Torques

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Torques on the neck of the dying Gaul
Torques von Trichtingen as a stamp motif from 1976

As a spiral ring or torques , also Torque [ tɔʁk: ] and Torc , v. a. In word combinations (from Latin torques / torquis , the twisted , the ringlet 'from Latin torquere , “turn”, “wind”; English torc , French torque ), an open choker is referred to in archeology , the appearance of which is often a twisted one Knit is similar and whose end pieces can often be specially shaped, designed as a buffer (also called punch ends), animal head or ball. Only an open neck ring is considered a torque, but not a closed twisted bracelet.

Torques have been common in the Middle East and much of Europe since the Bronze Age.

description

A torc is made of gold , silver , bronze , iron or other metals and artfully decorated at the ends. It is documented for men's and women's graves, but also occurs individually in hoards .

Surname

The term comes from ancient sources, where a corresponding choker is mentioned many times, especially - but not only - in connection with the historical Celts .

history

Detail of the head of the dying Gaul , highlighting the hair and beard and the twisted choker (torques) of the statue

Torques have been widespread and well documented in the Middle East and Germany (tumulus culture) since at least the Middle Bronze Age . They were widely used by the Scythians ( Kul Oba Kurgan) and Huns . The use of the torc is also evident from the late Achaemenid era ( Susa ). Parthian chokers are also known . They have been forgotten in the Middle East since the Bronze Age. Only through the mediation of Scythian equestrian peoples in the 1st millennium BC Torques reappear in this region and were later passed on by the Persians, Medes and Parthians. Medieval coins in Central Asia (3-8 centuries) show that the torc was also part of the regular Gök-Turkish costume .

While the Celtic torques disappeared in the course of the Great Migration , they came back into fashion in the Viking Age .

End of the 2nd millennium BC In southern Great Britain and Ireland, ribbon torques in the form of imported bronzes were introduced. Band torques are rings twisted from a thin strip of gold. In addition to ribbons, round bars were also twisted. A total of 120 ribbon torques have so far been found, mainly in Northern Ireland.

On the Iberian Peninsula , from the beginning to the end of the 1st millennium BC, Chr. Torques in the Castro culture .

The torc seems to have been a symbol of rule among the Celts . Figures of gods also wear torques, and the Trichtingen silver ring is too heavy for a person. In addition to written sources, the statue of the dying Gaul also shows the use of the torc by the Celts.

It was adopted by the Romans as a military award . In late antiquity , Roman emperors since Julian the apostate were often crowned with a torc instead of a diadem as part of their elevation . The proclamation of Julian as Roman emperor in February or March 360 in Lutetia, described by Ammianus Marcellinus , is well known . Julian was proclaimed Augustus by being lifted onto a shield by a mutinous legion in a barbaric (ie Celtic-Germanic) manner, crowned with a spiral ring .

Torques spread throughout the Mediterranean and Arab countries. They can also be found in Scandinavian, Baltic and Slavic cultures up to the Middle Ages. Torques were worn in Russia until the 16th century.

heraldry

The torc has in the heraldry as a common figure in the coat of arms done. Since this heraldic figure is quite rare, a special representation has not yet emerged.

This ring is currently only shown in gold in the coat of arms and also in flags. In Germany it can currently be detected in the Holm coat of arms. Other coats of arms are only known from France and Spain ( Galicia ).

Examples

See also

literature

  • Wolfgang Adler: The neck ring of men and gods. Written sources, pictorial representations and neck ring finds from Western, Central and Northern Europe between the Hallstatt and Migration Periods. Saarbrücker Contributions to Antiquity, Volume 78.Bonn 2003.
  • J. Burns: Additional torc from Snettisham, Norfolk. In: Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 37/1. 1971, pp. 228-229.
  • Andres Furger-Gunti: The gold find from Saint-Louis near Basel and similar Celtic treasures. In: Journal for Swiss Archeology and Art History 39. 1982, pp. 1–48, doi : 10.5169 / seals-167866 .
  • Michael Nick:  Torques. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 31, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2006, ISBN 3-11-018386-2 , pp. 66-70. ( available for a fee via GAO , De Gruyter Online)

Web links

Commons : Torques  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Torques  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Several torques made of silver and bronze come from a hoard found in Byblos, dating from around 1900: Pierre Montet : Byblos et L'Égypte, quatre campagnes de fouilles à Gebeil; 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924 , Paris 1928, p. 123, plate LXX
  2. ↑ Paleodirect: Torc (torque) necklace ring, Middle Bronze Age (Tumulus Culture): 1600 BC - 1200 BC Link1 , Link2 .
  3. ^ The British Museum - "Introducing the Scythians" (Gold torc)
  4. ^ Christiane Eluère, CELTIC GOLD TORCS, in Gold Bull., 1987, 20, (1/2). P.35.  : torc of Kul Oba and Karagodevashkh Kurgens, cf. Catalog of the exhibition From the Land of the Scythians, New York and Los Angeles.
  5. ^ Eastern Hunnic, 5th century, A Royal Collar and Beads, Kyrgyzstan.
  6. ↑ Torque côtelé, terminé par deux têtes de lions incrustées. Epoque achéménide, vers 350 avant J.-C. Suse, Acropole.
  7. ↑ Metmuseum Collection: Torque, about 3rd century BC-3rd century AD Parthian.
  8. ↑ Brigitte Musche: Middle Eastern jewelry from the beginnings to the time of the Achaemenids (approx. 10,000–330 BC). Brill, Leiden 1992, ISBN 978-90-04-09491-8 , p. 48 f. 251. 48 and 277 f. The mountain goat is the most widely used basic motif.
  9. ↑ Gaybullah Babayar. "Köktürk Kağanlığı sikkeleri Katalogu - The Catalog of coins of Turkic Qaghanate." Ankara, TİKA, 2007. - 244 p. Relevant item No:
  10. ↑ Jim Cornish, Elementary: Viking Hoards , Center for Distance Learning & Innovation.
  11. ↑ A round bar torque was found in County Fermanagh in 2009 [1]