Reliquary Buckle
A reliquary buckle is a belt buckle from the Merovingian period , which was probably used to store relics or small mementos from holy places.
Reliquary buckles are made of metal or bone, have a rectangular fitting and are usually decorated. They have a cavity on the inside and can be opened. Textile fibers (linen and wool), three lumps of beeswax and a flower capsule from the cotton tree were located in a buckle from early medieval grave 8 from the church of St. Ulrich and Afra in Augsburg . The cotton boll may come from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and is an important indicator of the long-distance relationships or personal mobility of the former owner. The deceased from grave 8 of Augsburg and some other owners of reliquary buckles are clerics . Overall, not very many such buckles are known. Most come from western Switzerland . One from Chalon-sur-Saône bears a depiction of the prophet Daniel between two lions (Daniel in the lions' den) and Habakkuk , apparently with reference to the book of Daniel ( Daniel 14.33-39 EU ). Another example is known from Gondorf on the Moselle.
literature
- Joachim Werner : The excavations in St. Ulrich and Afra in Augsburg 1961–1968. Munich Contributions Pre- and Early History 23, Munich 1977, esp. Pp. 337–346.
Web links
- Publications on reliquary buckles in the opac of the Regesta Imperii