Fibulae
A quick note (before I forget) This was supposed to be a quick, “How
To” write up for a class I am planning to teach. Thought I should flesh it out
with some history…got caught up…let it get out of control…dangitall…
A fibula (Plural: Fibulae) is a brooch or pin
for fastening garments, adornments, and random bits. Never let your random bits
get out of hand. During ancient times in places like Rome, Greece, Etruria, and
other places where the inhabitants had access to the technological marvels of both
fabric, and the ability to make metal wire. (Covers a LOT of ground, RIGHT?) In Latin speaking lands, the same word,
Fibula, denoted both a brooch and the fibula
bone because the popular form for
these brooches were thought to resemble the bone’s shape.
The fibula evolved and changed in a variety of shapes depending
upon era, culture, and materials, but all were based on what we NOW think of as
the “Safety Pin”. It is said, mostly by linguists, the Latin term, fibulae,
refers to Roman brooches; however, the term is widely
used to refer to brooches from the entire ancient and early
medieval world that continue
Roman forms. And, let’s face it…linguist will say anything…it’s what they do.
Nevertheless, its use in English is more limited than in other
languages, and post-Classical brooches from the British Isles are just called brooches (for example,
the penannular brooches…and who
doesn’t love a nice penannular? Freaks, that’s who!), whereas in German they
would simply be referred to as fibulae.
I’m sure the French and the Welsh have opinions on this, too…maybe someone else
will write about that. (There are plenty of French sources of archaeological information on fibulae, but I neither read nor speak French, so those sources
are not much referenced here. (Because.)
Unlike most modern brooches, made to be purely decorative in
nature; fibulae originally served a practical function: to fasten clothing, such as cloaks, dresses, togas, kilts, chiton.
Fibulae replaced straight pins that were used to fasten clothing in
the Neolithic period and the Bronze Age. In turn, fibulae were
replaced as clothing fasteners by buttons in later eras. Their descendant, the
modern safety pin, remains in use today, most recently becoming a symbol of a
social movement concerned with empathy and basic humanity in one poor,
beleaguered country.
Fibulae have come in myriad forms, and in a hugely varied range
of materials. They are usually divided into families, however, that are based
upon historical periods, geography, and/or cultures. Fibulae are also divided
into classes that are based upon their general forms.
Most fibulae recovered in recent years, usually in fragments,
are frequently found by amateur coin and relic hunters using metal detectors. No beach-line, nor
fallow farm fields are safe from hobbyists with metal detectors.
Mechanical Structure: (Not that complex…really…)
Bow
The body of a fibula is known as either the bow or the plate,
depending on the basic form, and its function. A bow is generally long and
narrow, and works with the spring to hold the tension of the clasped pin, and
often arched. Plates could be solid or openwork, and were decorative, rather
than functional, though cleverly worked plates could function in place of bows,
rather than just hiding the bow. The head is the end of the fibula hinge with
the spring and the foot is the end of the fibula where the pin closes.
Depending on the type of fibula, and the culture in question, the head of
the fibula could be worn facing up, down or sideways.
Spring
The body and pin meet
at either a spring or hinge. Which? Depends on who made it!
The earliest design is
the spring, which provides tension to the pin. The spring could be unilateral
or bilateral. A unilateral spring winds around in one direction only.
Unilateral springs are the earliest type, first appearing around the 14th
century BC. Bilateral springs that wind around to both sides of the fibula
body, appeared around the 6th century BC. Bilateral springs can be very short,
with only one or two revolutions per side, or up to 10 cm long. Most
bilateral springs are made of one piece of metal and therefore have a spring
cord, a piece of wire extending from one end of the spring to the other. The
spring cord can pass in front of or behind the fibulae body. Bilateral springs
wrap around a pin or axle. These are usually made of iron even if the rest of
the fibula and spring is copper alloy. In the 1st century AD some fibulae had
springs that were concealed under a metal cover that was an extension of the
fibula body. These are known as covered springs, or hidden springs. (Not “switch
springs” nor “trap springs” …those are completely different kinds of jewelry
thingies. Dark…DANGEROUS jewelry thingies…)
Hinge
Near the end of the 1st century BC or even in the 1st century AD
a new design appeared in some bow type fibulae, incorporating the HINGE! In the
second half of the 1st century AD, hinges were introduced to plate type
fibulae. One or two small plaques, acting as support structures, were cast on
the back of the plate and a pin was attached to them by a small hinge.
