A fibula (, : fibulae ) is a brooch or pin for fastening garments, typically at the right shoulder. The fibula developed in a variety of shapes, but all were based on the safety-pin principle. Unlike most modern brooches, fibulae were not only decorative; they originally served a practical function: to fasten clothing for both sexes, such as dresses and cloaks.
In English, "fibula" is a word not used for modern jewellery, but by archaeologists, who also use "brooch", especially for types other than the ancient "safety pin" types, and for types from the British Isles. For Continental archaeologists, all metal jewellery clothes-fasteners are usually "fibulae".
There are hundreds of different types of fibulae. They are usually divided into families that are based upon historical periods, geography, and/or cultures. Fibulae are also divided into classes that are based upon their general forms. 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 the Middle Ages. Their descendant, the modern safety pin, remains in use today.
In ancient Rome and other places where Latin was used, the same word denoted both a brooch and the fibula bone because a popular form for brooches and the shape of the bone were thought to resemble one another. Some fibulae were also sometimes used as votive gifts for gods.
Lost fibulae, usually fragments, are frequently dug up by amateur coin and relic hunters using metal detectors.
Construction
Most fibulae are made of bronze (more properly "copper alloy") or iron, or both. Some fibulae are made of precious metals such as silver or gold. Most fibulae are made of only one or two pieces. Many fibulae are decorated with enamel, semi-precious stones, glass, coral or bone.
Components
Fibulae were composed of four components: the body, pin, spring, and hinge.
Body The body of a fibula is known as either the bow or the plate, depending on the basic form. A bow is generally long and narrow, and often arched. A plate is flat and wide. Plates could be solid or openwork. The body was often decorated. The head is the end of the fibula with the spring or hinge. 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.
Pin The pin that is used to fasten the clothing is either a continuation of the fibula's body or a separate piece attached to the body. The fibula is closed by connecting the end of the pin to a catch plate, or pin rest.
Spring The body and pin meet at either a spring or hinge. The earliest design is the spring, which provides tension to the pin. The spring could be unilateral or bilateral. A unilateral spring winds in one direction only. Unilateral springs are the earlier type, first appearing around the 14th century BC. Bilateral springs wind in one or more loops on one side of the pin and then cross over or under the bow and continue with more loops on the other side. They 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 concealed under a metal cover that was an extension of the fibula body. These are known as covered springs, or hidden springs.
Hinge In the late 1st century BC or early 1st century AD, a new design appeared in some bow type fibulae. A separate pin was attached to the head-end of the bow with a small hinge. In the second half of the 1st century AD, hinges were introduced to plate type fibulae. One or two small plaques were cast on the back of the plate, and a pin was attached to them by a small hinge. Previously, plate-type fibulae had bilateral springs attached to the back. In the 3rd century AD, the hinge was placed in the centre of a long transverse bar, creating the famous crossbow fibula design. A few fibulae from a much earlier date also had hinges, although this design feature was very rare and soon died out for nearly five centuries. For example, the Asia Minor Decorated Arc Fibula (Blinkenberg Type XII Variation 16) dates to the 5th century BC.
Different types of fibula construction were used contemporaneously. 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. Therefore, a given fibula with a hinge is not necessarily more recent than one with a spring.
Use Fibulae were originally used to fasten clothing. They represent an improvement on the earlier straight pin which was less secure and could fall out. While the head of the earlier straight pin was often decorated, the bow or plate of the fibula provided a much increased scope for decoration. Among some cultures, different fibula designs had specific symbolic meanings. They could refer to a status or profession such as single woman, married woman, man, warrior, or chief. Some Roman-era fibulae may symbolize specific ranks or positions in the Roman legions or auxiliary. In some cultures, fibulae were worn in pairs and could be linked by a length of chain.
Historical development
Bronze Age fibulae The first fibulae design, violin bow fibulae (drahtbugel in German), appeared 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. The bow could be round, square, or flat and ribbon-like in cross-section. Some had simple punched or incised decoration on the bow. Violin bow fibula, such as the Peschiera type and the Unter-Radl type, was introduced in the 14th century BC (Late Mycenean III era) by the Myceneans on the Greek Peloponnesus. The fibula soon spread to Crete, Cyprus and Mycenean trading posts in Sicily.
There were several variants of the violin bow fibula. The bow could bend, or zig-zag from side to side while still remaining flat and parallel to the pin. These variants, such as the Grunwald type and the Hanua type, 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, such as the Kreuznach type and Reisen type, were found in the 12th to 10th centuries BC.
The second major design of fibulae has a high, round 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.
The third Bronze Age design of fibula consisted of horizontal wire spirals. The spectacle fibula (brillen in German) consisted of two spirals joined. It resembles a pair of spectacles or eye glasses. These fibulae, such as the Haslau type and the St. Lucija type, were found in the 9th to 7th centuries BC. Some spectacle fibula were very large with spirals up to 10 cm across. A variant that appeared in the 6th century BC had four small spirals with a square, or squarish, cover plate on the middle, the Vierpass type.
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 moulded 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.
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 Syria, Assyria and Persia. 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. 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 figural designs. Some of the fibula had a flat back indicating that they were likely cast in simple, open moulds.
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 moulded 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. These extended foot fibulae, such as the Kahn type and the Pauken type, 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 similar to the Roman-era crossbow fibulae but were not the latter's direct precursor.
In another variation of the rounded bow fibula, the bow became fat and swollen-looking. In many of these Leech Bow, or Sanguisuga, fibulae the catch plate became large and triangular. Another variant, the Certosa type, had a small square or ribbon cross-section bow and a short bilateral spring (possibly the first use of a bilateral spring). Certosa fibulae are often very small, but can reach lengths of over 10–15 cm.
In the La Tène I, or La Tène A to B2, era (4th to 3rd centuries BC), fibula design became relatively standardised over a large geographic area, although minor stylistic variations and differences in decoration remained. The La Tène I fibula usually had a narrow bow. The spring that could be either unilateral or bilateral, was wound in a fairly 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, though later models had a sinuous, s-shaped profile.
The La Tène I era also saw the introduction of the first animal, or zoomorphic, designs. These included birds and horses and could either be flat, with a short bilateral spring on the back, or three-dimensional ("in the round") with a long bilateral spring at the head.
In the La Tène II, or La Tène C era (2nd century BC), the foot of the fibula actually bent back to touch the bow and was wrapped around it. Many La Tène 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 Tène fibulae.