The Cruciform Brooch and Anglo-Saxon England

Description

Cruciform brooches were large and decorative items of jewellery, frequently used to pin together women's garments in pre-Christian northwest Europe. Characterised by the strange bestial visages that project from the feet of these dress and cloak fasteners, cruciform brooches were especially common in eastern England during the 5th and 6th centuries AD. For this reason, archaeologists have long associated them with those shadowy tribal originators of the English: the Angles of the Migration period. This book provides a multifaceted, holistic and contextual analysis of more than 2,000 Anglo-Saxon cruciform brooches. It offers a critical examination of identity in Early Medieval society, suggesting that the idea of being Anglian in post-Roman Britain was not a primordial, tribal identity transplanted from northern Germany, but was at least partly forged through the repeated, prevalent use of dress and material culture. Additionally, the particular women that were buried with cruciform brooches, and indeed their very funerals, played an important role in the process. These ideas are explored through a new typology and an updated chronology for cruciform brooches, alongside considerations of their production, exchange and use. The author also examines their geographical distribution through time and their most common archaeological contexts: the inhumation and cremation cemeteries of early Anglo-Saxon England. List of Illustrations viii Preface xiv Acknowledgements xv 1. The Anglian Brooch 'par excellence' 1 2. A New Typology for Cruciform Brooches 12 3. Building a Chronological Framework 90 4. Cycles of Exchange and Production 129 5. Migrants, Angles and Petty Kings 161 6. Bearers of Tradition 191 7. Cruciform Brooches, Anglo-Saxon England and Beyond 233 Appendix 1. Cruciform Brooches by Type 239 Appendix 2. Cruciform Brooches by Location 297 Appendix 3. A Guide to Fragment Classification 311 Bibliography 315 Index 335