It is important to note that different types of fibula
construction were used congruently in many eras. Though the introduction of the hinge was later
than the introduction of the spring, the spring remained in use long after the
hinge was introduced. So, don’t be too quick to judge a fibula by its
presence OR lack of a spring...Judgy McJudgerson...
Bronze Age fibulae
Early fibulae.
10th – 8th centuries BC
The first fibulae design, violin bow fibulae (drahtbugel in German),
appeared(POOF!) in the late Bronze Age. This simple design, with a unilateral
spring, looks remarkably like a modern safety pin. The violin bow fibula has a
low flat arch; the body runs parallel to the pin so it resembles a violin bow. Some had simple
punched or incised decoration on the bow. The violin bow fibula type was
introduced in the 14th century BC (Late Mycenaean III era) by the Myceneans in the Greek Peloponnesus. The fibula soon
spread to Crete, Cyprus and Mycenaean trading posts across the Mediterranean.
There were several variants of the violin bow fibula. The bow
could bend, or curve sinuously while remaining flat and parallel to the pin.
These variants, were found in the 12th and 11th centuries BC. In another
variant, the bow, while still flat, widened out into an oval or diamond shape
(blattbugel in German). These variants, were found in the 12th to 10th
centuries BC.
The second major design of fibulae has a high, rounded arch (bogen in
German) instead of the low flat arch of the violin bow fibula. At first, the
bow was thin. In later variants, the bow was made of thicker metal or of two
pieces of thin wire twisted
together. These rounded bow fibulae were first found in the 12th century BC,
but lasted in use in some places for more than five centuries.
Early bow fibulae.
8th – 6th centuries BC
The third Bronze Age design of fibula consisted of horizontal wire spirals. The spectacle fibula
(brillen in German) consisted of two spirals joined together. It resembles a
pair of spectacles or eye glasses. These fibulae were found in the 9th to 7th
centuries BC. A variant that appeared in the 6th century BC had several spirals with a square, or some odd angular geometric variety, cover plate mounted
central.
The Villanovan culture in Italy introduced
a series of variations of the bow fibula in the 8th and 7th centuries BC. In
these so-called Italianate fibulae, the bow begins, at the head, with a
semi-circular form, but bends at its apex to angle straight down to the foot
that was often lengthened and extended. The bow was often decorated with molded
knobs (KNOBS!!!) or spikes. The rear half of the bow was sometimes bent into a
wavy, kinked shape. The latter variants were known as Serpentine Fibulae, which, due to their slower
metabolisms, only needed to be fed once a month.
Meanwhile, the 8th and 7th centuries BC saw the introduction of
the so-called Phrygian bow fibulae in Asia
Minor. These fibulae had a
near-perfect semi-circular arch sometimes decorated with knobs or round
flanges. In the same period, the Hand or Arm fibula spread from Cyprus, where it appears to have originated, to Persia and Assyrian lands. In this
design the bow was bent 90 degrees at the apex giving the fibula a triangular shape when viewed from the side. The bow
was usually decorated with a series of rings and dots. The catch plate usually
had the form of a hand, making the entire fibula resemble an arm.
In the 7th and 6th centuries BC, a series of variations of the
bow fibula appeared in the southern Balkans, known variously as Greek, Macedonian, or Thracian bow fibulae. The high arched bow of these fibulae had
large fins or knobs. (KNOBS!!!) The bow usually ended in a very large
triangular or square catch plate. Some of the large square catch plates were
decorated with complex incised geometric or anthropomorphic designs. Some
of the fibula had a flat back indicating that they were likely cast in simple, single
sided molds.
Iron Age fibulae
The Iron Age saw an expansion in the use of fibulae.
The rounded bow fibula underwent several variations and were usually highly
decorated with incised or molded geometric designs. In one variation,
the foot of the fibula that had previously terminated at the end of the arch
with a simple catch plate, lengthened significantly. (this was, surprisingly,
NOT known as the “Puberty Period” for fibulae development…huh, go figure.) These extended foot fibulae, were found in the
7th to 5th centuries BC. The first long, bilateral springs appeared on some of
these variants in the Hallstatt D2 era (5th century BC).
