R. RARE Early Medieval Anglo-Germanic Angles / Danes Pendant – Elder Futhark

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Seller: ancientpasts ✉️ (548) 100%, Location: Peterborough, GB, Ships to: WORLDWIDE, Item: 355424496006 R. RARE Early Medieval Anglo-Germanic Angles / Danes Pendant – Elder Futhark. The battle thus ended Æthelwolds Revolt. Kentish losses included Sigehelm, father of Edward the Elder's third wife, Eadgifu of Kent. The West Saxon chronicler who gave the fullest account of the battle was at pains to explain why Edward and the rest of the English were not present, as if this had been a subject of criticism".

AN EXTREMELY RARE EXAMPLE AND POSSIBLY UNIQUE:

Date:  Circa: 7 th - 8 th Century AD: Cambridgeshire Fenlands:

Size:  length: 7.9 cm: maximum width: 2.8 cm: weight: 20.05 grams:

A composite totem amulet constructed of bone and iron and of a suspected zoomorphic type: The amulet may have been constructed using a bone fragment from a Eurasian wolf [Canis lupus lupus]   and appears to have been carved to depict a beast seen in a style both in plan and section with, eyes and snout seen within these fields: Upon plan, we see a cobalt blue glass inset below which a rune symbol of the ‘Y’ form* [see below and attached images] : Below an iron / steel spike is seen projecting from the bone fragment: At the upper terminal location two silver-gilt links are seen, and one assumes these assisted in the retention of the amulet:

*The ‘Y’ rune with central up-strike, represents an Elk: It symbolised Protection, Defence, Instinct and guardianship and seen within an amulet context it is understood to be be a totem of protection and guardianship: Totem amulets are often seen in conjunction with zoomorphic representations and may be that the intention is to call upon the protection of the suggested animal spirit:

Provenance:  North-East Cambridgeshire Fenlands:

Notes: 

The Elder Futhark runes [oFuþark ], also known as The Older Futhark, or Germanic Futhark is the oldest form of the runic alphabets: It was a writing system used by Germanic peoples for Northwest Germanic dialects in the Migration period: Inscriptions are found on artefacts including jewellery, amulets [as here], tools and weapons, as well as rune-stones in Scandinavia, from the 2ndto the 10th centuries:

Elder Futhark runes are named after the initial phoneme of the first six rune names: F, U, Þ, A, R and K there are 24 runes which, are often arranged in three groups of eight of may been seen singularly and represent meanings both together or in a ‘clan group’ :

The Kingdom of the East Angles [Old English ‘Ēastengla Rīċe’ ] , today known as the East Anglia, was a small independent Kingdom of the Angles comprising what are now the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk and the parts of the western and northern Fens: The Kingdom formed in the 6 th  century in the wake of the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain after the withdrawal of the Northern Roman Empire: It was ruled by the  Wuffingas  dynasty**  in the 7 th  and 8 th  centuries, but fell to Mercia in AD 794, it was conquered by the Danes in AD 869, to form part of Danelaw: A decade after the  Battle of Holme  [AD 902] , it was conquered by the Wessex King Edward the Elder:

**  The last of the Wuffingas Kings was  Ælfwald, who died in AD 749, he was succeeded by kings whose lineage is unknown: 

The bone material has the density of stone and it is likely that calcification has started which gives the bone this dense and naturally polished finish: The glass inset details fine age-pitting and smooth wear: The Iron pin has a fine external oxide finish and oxides have leached to the area where it is fixed to the inner bone amulet: The linked retention links are seen with darker silver inner core patination tones and fine aged external gold-gilt finishes:

Provenance:

The amulet was recovered detecting within the inner ditch of an early medieval rampart: I continue to investigate this location where, I suspect that a contemporary encampment / defensive position may have existed and is now overgrown and all but forgotten: It is interesting to note that within the historical record [Anglo-Saxon Chronicle], the following;

Battle of Holme:

This battle took place in East Anglia on 13th December AD 902 between the Anglo-Saxon men of Wessex and Kent and the East Anglian Danes under Danelaw: It is thought that the battle took place around the modern day villages of Holme and Yaxley however the exact battle site is unknown … !

