their value as artefacts has overtaken their scrap value. In the 19th century, as part of the
Celtic Revival
The Celtic Revival (also referred to as the Celtic Twilight) is a variety of movements and trends in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries that see a renewed interest in aspects of Celtic culture. Artists and writers drew on the traditions of Gael ...
, many brooches copying or inspired by earlier styles were made.
![Brit Mus 17sept 036-crop](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Brit_Mus_17sept_036-crop.jpg)
Much of the responsibility for the fashion for high-quality Celtic Revival jewellery belongs to George Waterhouse, a jeweller from
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
, England, who moved to
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
in 1842. Before the end of the decade, he and the long-established Dublin firm
West & Son of
College Green College Green or The College Green may refer to:
* College Green, Adelaide outdoor venue at the University of Adelaide
* College Green, Bristol, England
* College Green (Dartmouth College), New Hampshire, primarily known as "the Green"
* College ...
(later moving to
Grafton Street
Grafton Street () is one of the two principal shopping streets in Dublin city centre (the other being Henry Street). It runs from St Stephen's Green in the south (at the highest point of the street) to College Green in the north (the lowest p ...
) were finding it necessary to register their designs to prevent copying. Of the various types of objects made, the brooches were both the "most resonant" and those which could be sold with the least alteration to the original form and design, although the jewellers generally reduced their size and fitted them with conventional pins and catches behind, even though the
Kashmir shawl
The Kashmir shawl, the predecessor of the contemporary ''cashmere shawl'', is a type of shawl identified by its distinctive Kashmiri weave and for being made of fine ''shahtoosh'' or ''pashmina'' wool. Contemporary variants include the ''pashmina ...
s that were also fashionable at the time were often loosely woven and not unsuitable for fastening in the original way. Different versions were made at different price levels, though even the most expensive struggled to recreate the full intricacy of the originals.
The
National Museum of Ireland
The National Museum of Ireland ( ga, Ard-Mhúsaem na hÉireann) is Ireland's leading museum institution, with a strong emphasis on national and some international archaeology, Irish history, Irish art, culture, and natural history. It has thre ...
is clearly not correct in saying that the fashion began after
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
was presented with a
replica
A 1:1 replica is an exact copy of an object, made out of the same raw materials, whether a molecule, a work of art, or a commercial product. The term is also used for copies that closely resemble the original, without claiming to be identical. Al ...
of the "Cavan Brooch" on her visit to Dublin to see the
Great Industrial Exhibition in 1853; the
Royal Collection
The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world.
Spread among 13 occupied and historic royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King Charles III and overseen by the ...
has two brooches that
Prince Albert bought for her from West & Son in 1849 on an earlier visit to Dublin, which were already being made in editions. Albert presented them in November and at Christmas that year: "...such beautiful souvenirs, both made after those very curious old Irish ornaments we saw in
the College
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
in Dublin, one a silver shawl brooch, in smaller size than the original" was her reaction to the November gift. A later gift from Albert included a setting of a
cairngorm he had picked up when walking in the
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...
, a more authentic type of gem than the brightly coloured foreign stones used in much Celtic Revival jewellery.
The discovery of the
Tara Brooch
The Tara Brooch is an Irish Celtic brooch, dated to the late-7th or early-8th century, of the pseudo-penannular type (i.e., with a fully closed head or hoop). It is made from bronze, silver and gold, with a head formed from a circular ornate ri ...
in 1850 could therefore not have been better timed in terms of attracting public interest. It was immediately recognised as the culminating masterpiece (though early in date) of the Irish development of large and superbly worked ornate brooches, a status it has retained ever since. The brooch was soon acquired by George Waterhouse, who used it as the centre of displays of his replicas and imitations of Celtic brooches in his Dublin shop, also exhibiting it at
The Great Exhibition
The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition which took pl ...
in London in 1851 and the Paris
Exposition Universelle (1855)
The Exposition Universelle of 1855 was an International Exhibition held on the Champs-Élysées in Paris from 15 May to 15 November 1855. Its full official title was the Exposition Universelle des produits de l'Agriculture, de l'Industrie et des B ...