These fibulae, such as the Doublezier type, looked like the Roman-era crossbow fibulae but were not the latter’s direct
precursor.
More early fibulae.
7th – 5th centuries BC
Typical silver Dacian fibulae 1st century BC
(Museum of Transylvania Cluj Romania)
In another variation of the rounded bow fibula, the bow became
fat and swollen-looking. In many of these fibulae the catch
plate became large and triangular. Another variant, the Certossa type, had a
small square or ribbon cross-section bow and a short bilateral spring (possibly
the first use of a bilateral spring). Certossa fibulae are almost always very
small.
In the La
Tene I,
or La Tene A to B2, era (4th to 3rd centuries BC), fibula design became
relatively standardized over a large geographic area, although minor stylistic
variations and differences in decoration remained. The La Tene I fibula usually
had a narrow bow. The spring that could be either unilateral or bilateral, was
wound in a large diameter circle. The foot was turned up and usually ended in a
decorated knob or with an applied bead or stone. In some cases the raised foot
was bent back towards the bow, although it did not touch the bow. The
Thraco-Getic fibula is a variant found in the eastern Balkans and used by the Getae. The fibula's foot is vertical and ends in a
small knob, (KNOB!!!) though later models had a sinuous, recurved form.
La Tene era fibulae.
4th – 1st centuries BC
The La Tene era also saw the introduction of the first animal,
or zoomorphic, designs. These included birds and horses and could either be flat, or done in
heavy relief, with the empty inner spaces used to hide the mechanics of a long
bilateral spring at the head.
In the La Tene II (2nd century BC), the foot of the fibula bent
back to touch the bow and was wrapped around it. Many La Tene II fibulae had
long bilateral springs. It is important to be aware that this type of
construction was in use several centuries later in the tied-foot and
returned-foot types of fibulae. These latter types are sometimes known as
pseudo-La Tene fibulae.
In the La Tene I (1st century BC), the raised foot was no longer
wrapped around the bow but was attached directly to it by casting or welding creating a loop above the foot. In one
variant, the Nauheim type, the bow widened into a flat triangle or diamond. In
another variant, the Schussel type, the ribbon-like bow widened at the head
into a rounded arrowhead shape that covered the spring.
Roman-era fibulae
The 1st century AD
·
Legionnaire's fibulae. 1st – 2nd centuries AD
·
Romano British fibulae.
1st century AD
Early Roman era bow fibulae.
1st century AD
Kraftig Profilierte fibulae.
1st – 2nd centuries AD
The rapid spread of the Roman
Empire by the 1st
century AD resulted in a tremendous growth in the number and design of fibulae
throughout Europe and the Near
East. The spread of
technologically advanced workshops in the Roman Empire led to greater complexity
in fibulae designs.
One of the first fibula designs of the Roman-era began in
the La Tene III era, in the late 1st century BC. The
Straight Wire fibula, also known as the Soldier’s type or Legionnaire's type, is a very plain design.
It resembles the violin bow fibula of over one thousand years earlier except
that the bow has slightly more of an arch and the spring in (short) bilateral.
The Straight Wire fibula is found through the 1st century AD.
In the 1st century AD, for the first time, several fibula
designs originated in Roman
Britain. Perhaps the most
distinctive British fibula design was the Dolphin. This was actually a series
of designs including the Polden Hill type, the Langton Down type, the
Colchester type and the T-Shaped type. Dolphin fibulae have a smooth arched bow
that tapers from the head to end in a long point. The long bilateral spring is
covered. From the top the Dolphin fibula looks like a T or the late-Roman crossbow fibula. From the side it resembles a
leaping dolphin.
Another British design was the Hod Hill type. Usually quite
small, Hod Hill fibulae have a shallow arched bow that appears to be made up of
lumpy segments. Many Hod Hill fibulae have a pair of small side lugs. (...lugs...)
The Fantail fibula, which have a short bow that flares into a
flat, wide fan-shaped foot, were common in Britain and on the European
continent. The Fantail design lasted into the 2nd century AD. A common and
widespread design was the Augen (or Eye) fibula, which has a longer bow and a
long, flat, wide foot. It has a short bilateral spring. Many Augen fibulae are
decorated with a pair of ringed dots, or eyes, on the flat foot. Augen fibulae
appear to have been introduced to the Roman Empire by Germanic peoples, notably Marcomanni, serving as Roman auxiliaries.