"Following the death of Alfred the Great in AD 899, his son Edward the Elder became king, but his cousin Æthelwold, son of Alfred's elder brother, King Æthelwold claimed the throne. His bid was unsuccessful, and he fled to the Northumbrian Danes, who, according to one version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, accepted him as king. In 902 Æthelwold came with a fleet to Essex and the following year he persuaded the East Anglian Danes to attack Mercia and north Wessex. Edward retaliated by ravaging East Anglia and the Danish army was forced to return to defend its own territory. Edward then retreated, but the men of Kent disobeyed the order to retire, and they met the Danes at the battle of the Holme.

The course of the battle is unknown, but the Danes appear to have won as according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle they "kept the place of slaughter".However, they suffered heavy losses including Æthelwold, Eohric, probably the Danish king of East Anglia, Brihtsige, son of the aetheling Beornoth, and two holds, Ysopa and Oscetel. The battle thus ended  Æthelwolds Revolt .  Kentish  losses included Sigehelm, father of Edward the Elder's third wife, Eadgifu of Kent. The West Saxon chronicler who gave the fullest account of the battle was at pains to explain why Edward and the rest of the English were not present, as if this had been a subject of criticism".

Reference material and further reading: 

Where possible ancient  artifacts  may be referenced to similar material observed in the following publications within my collection:

  • British Artefacts Vol.1, 2 and 3:  Brett Hammond [Greenlight Publishing 2010]:

  • Celtic & Roman Artefacts:  Nigel Mills  [Greenlight Publishing 2007]:

  • SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome:  Mary Beard [Profile Books 2015]:

  • 50 Bronze Age Artefacts: Portable Antiquities Scheme:  Dot Boughton [Amberley Publishing 2021]:

  • Pottery in Britain 4000BC to AD 1900:  Lloyd Laing [Greenlight Publishing 2003]:

  • British Iron Age Coins In The British Museum:  Richard Hobbs [British Museum 1996]:

  • Swords of The Viking Age:  Ian Peirce: [The Boydell Press 2003]:

  • Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society Volume 85:  [Cambridge University Press

    2019]

  • Mesolithic Europe:  Geoff Bailey / Penny Spikins [Cambridge University Press 2008]

  • Viking Art:  James Graham-Campbell: [Thames & Hudson, London 2018]

  • Roman Coins Vol. 1, 2 & 3:  David R Sear: [Spink London 2000]:

  • The Roman Cavalry:  Karen R. Dixon: [B. . Batsford 1997]:

  • Rome’s Saxon Shore: Coastal  Defenses  of Roman Britain AD 250 – 500:  Nic Fields [Osprey Publishing 2006]:

  • Amulets of Ancient Egypt:   Carol Andrews: [University of Texas Press / British Museum Press 1994]:

  • The Uniforms of the Roman World: Military dress, weapons, artillery, ships, siege engines and fortifications:  Kevin F. Killey: [Anness Publishing 2017]:

Where possible finger rings may be referenced to similar material observed in the following publications within my collection:

  • Victorian and Albert Museum CATALOGUE OF FINGER RINGS 1930:  C.C.Oman [Anglia Publishing. 1991 – Now out of print]:

  • Finger Rings:  Diana Scarisbrick / Martin Henig: [Ashmolean Museum Oxford. 2003]:

  • Ancient Rings An Illustrated Collectors Guide:  T. N. Polio: [ McFarland & Co Inc.  2018:

  • 1000 Rings: Inspiring Adornments of the Hand:   Le Van, Marthe; Ebendorf, Robert [W: Lark Books 2004]:

Copyright Ancient Pasts | All rights reserved

  • Condition: Used
  • Condition: Very Fine - please see description and pictures for full details:
  • Brand: Anglo Saxon / Norse Viking Amulet
  • Style: Anglo Germanic / Dane
  • Unit Quantity: 1

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