, as well as the Dublin exhibition visited by the Queen in 1853 (Victoria had already seen it; it had been specially sent to
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history.
The original cast ...
for her inspection).
Waterhouse had invented the brooch's name; in fact, it has nothing to do with the
Hill of Tara
The Hill of Tara ( ga, Teamhair or ) is a hill and ancient ceremonial and burial site near Skryne in County Meath, Ireland. Tradition identifies the hill as the inauguration place and seat of the High Kings of Ireland; it also appears in Iri ...
, and while likely found some 28 km away the actual circumstances of its find still remain unclear (essentially to avoid a claim by the landowner), and Waterhouse chose to link it to the site associated with the
High Kings of Ireland, "fully aware that this would feed the Irish middle-class fantasy of being descended from them". Describing the trend in the mid-20th century,
Adolf Mahr
Adolf Mahr (7 May 1887 – 27 May 1951) was an Austrian archaeologist, who served as director of the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin in the 1930s, and is credited with advancing the work of the museum substantially. Through his leadership ...
described the tendency for giving brooches —and more importantly their replicas— such titles as "fanciful (and sometimes ridiculous)...by a firm of Dublin jewellers".
[Briggs (2017), p. 82] By the time the Tara brooch passed to what is now the
National Museum of Ireland
The National Museum of Ireland ( ga, Ard-Mhúsaem na hÉireann) is Ireland's leading museum institution, with a strong emphasis on national and some international archaeology, Irish history, Irish art, culture, and natural history. It has thre ...
in the 1870s, the "Tara brooch" had become a
generic term
Trademark distinctiveness is an important concept in the law governing trademarks and service marks. A trademark may be eligible for registration, or registrable, if it performs the essential trademark function, and has distinctive character. Re ...
for Celtic Revival brooches, some of which were now being made by
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n workshops for export to Europe.
Maghreb region in North Africa
Penannular brooches are a characteristic type of
Berber traditional silver jewellery, worn until the second half of the 20th century by
Berber (
endonym
An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...
: Amazigh) women in the
Maghreb
The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...
. They were usually worn in symmetrical pairs and used to fix parts of unsewn draped garments, one to each side, with the pins pointing straight up. Traditionally made by
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
silversmiths, some are plain and large brooches, not unlike some later Celtic or Viking examples, and other types have a very elaborately decorated triangular base to the pin, which can dwarf the ring. A heavy necklace often hangs between the two brooches, usually attached to a ring at the bottom of the brooch. Local names for the brooches are said to include ''melia'', ''melehfa'', ''bzima'', ''kitfiyya'', and ''khellala'' in
Maghrebi Arabic
Maghrebi Arabic (, Western Arabic; as opposed to Eastern or Mashriqi Arabic) is a vernacular Arabic dialect continuum spoken in the Maghreb region, in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Western Sahara, and Mauritania. It includes Moroccan, Alger ...
, and ''tabzimt'', ''tizerzay'', and ''tazersit'' in
Berber languages. As brooches similar in form and function are known from the
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
and later Roman and
Visigoth brooches, such ''fibulae'' are believed to have been in use in the Maghreb since ancient times.
[In her article about the history and usage of ''fibulae'', Camps-Fabrer (1997) mentions the oldest known specimens of fibulae in the Maghreb: "However, from the Bronze Age, two types of fibulae appeared. The first is represented by a bow fibula which comes from the Beni Messous dolmen, unfortunately lost but described by Doctor Bertherand. The second type also found in Beni Messous is an omega fibula which is kept at the Bardo Museum in Algiers: it is an open ring whose ends are reinforced by polyhedra; a barb movable along the ring is made of a narrow sheet of bronze, one end of which is wrapped around the ring, the other ending in a point." Translated from the French original at ]
Notes
References
* Briggs, Stephen. "The Roscrea Brooch Re-Provenanced?". ''Ulster Journal of Archaeology'', volume 74, 2017.