The Aucissa fibula was another widespread design. It has a high
semi-circular arched bow that extended into a short foot. The bow is flat and
wide and has a rounded central ridge. The bow ends, at the head, in a hinge.
The Aucissa was one of the first fibulae to use a hinge instead of a spring.
The foot ends in a rounded knob. Many Aucissa fibulae have the word “AVCISSA” molded
above the hinge. This is thought to be the name of a workshop.
The 1st century AD saw several other bow variations. The Wolf or
Wolf’s Head fibula has a flat, ribbon-like bow that widens into a square
section at the head. The common design of two circles and a chevron near the rear of the bow is often interpreted as a wolf’s head. The Thracian Anchor type has a wide crescent at the head giving the fibula an anchor shape. The Thracian Anchor type is also
called the Illyrian and is found in Pannonia (Hungary), Dacia (Romania) and Serbia.
The late 1st century AD saw the introduction of the Kraftig
Profilierte group of fibula designs. Kraftig Profilierte fibulae have a wide
fan-, or bell-shaped head and a long thin pointy foot. They have long
bilateral hinges. There are three main variations of the Kraftig Profilierte
fibula. The North Pannonian Double Knot type, found in Pannonia has two knobs, or knots, on the bow. The
Single Knot type, found in the central Balkans, has a single knob. The Black Sea type, found
in the steppes north of the Black Sea, has a thin body, with no flaring near the
head, and two knots. Kraftig Profilierte fibulae were found in the late 1st to
late 2nd centuries AD and are mostly associated with the Przeworsk proto-Gothic culture.
The 1st century AD saw the widespread use of plate fibulae.
Plate fibulae consist of a flat plate. Since there is little space between the
fibula body and the pin (there is no arch to the body), plate fibulae could not
be used to fasten much material and were therefore mainly decorative. Most plate fibulae have a hinge assembly on
the back. Plate fibulae are generally associated with women’s graves. The most common forms of plate fibula in the
1st century AD were round (disc), diamond, oval and lunula (crescent- or moon-shaped).
The 2nd century AD
·
Roman era fibulae.
2nd century AD
·
Late Roman bow fibulae.
2nd – 3rd centuries AD
Diverse fibulae.
4th century BC – 3rd century AD
·
Tutulus plate fibulae.
2nd – 3rd centuries AD
In Roman Britain the fibula designs common in the 1st
century AD continued to some extent into the second, although usually in more
complex variations. A new design, the Head Stud type, has a long bow with
a stud, or occasionally a ring, at the head.
The Knee fibula, a common design in the 2nd century AD,
originated in Roman Pannonia (modern Hungary). With its short, fat bow that incorporates a
90 degree bend, archeologists thought it resembled a knee and leg. Many Knee fibulae have small
rectangular, or larger semi-circular head plates. Knee fibulae appear, like the
Augen type, to have been introduced into the Roman Empire by Germanic allies. Despite their small size, their
appearance in Roman military graves implies that the Knee fibula was the most popular
fibula among Roman soldiers in the 2nd century AD. They are rarely found
outside military sites or contexts.
The Pannonian Trumpet fibula has a wide flaring head like the
bell of a trumpet. However, unlike a straight trumpet, the Pannonian Trumpet
fibula is sharply bent near the head. This Germanic design was found in and around Pannonia but was exported as widely as Britain.
The P-Shaped type is another common 2nd-century AD fibula design
that originated among the Germanic peoples. The P-Shaped fibula, or Almgren Type 162,
has a semi-circular arch and a long foot that curves back under itself to
return to the base of the arch. They have bilateral springs. The bows of
P-Shaped fibulae are usually semi-circular in cross-section and are decorated
with ribs. P-Shaped fibulae were found from the 2nd to the early 4th centuries.
There were other bow fibula variations of the 2nd and 3rd
centuries AD. The Divided Bow type has an arched bow and a long foot. The arch
was made up of two, or even three, separate, but parallel, arches. These arches
are either wide and flat or narrow and tall. The Trident fibula has a rounded
arch and long foot and a wide, flat head plate with three points. The entire
fibula looks like a trident. Claims that this was the standard fibula of the Roman navy are unfounded.
