Kolt or kolty was a part of a female

headgear Headgear, headwear, or headdress is the name given to any element of clothing which is worn on one's head, including hats, helmets, turbans and many other types. Headgear is worn for many purposes, including protection against the elements, de ...

, hanging on a

ryasna Ryasna (russian: рясна) was a part of a woman’s headgear, hanging from a diadem or as a Temple ring, temporal pendant. It was a sign of family's prosperity common in 11th-13th centuries in Kievan Rus’, made in the shape of a chain linkin ...

at both

temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

as a sign of family's wealth, common in 11th-13th centuries in Old Rus'. It comprised a pair of metal pieces, joined to form a hollow

medallion A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

or star that, presumably, contained a piece of

cloth Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

, impregnated with

fragrances An aroma compound, also known as an odorant, aroma, fragrance or flavoring, is a chemical compound that has a smell or odor. For an individual chemical or class of chemical compounds to impart a smell or fragrance, it must be sufficiently vo ...

Origin

The origin of the word “kolt” is obscure. As a term, it was introduced in the late 19th century in the course of ethnographic surveys. According to a version it derived from the uk, ковтки meaning (

earrings An earring is a piece of jewelry attached to the ear via a piercing in the earlobe or another external part of the ear (except in the case of clip earrings, which clip onto the lobe). Earrings have been worn by people in different civilizations an ...

),Б. Д. Гринченко. Словарь украинского языка, К., 1908, т. 2, с. 262 (in Russian) also in West-Ukrainian dialects “колток”.А. А. Зализняк. Древненовгородский диалект. М., 2004, с. 268 (in Russian) In a Novgorod dialect the word “колтки” means pendants of earrings, it was also mentioned in

birch bark document Birch bark manuscripts are documents written on pieces of the inner layer of birch bark, which was commonly used for writing before the advent of mass production of paper. Evidence of birch bark for writing goes back many centuries and in various ...

No. 644, found in

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ol ...

, dating back to

Novgorod Republic The Novgorod Republic was a medieval state that existed from the 12th to 15th centuries, stretching from the Gulf of Finland in the west to the northern Ural Mountains in the east, including the city of Novgorod and the Lake Ladoga regions of m ...

References

External links

{{Commons category, Kolty
a kolt in the collection of Kremlin Armory Chamber, Moscow

a star-shaped kolt in the collection of Kremlin Armory Chamber, Moscow

* ttp://brokm.vbreste.by/images/stories/1/bk.jpg a circular silver kolt found in the Berestye archeological site, Belarus, featuring a seed with sprouts Kievan Rus culture Slavic culture Jewellery components Russian art Ukrainian art

Origin

References

Further reading

External links