*
Dickinson, Tania M. ''Fowler's Type G penannular brooches reconsidered'', 1982, Medieval Archaeology
PDF
*Edwards, Nancy. ''The Archaeology of Early Medieval Ireland''. Routledge, 1996, ,
*Gere, C. and Rudoe J. ''Jewellery in the Age of Queen Victoria: a Mirror to the World''. British Museum Publications, 2010.
*Henderson, George; Henderson, Isabel. ''The Art of the Picts: Sculpture and Metalwork in Early Medieval Scotland''. Thames and Hudson, 2004.
*Johns, Catherine. ''The Jewellery of Roman Britain: Celtic and Classical Traditions'', Routledge, 1996.
*Laing, Lloyd Robert. ''The archaeology of late Celtic Britain and Ireland, c. 400–1200 AD''. Taylor & Francis, 1975.
*
Moss, Rachel (2014). ''Medieval c. 400—c. 1600: Art and Architecture of Ireland''. Yale University Press,
*"Ship": Larsen, Anne Christine (ed), ''The Vikings in Ireland'', 2001, The Viking Ship Museum, Roskilde,
online text
*Wallace, Patrick F.;
Ó Floinn, Raghnall (eds) (2002). ''Treasures of the National Museum of Ireland: Irish Antiquities'', Gill & Macmillan, Dublin,
*Whitfield, Niamh (2001). ''The "Tara" Brooch'', in Hourihane, Colum (ed), ''From Ireland coming: Irish art from the early Christian to the late Gothic period and its European context''. Princeton University Press, 2001. , 9780691088259
*Whitfield, Niamh (2005). "A brooch fragment from Dublin", in Bork, Robert Odell and Montgomery, Scott, ''De re metallica: the uses of metal in the Middle Ages'', 2005, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., ,
google books* Whitfield, Niamh.
More Thoughts on the Wearing of Brooches in Early Medieval Ireland. In: Hourihane, Colum (ed), ''Irish Art Historical Studies in honour of Peter Harbison'', 2004.
* Young, Susan (ed). ''The Work of Angels: Masterpieces of Celtic Metalwork: 6th to 9th Centuries''. University of Texas Press, 1989.
Further reading
*Fowler, Elizabeth. ''The origins and developments of the penannular brooch in Europe'', Proceedings of Prehistorical Society, XXVI, 1960, Cambridge, 149–177 (with the next paper initiated the Fowler typology).
*Fowler, Elizabeth. ''Celtic Metalwork of the fifth and sixth centuries A.D.: A Reappraisal'', Archaeological Journal 120 (1963), 99160
*
Graham-Campbell, J., ''Some Viking-Age penannular brooches from Scotland and the origins of the 'thistle-brooch in ''From the stone age to the 'forty-five: studies presented to R. B. K. Stevenson, former Keeper, National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland'' (Edinburgh, 1983), pp. 310–23
External links
Irish Brooches of the Early Medieval Celtic Period, An exhibition by Alisa PettiThe Londesborough BroochHunterston BroochNational Museums of Scotland
National Museums Scotland (NMS; gd, Taighean-tasgaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. It runs the national museums of Scotland.
NMS is one of the country's National Collections, ...
St Ninian's Isle Treasure National Museums of Scotland
gallery of "Victorian Jewelry: Celtic Revival Work in Ireland"
Treasures of early Irish art, 1500 B.C. to 1500 A.D. an exhibition catalogue from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Penannular brooches (cat. no. 40, 41, 42, 46–52)
{{Celts
Insular art
Medieval art
Types of jewellery
Medieval European metalwork objects
Viking art
*
Celtic art