[Ansteorra] Period Religious Jewelery

[C. L. Ward]

Lorraine said:
>I know that the pentagram most Wiccans/Pagans wear
>was a Christian emblem in period...(Sir Gawain...I
>believe... carried it on his shield as a symbol of
>his dedication to the Christian God)
>So what would be period appropriate jewelery for
>non-christians?

The pentagram as a Christian symbol is explained in full in Sir Gawain and
the Green Knight, a poem in Middle English, in lines 619-669:

then þay schewed hym þe schelde þat was of schyr goulez
wyth þe pentangel depaynt of pure golde hwez
he braydez hit by þe bauderyk aboute þe hals kestes
þat bisemed þe segge semlyly fayre
and quy þe pentangel apendez to þat prynce noble
I am in tent yow to telle þof tary hyt me schulde
hit is a syngne þat salamon set sumquyle
in bytoknyng of trawþe bi tytle þat hit habbez [fol. 99]
for hit is a figure þat haldez fyue poyntez
and vche lyne vmbelappez and loukez in oþer
and ayquere hit is emdelez and englych hit callen
oueral as I here þe endeles knot
forþy hit acordez to þis kny3t and to his cler armez
for ay faythful in fyue and sere fyue syþez
gawan watz for gode knawen and as golde pured
voyded of vche vylany wyth verertuez ennourned

in mote
forþy þe pentangel nwe
he ber in schelde and cote
as tulk of tale most trwe
and gentylest kny3t of lote

fyrst he watz funden fautlez in his fyue wyttez
and efte fayled neuer þe freke in his fyue fyngres
and alle his afyaunce vpon folde watz in þe fyue woundez
þat cryst ka3t on þe croys as þe crede tellez
and quere soeuer þys mon in melly watz stad
his þro þo3t watz in þat þur3 alle oþer þyngez
þat alle his forsnes he fong at þe fyue joyez
þat þe hende heuen quene had of hir chylde
at þis cause þe kny3t comlyche hade
in þe inore half of his schelde hir ymage depaynted
þat quen he blusched þerto his belde neuer payred
þe fyft fyue þat I finde þat þe frek vsed
watz fraunchyse and fela3schyp forbe al þyng
his clannes and his cortaysye croked were neuer
and pite þat passez alle poyntez þyse pure fyue
were harder happed on þat haþel þen on any oþer
now alle þese fyue syþez for soþe were fetled on þis kny3t
and vchone halched in oþer þat non ende hade
and fyched vpon fyue poyntez þat fayld neuer
ne samned neuer in no syde ne sundred nouþer
withouten ende at any noke I quere fynde
whereeuer þe gomen bygan or glod to an ende
þerfore on his schene schelde schapen watz þe knot
ryally wyth red golde vpon rede gowlez
þat is þe pure pentaungel wyth þe peple called

with lore
now grayþed is gawan gay
and la3t his launce ry3t þore
and gef hem alle goud day
he wende for euermore.

[Then they showed him the shield of shining gules and the pentangle painted
with pure golden hues. He brandished it by the belt, and about his neck he
cast it, that he was seemly and fair to look upon. And I am intent to tell
you, though I may weary you somewhat, why that pentangle belonged to that
noble prince. It is a symbol that Solomon set up some while for betokening
of truth, as its name doth show. For it is a figure that hath five points,
and each line overlaps, and is locked in the other, and everywhere it is
endless, and the English call it, as I hear, the endless knot. Therefore was
it befitting this knight and his clean armour. For Sir Gawain was known as a
knight both good and true and faithful in five and many times five, and pure
as gold, and void of all villany was he, and adorned with virtues

in the mote,
For the pentangle new
He bears in shield and coat,
And is a knight most true
And gentle man, I wot.

And first he was found faultless in his five wits. Then he failed not in his
five fingers. And all his trust on earth was in the five wounds suffered by
Christ on the cross, as the creeds do tell us, so that when the knight was
placed in the melee, his thought was ever upon them above all other things.
And so it was that all his strength he found in the five joys that the fair
Queen of Heaven had in her child. And for this cause it was that the knight
had made to be painted her image in comely fashion on the greater half of
his shield, so that when he looked upon it his valour never failed him. Now
the fifth five that this knight excelled in were frankness and fellowship
above all others, his cleanness and courtesy never were crooked, and
compassion, that surpasseth all else. These five pure virtues were fixed in
this knight more firmly than in any other. And all five times were so joined
in him that each one held to the other without any ending and fixed at five
points, nor did they ever fail, for they were joined at no point nor
sundered were they at all, nor could one find any end thereof at any corner
when the games began or were gliding towards an ending. Therefore the knot
was shaped on his strong shield, all with red gold upon red gules, called
the pure pentangle among the people

of love.
Now geared is Gawain gay,
He brandished the lance he bore,
And bade them all good day,
And went forth evermore.]

