The Celtic brooch, more properly called the penannular brooch, and its closely related type, the pseudo-penannular brooch, are types of brooch clothes fasteners, often rather large; penannular means formed as an incomplete ring. They are especially associated with the beginning of the early medieval period in Ireland and Great Britain, although they are found in other times and places—for example, forming part of traditional female dress in areas in modern North Africa.
Beginning as utilitarian fasteners in the Iron Age and Roman period, they are especially associated with the highly ornate brooches produced in precious metal for the elites of Ireland and Scotland from about 700 to 900, which are popularly known as Celtic brooches or similar terms. They are the most significant objects in high-quality secular metalwork in what is known as Insular art, the early medieval Celtic art produced in the British Isles. The type continued in simpler forms such as the thistle brooch into the 11th century, during what is often known as the Viking Age in Ireland and Scotland.
Both penannular and pseudo-penannular brooches feature a long pin attached by its head to a ring; the pin can move freely around the ring as far as the terminals, which are close together. In the true penannular type, the ring is not closed; there is a gap between the terminals wide enough for the pin to pass through. In the pseudo-penannular type, the ring is closed, but there are still two separately defined terminals, which are joined by a further element. The penannular type is a simple and efficient way of fastening loosely woven cloth (where the pin will not leave a permanent hole), but the pseudo-penannular type is notably less efficient.
The brooches were worn by both men and women, usually singly at the shoulder by men and on the breast by women, and with the pin pointing up; an Irish law code says that in the event of injury from a pin to another person, the wearer is not at fault if the pin did not project too far and the brooch was worn in these ways by the sexes.Youngs, 89, NMI, O'Floinn, 172–173 The most elaborate examples were clearly significant expressions of status at the top of society, which were also worn by clergy, at least in Ireland,Youngs, 72, NMI, O'Floinn, 177. though probably to fasten copes and other vestments rather than as everyday wear.Laing, 304 The Senchas Mór, an early Irish law tract, specified that the sons of major kings, when being fostered, should have "brooches of gold having crystal inserted in them", while the sons of minor kings need wear only silver brooches.Laing, 304
Terminology "Annular" means formed as a ring and "penannular" formed as an incomplete ring; both terms have a range of uses. "Pseudo-penannular" is a coinage restricted to brooches, and refers to those brooches where there is no opening in the ring, but the design retains features of a penannular brooch—for example, emphasizing two terminals. Some pseudo-penannular brooches are very similar in design to other penannular brooches, but have a small section joining the two terminals.For example, this brooch in the British Museum. Silver ring brooch Others have fully joined terminals, and emphasize in their design the central area where the gap would be—for example the Tara Brooch. Pseudo-penannular brooches may also be described as "annular", or as "ring brooches".The last favoured by NMI, O'Floinn, 177 and entries.
The terms "open brooch" or "open ring brooch" are also sometimes used for penannular brooches.Essentially in material aimed at the general public, to avoid the "p" word—for example, "open brooch" in the headings of the database of the National Museums of Scotland, but not in the detailed descriptions. The British Museum display captions favour "open ring". There is a scheme of classification originally set out, in relation to earlier types, by Elizabeth Fowler in the 1960s, which has since been extended in various versions to cover later types.Fowler's two papers are in Further Reading. Laing 304–316 summarizes one version of the expanded typology.
Brooches of either penannular or annular type, where the pin is very large in relation to the ring, so that the ring cannot play any part in the fastening of the brooch, may be called "ring brooches", "pin brooches", or "brooch-pins"; or, especially where the ring is small and plain, "ringed pins".Laing, 316 and 318–320, using both, but distinguishing between them. Youngs uses the second and third (no.s 90–92, 95–96), Edwards, 141 the last. In these, the design of the pin head typically shows that the pin is intended to sit underneath the ring (seen from the front), rather than on top of it as in the larger brooches.Usually the pin is bent round to form a simple ring, and though the pin may be capable of being swivelled round to sit in front of the ring, it will then project away from the ring.
"Celtic" is a term avoided by specialists in describing objects, and especially artistic styles, of the Early Middle Ages from the British Isles, but is firmly fixed in the popular mind. The term Insular art is used to describe the distinct style of art originating in the British Isles and combining Germanic, Celtic, Pictish and Mediterranean elements. Although some simpler and relatively early penannular brooches are found in Anglo-Saxon contexts, and some sub-types predominantly so,Dickinson, 52–54 as far as is known the Anglo-Saxons did not use these brooch styles for prestige elite jewellery. However, there are elements in the style of Irish and Scottish brooches deriving from Anglo-Saxon art, and related to Insular work in other media, especially illuminated manuscripts.
Fibula is Latin for "brooch" and is used in modern languages to describe the many types of Roman and post-Roman early medieval brooches with pins and catches behind the main face of the brooch. The brooches discussed here are sometimes also called fibulae, but rarely by English-speaking specialists.
