Fibula

Абрамков А.О.

A fibula was a metal dress fastening with a pin; many examples also served as jewellery. Brooches occur in Late Bronze Age, Iron Age, ancient and medieval contexts. Different constructions coexisted, so their history cannot be reduced to one linear sequence or a single replacement by buttons.

Brooch construction

The main parts of a bow brooch are its body or bow, pin, moving mechanism and catch-plate. A spring supplies elasticity; in a hinged design the pin pivots on a separate axis. Not every brooch has a spring. The catch-plate receives the pin tip and helps keep the fastening closed.

Copper alloys, traditionally described as bronze, are common; silver, gold, iron and combinations of materials also occur. Decoration included relief, engraving, enamel and inlays. A surface coating does not mean that the whole object is made of precious metal.

Plate brooches carry their mechanism behind a decorative plate. Identification requires the reverse as well as the front: spring or hinge, catch-plate and repairs.

History

Early bow brooches are known from the Late Bronze Age. In the so-called violin-bow form, a low bow runs approximately parallel to the pin. Resemblance to a modern safety pin helps explain the fastening principle, but does not imply identical construction.

Dating and distribution depend on archaeological contexts. Mycenaean finds are important for the Greek world, but do not establish a single origin for every European brooch.

Other early forms have a high rounded bow or wire spirals. Spectacle brooches are recognised by two spiral discs; designs with several spirals also exist. A shape name describes appearance, not an exact date by itself.

Regional variants differ in bow section, wire terminals and catch construction. Both overall shape and technical details matter in comparison.

Italian bow brooches vary in body and catch-plate form. A semicircular bow may be plain, swollen or ribbed. Some designs have an extended catch ending in a decorative feature.

The general term “bow brooch” covers many types. It does not replace identification by findspot, date and specific features.

Serpentine brooches take their name from the elaborate bends of the bow. Body and extended catch form vary between designs. The name does not mean that every example literally depicts a snake.

The Hallstatt sphere includes different brooch forms, not one “Certosa” type. Certosa brooches are named after the Certosa cemetery at Bologna and should be distinguished from spectacle brooches with two spirals. These names refer to different structural features and archaeological groups.

Catch form, bow profile and spring construction help distinguish variants. Their broad Iron Age context does not make them interchangeable.

In some Iron Age designs, a broad transverse spring gives the brooch a crossbow-like outline. This is not identical to a Late Roman crossbow brooch with a hinge and projecting terminals. Visual resemblance should not conflate different periods.

In La Tène forms, the foot is important: it may turn back towards the bow, touch it or join the body. Particular arrangements vary by period and region.

Plate brooches have a decorative plate above the fastening mechanism. It may be geometric or figural, including animal shapes. Relief, enamel and inlays provided varied decoration. The term describes the construction, not necessarily a representation of an actual shield.

Annular and penannular brooches combine a ring-like body with a pin. A penannular form has a gap between the body’s ends; some resemble the letter omega. Pin position and the way cloth is held depend on the construction.

These broad groups occur in different regions and periods. Outline alone is insufficient to identify an object as Greek, Roman or medieval.

Roman-period brooches included spring and hinged mechanisms, simple bow forms and decorative plates. Trade, military movement and local production contributed to their distribution.

The simple wire brooch often called the Nauheim derivative occurs in military contexts. The label “soldier’s brooch” does not establish exclusive use by legionaries or describe every early Roman fastening.

First-century Roman Britain has brooches with curved bows and transverse head projections conventionally called “dolphins”. The name describes the profile rather than necessarily an animal image. Springs and their covers vary.

Hod Hill brooches generally have hinged pins, moulded bows and often lateral projections. The name comes from finds in Dorset, not an exclusive manufacturing location.

So-called anchor brooches should be considered separately from British types: they are associated chiefly with Balkan and Danubian finds. “Anchor” describes the outline, not a proven maritime function.

Knee brooches have a sharply bent bow resembling a knee. They occur in Roman military contexts, but finds in several military assemblages do not establish that they were the most popular design throughout the army.

In returned-foot brooches, the foot turns back and is secured to the body; this bend should not be described as a bend of the pin itself. Oscar Almgren’s classification covers many types, so “Almgren type” without a number is not a precise identification.

Plate brooches include geometric, animal and object-shaped designs. Enamelled versions coexisted with plain ones: new decoration did not necessarily replace earlier constructions.

Application

Brooches occur in male and female dress, military and civilian settings. They fastened cloaks, including the sagum, and some other garments. Not every garment needed a brooch: a tunic could be sewn, and a cloak could have another closure.

A decorated fastening both held cloth and formed a visible part of the costume. Some Late Roman crossbow brooches are associated with military and official status; this does not apply automatically to every simple example.

Paired brooches could fasten clothing symmetrically, for example at the shoulders. The number found in a burial does not always directly establish their arrangement in life. Reconstruction compares find positions, images and garment construction.

Reconstruction

For the club’s main reconstruction period, approximately 50–125 CE, choose a type documented for the intended date and region. Possible inheritance does not justify using a later design in an earlier costume.

Check the mechanism, dimensions, material, coating and attachment to the cloth. Copper alloy, silver or gilding should follow a particular example; brass is not itself a historical equivalent of silver. A wearer’s rank or sex cannot be inferred from the price of a modern reproduction.

Before wearing, check that the catch holds the pin securely without damaging the cloth. Distinguish a working modern replica from the museum original.

Related topics

Paenula · Sagum · Focale · Tunic · Legionary · Auxilia · Legion

Literature and sources

• Hod Hill brooch: British Museum, 2010,8042.88.
• Gilt bronze crossbow fibula: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
• Doreen Yarwood. The Encyclopedia of World Costume. 1986.
• Yu. N. Voronov. Caucasian bow brooches of the Early Iron Age. KSIIMK, 1983, no. 176, pp. 29–33 [in Russian].
• “Fibulae”, Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1890–1907 [in Russian] — a historical reference whose terminology should be compared with modern catalogues.
• Certosa brooch: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 96.9.312.
• Nauheim derivative brooch: London Museum.
• Returned-foot brooch: British Museum, ML.1704.