The use of plate fibulae continued in the 2nd century CE. Simple
flat shapes were replaced with enameled versions or more complex shapes. These
included animal (zoomorphic) shapes (birds, horses, rabbits, flies, etc.), letters or words, abstract symmetrical or asymmetrical designs (including the so-called Celtic Trumpet designs), and skeuomorphic designs (symbolic designs). Most designs continued in use
throughout the 2nd and 3rd centuries. In one later variation during this time,
the Tutulus type, the circular disc plate was extended upwards to form a cone.
The 3rd to 4th centuries
AD
The use of enameled inlay continued until the end of the 3rd
century AD.
P-shaped fibulae.
3rd – 5th centuries AD
A variation of the P-shaped fibula, the tied foot fibula has a
foot that returns to the bow but then wraps, or ties, around the bow. Many Tied
Foot fibulae have long bilateral springs. The tied foot fibula was found in the
3rd and 4th centuries AD and is associated with the Wielbark Gothic culture.
The classic fibula of the late-Roman era, and in fact the best
known of all fibula types, is the crossbow type. The crossbow fibula consists of a
highly arched semi-circular bow, usually of an (arguably) square cross-section,
and a long flat foot. The fibula has a wide transverse bar (or arms) at the
head containing the pin-hinge. Crossbow fibulae usually have three round or
onion-shaped knobs: one at the head and one at each end of the transverse bar.
Crossbow fibulae.
3rd – 5th centuries AD
The first crossbow fibulae, from the early 3rd century AD, has
short, thin arms, no knobs, a long bow and a short foot. The later crossbow
fibulae have been divided into groups by several archeologists including Keller, Prottel and Soupault.
Type I, dating to the 3rd and 4th centuries, has small, simple knobs and a foot
that is shorter than the bow. Type II, dating to the 4th century, has larger
knobs and a foot that is approximately the same length as the bow. Type III,
also dating to the 4th century, has a foot that is longer than the bow. There
are several variants of the Type III based on the decoration of the foot:
dotted circles, chevrons, or curlicues. Another variant, dating to the 4th and 5th centuries, the
Bugelkopf type, has no transverse bar, or arms at all but retains the round
knob at the head.
Post-Roman fibulae
High status Frankish brooches in the British Museum, France 5th Century AD
The so-called Gothic group of bow fibulae have a round or
triangular flat head plate, often with 3, 5 or 7 knobs, (KNOBS!!!!) a small
arched bow and a long flat diamond shaped foot. They were widely used by
the Germanic Visigoths, Ostrogoths, (Gothkebabs, Goth-ettouffe', Goth-sammiches...), and Gepids, and the non-Germanic Slavs and Avars, and are found over a wide part of southern and western Europe
in the 5th and 6th centuries AD. There are also a wide variety of Anglo-Saxon fibulae from the 5th to 7th century such
as the equal-arm type and the small-long type. Most Viking fibulae are variations on the ring or
annular design.
Ring fibulae and penannular brooches
The ring, or annular, fibula or brooch is extremely hard to date
as the design for utilitarian pieces was almost unchanged from the 2nd to the
14th centuries AD. Decorative style is the real indicator of era and culture
when judging whether the penannular is Classical fibula or a medieval brooch.
The penannular brooch, with an incomplete ring and two terminals,
originally a common utilitarian clothes fastening, normally of base metal, in Iron Age and Roman Britain developed in the post-Roman period into
highly elaborate and decorative marks of status in Ireland and Scotland, made
in precious metals and often decorated with gems, and worn by men and women, as
well as the clergy as part of their vestments when conducting services. The finest
period is from the 8th and 9th centuries, before the Vikings disrupted the
societies. Ornate Irish examples in the period are usually
"pseudo-penannular"; in fact closed rings, but imitating the
penannular form. Examples like the Tara Brooch are among the most spectacular pieces of
jewelry of the Early Medieval period. When the Vikings began to raid, and
settle the British Isles, they took to wearing these brooches, but now in plain
silver.
