Bow brooch
Bow brooches are a group of forms from early medieval brooches that came into fashion in the 5th to 7th centuries as part of a Germanic women's costume, the so-called four - brooch costume . They were usually worn in pairs on top of each other to attach an amulet chain or a hanging strap in the lap area of a tunic-like dress and were considered a status symbol .
description
Bow brooches were usually cast from silver or bronze and are often gold-plated. They were usually worn in pairs in connection with an amulet chain or a hanging strap. In terms of design, they go back to East Germanic, Gothic original forms from the Danube region.
The original East Germanic sheet metal brooches consist of two plates that are connected to one another with a bracket. Later specimens were cast in one piece, whereby the three-part character was retained. The head plate (spiral plate) is rectangular or semicircular and decorated with engraved ornaments. A needle is attached to the back of the headstock and is held in tension by the bracket. The needle is fastened below the second plate, the so-called hook or foot plate. The various elements are often decorated with geometric patterns.
distribution
Starting from the Ostrogothic settlement area, bow brooches became fashionable in Germanic women's costumes from the second half of the 5th century, especially in the so-called four-brooched costumes, and can be traced back to the 7th century.
See also
literature
- Herbert Kühn : The Germanic bow brooches of the migration period in the Rhine province. In: Rhenish research on prehistory Volume 4. Bonn 1940.
- Herbert Kühn: The bow brooches of the migration period in North and former East Germany . Graz 1979.
- Rosemarie Müller, Heiko Steuer : fibula and fibula costume. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 8, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1994, ISBN 3-11-013188-9 , pp. 541-545.
- Joachim Werner : Catalog of the Diergardt Collection. Volume 1: The fibulae. Berlin 1961
- Gudula Zeller: Women's costume. In: Alfried Wieczorek , Patrick Périn, Karin von Welck , Wilfried Menghin : The Franks - Les Francs. Volume 2. Zabern, Mainz 1996. pp. 673ff.