As for period pagan jewelry, the Norse wor the symbol of the Hammer of
Thorr.  The vast majority of the more than forty Thor's hammer amulets known
date from the late tenth and early eleventh centuries and were found
primarily in Denmark, south-eastern Sweden and southern Norway, in those
areas particularly subject to strong Christian influence. It seems quite
likely that the popularity of these amulets came about as a heathen response
to the crucifixes worn by increasing numbers of Christians in Scandinavia.
Indeed, some of the early crucifixes are quite similar in design to the
hammer, and in one example from Foss in southern Iceland, features of both
are incorporated into the overall design (see illo at
http://www.vikinganswerlady.org/graphics/IcelandCrossHammer.jpg). Graves
have been found with hammers and crosses side by side and from Jutland,
Denmark, there is a stone mold from which both hammers and crosses could be
cast (see illo at http://www.vikinganswerlady.org/graphics/cros&hmr.jpg),
indicating a certain level of acceptance of both religious symbols, perhaps
in the interest of spiritual pragmatism.

Earlier Thorr's hammer amulets are known, primarily from Anglo-Saxon graves
in Kent which date to the sixth or seventh centuries, although these would
still correspond to a similar period of growing Christian influence amongst
the largely heathen Anglo-Saxons. The evidence for the great antiquity of
the hammer as a religious device lies in its close relationship with the
axe. Many Viking Age graves contain axes deposited alongside hammers or
crosses, and axe amulets, many of which are virtually indistinguishable from
hammers, have been found throughout the Baltic area dating from the Viking
Age back to much earlier periods. Bronze Age (c1600-450 BCE) rock carvings
abound with axe and hammer wielding figures, mirrored by a number of bronze
figurines with axes and horned helmets found at Grevens Vinge, Denmark, most
of which are now lost and only known from drawings made in 1778. These
examples attest to the importance of the axe, the prototype of the hammer,
as a cultural and religious symbol long before the advent of iron
metallurgy, as does a richly decorated bronze axe-head from Vasteras,
Sweden, which is far too massive for ordinary use.

The swastika is also closely connected to Thorr's hammer and it is found as
a prominent motif in Scandinavian art from Bronze Age rock carvings to Iron
Age brooches, from Migration period swords and bracteates (see illo at
http://www.midhnottsol.org/lore/swastika/figs/fig236.gif) to Anglo-Saxon
cremation urns, and so on to the Viking Age and beyond. In Iceland a form of
swastika called a Thorshammar was used until recent times as a magical
device to detect thieves. It is noteworthy that the majority of Thorr's
hammer amulets were found in hoards and house-sites rather than graves,
perhaps as a dedication to Thorr, but more likely as a measure of protection
from thieves.  This *is* a period type of pagan jewellry, but probably one
which would *not* be appropriate for the Current Middle Ages.

The Statens Historiska Museum in Sweden has a number of Viking Age Thorr's
Hammers in their photo database:

http://www.historiska.se/collections/shm-bild/visa_stor.asp?ID=4098
http://www.historiska.se/collections/shm-bild/visa_stor.asp?ID=4102
http://www.historiska.se/collections/shm-bild/visa_stor.asp?ID=4107
http://www.historiska.se/collections/shm-bild/visa_stor.asp?ID=4324
http://www.historiska.se/collections/shm-bild/visa_stor.asp?ID=5151
http://www.historiska.se/collections/shm-bild/visa_stor.asp?ID=5263
http://www.historiska.se/collections/shm-bild/visa_stor.asp?ID=5264
http://www.historiska.se/collections/shm-bild/visa_stor.asp?ID=5267
http://www.historiska.se/collections/shm-bild/visa_stor.asp?ID=5268
http://www.historiska.se/collections/shm-bild/visa_stor.asp?ID=7328
http://www.historiska.se/collections/shm-bild/visa_stor.asp?ID=6015
http://www.historiska.se/collections/shm-bild/visa_stor.asp?ID=6271
http://www.historiska.se/collections/shm-bild/visa_stor.asp?ID=6978

::GUNNVOR::