Medieval brooches
There is a huge variety of medieval brooch types (the term fibula is rarely
used for medieval items). The two most common are ring brooches, including
square and lobed or flower designs as well as round ones, and flat plate
brooches, or badges, in the form of people or animals, with specialized types such
as pilgrim badges or livery badges, which were often produced in large
quantities in cheap metals such as lead, but also in very expensive forms such
as the Dunstable Swan Jewel. However, these are mostly purely decorative,
or worn to denote something about the wearer, and were probably not much used
for fastening.
References and Further Reading…and
places to Find Cool Images.
Beck, Heinrich, et al. Fibel und Fibeltracht. (Excerpt from the Reallexikon der
Germanischen Altertumskunde.) Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, 2000.
·
Binding, Ulrike. Band
16: Studien zu den figürlichen Fibeln der Frühlatenzeit. Rudolf
Habelt, Bonn, 1993.
·
Birmingham, J.,
"The Development of the Fibula in Cyprus and the Levant", Palestine
Exploration Quarterly 95, 1963, 80-112.
·
Bohme, Astrid. Die
Fibeln der Kastelle Saalburg und Zugmantel in Saalburg Jahrbuch, XXIX,
1973.
·
Caner, E.,
"Fibeln in Anatolien 1", Prähistorische Bronzefunde XIV 8. Beck,
München 1983, ISBN 978-3406090158.
·
Dudley, Dorothy. Excavations
on Nor'Nour in the Isles of Scilly, 1962-6 in The Archaeological
Journal, CXXIV, 1967. (Description of over 250 Roman fibulae found at the site)
·
Gaspar, Nicolas. Die
keltischen und gallo-römischen Fibeln vom Titelberg - Les fibules gauloises et
gallo-romaines du Titelberg - Dossiers d'Archeologie du Musee National
d'Histoire et d'Art XI. NMHA, Luxembourg, 2007.
·
Gergova, Diana. Früh-
und ältereisenzeitliche Fibeln in Bulgarien. C.H. Beck, Munchen, 1987.
·
Glogovic, Dunja. Fibeln
im kroatischen Küstengebiet. Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart, 2003.
·
Hattatt,
Richard. A Visual catalogue of Richard Hattatt's Ancient Brooches. Oxbow
Books, Oxford, 2000.
·
Jobst, Werner. Die
römischen Fibeln aus Lauriacum. Wimmer, Linz, 1975.
·
MacGregor,
Arthur. Ashmolean Museum Oxford: A Summary catalogue of the Continental
Archaeological Collections. BAR 674, Oxford, 1997.
·
Mills, Nigel. Celtic
and Roman Artefacts. Buxton Press, Derbyshire, 2000.
·
Pedde, Friedhelm, "Vorderasiatische
Fibeln von der Levante bis Iran", Saarbrücken, 2000, and the review of
this volume by Judy Bjorkman in the Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 63
No. 2 (2004) pp 158–160.
·
Pedde, Friedhelm,
"Development and Extension of Near Eastern Fibulae in the Iron Age",
in: R. Eichmann – H. Parzinger (ed.), Migration und Kulturtransfer. Der Wandel
vorder- und zentralasiatischer Kulturen im Umbruch vom 2. zum 1.
vorchristlichen Jahrtausend. Akten des Internationalen Kolloquiums 23.-26.
November 1999 Berlin. Rudolf Habelt, Bonn 2001, 485-496, ISBN 3-7749-3068-6
·
Riha, Emilie. Die
römischen Fibeln aus Augst und Kaiseraugst. Forschungen in Augst 3. August,
1979.
·
Van der Roest,
Juan. Die Römischen Fibeln von ‘De Horden’ – Fibeln aus einer
Zivilsiedlung am niedergermanischen Limes in Berichten van de
Rijksdienst voor het Oudheidkundig Bodemonderzoek - jaargang 38, 1988 /
Proceedings of the State Service for Archaeological Investigations in the
Netherlands (BROB 38).
·
Smith, R.A. British
Museum Guide to Early Iron Age Antiquities: 1925. Anglia Publishing,
Ipswich, 1994.
·
Sapouna-Sakellarakis,
Efi, "Die Fibeln der griechischen Inseln", Prähistorische Bronzefunde
XIV 4. Beck, München 1978, ISBN 978-3406007736.