Fastening the brooches
With a penannular brooch, the pin is pushed through folds of the cloth, which are then pulled back inside the ring; the free end of the pin passes through the gap in the ring. The pin is then rotated around the ring by 90 degrees or so, so that as long as the pin is held down by slight pressure it cannot escape over the terminals, and the fastening is secure.Whitfield (2001), 229–230, with diagrams. There is a short video sequence here . See also Johns, 150.
With pseudo-penannular brooches, things are not so simple and the manner in which they were used is still debated; the method was probably not the same for all brooches. One method may have been to pull folds of the cloth through the ring until they could be pierced by the pin, and then pull the cloth back until the pin rested on the ring. This would work best with brooches with a pin not much longer than the diameter of the ring, which some have, but others do not. The second method might have been simply to pin the cloth vertically, leaving the ring hanging unattached to the cloth; this does not seem very secure. The third method relied on a length of chain or cord attached to the ring near the "terminals" (which in pseudo-penannular brooches do not actually terminate), which was used to secure the pin by tying it down, perhaps with a small pin at the end, which was also put through the cloth. The Tara Brooch was probably fastened in this way.Whitfield (2001), 229–230, with diagram of the Tara Brooch; see also a series of photos from the National Museums of Scotland In some cases the pin was fitted with a bolt or rivet to make it removable.Laing, 310 A further complication is that in some pseudo-penannular brooches the pin is fixed to lie in front of the ring, as in the Londesborough Brooch (below), but in others it crosses through the ring, starting with the head end in front of the ring, but the middle of the pin behind the ring by the point where it crosses at the other side; the Tara Brooch has been displayed set up in both ways.The photographs here, showing the pin lying on top, were taken at the NMI in 2010; the illustrations in "NMI" of 2002, and Youngs of 1989, show it crossing through the ring. The latter arrangement seems more common in later brooches, of the 9th century.For example the Roscrea, Ardagh, and Killamery Brooches - respectively Youngs, nos. 79, 76 & 80, and also in NMI. Which brooches have removable pins, so that the arrangement can be altered, is not always clear from the sources.
It is fair to say that scholars remain slightly puzzled that the effective and simple penannular brooch developed in this direction,See, for example, Youngs, 89. though it is presumed that the reuniting of the terminals of pseudo-penannular brooches was partly to strengthen the brooch. In many penannular brooches, the gap between the terminals is now too narrow for the pin to pass through; whether this was always the case is uncertain.
History
Roman and early Insular period
Small and simple penannular brooches in bronze, iron, and, rarely, silver were common in the Roman period as a practical fastener, but were not used for high-status objects, and any decoration was normally limited to bands around the ring or other simple patterns.Johns, 150–151. Examples of Romano-British penannular broches from Darwin Country Often the extra thickness at the terminal, necessary to prevent the pin just falling off, is achieved simply by turning back the ends of the ring.
In the late Roman period in Britain in the 3rd and 4th centuries, a type of penannular brooch with zoomorphic decoration to the terminals appeared, with human or animal heads, still not much wider than the rest of the ring. Some examples had enamel decoration, and the pin did not extend much beyond the ring.Youngs, 21, and no. 15. NMI, O'Floinn, 172–173 These are found especially in southwestern Britain and Wales, and seem to have developed in these areas. This type fell from favour in southern Britain by the 5th century,NMI, O'Floinn, 173; another summary account but was developed in Ireland by the 6–7th centuries.
These types considerably extended the size of the terminals, which now presented a flattish area often decorated with enamel or glass inlay, mostly using abstracted patterns but sometimes zoomorphic decoration. The length of the pin is now often about twice the diameter of the ring.Youngs, 21–22, and catalogue nos. 16–19; NMI, no. 5:5; example from the British Museum The Irish cultural zone in this period included much of Western Scotland, and in Pictish East Scotland a similar development took place, though the forms are somewhat different here. The decoration paralleled that on other metalwork fittings such as pieces of harness-tackle,See Youngs, 117–120 for examples and the few remaining early Christian reliquaries and other pieces of church metalwork.
Golden Age
By shortly after 700, highly elaborate, large brooches in precious metal and gems were being produced. These were clearly expressions of high status for the wearer, and use the full repertoire of goldsmith's techniques at a very high level of skill. They continued to be produced for about 200 years; the Pictish brooches are much more homogeneous in design than the Irish ones, which may indicate a shorter period of production, possibly from "the mid-eighth to the beginning of the ninth centuries".Youngs, 90 Each surviving design is unique, but the range of types established in the more modest earlier brooches are developed and elaborated upon. There was no previous tradition of very ornate brooches in Ireland, and this development may have come from contact with Continental elites who wore large fibulae as marks of status. Such contacts were certainly made, especially by travelling monks.Whitfield (2001), 217