MEDIEVAL HARNESS PENDANT

1250

An incomplete copper alloy medieval harness pendant. The pendant is shield shaped – with a gently curved (rather than flat) top and curved sides which converge to a pointed base. The pendant has the stub of a broken suspension loop at its apex, which, based on other examples of the type, is likely to have been at 90 degrees to the plane of the pendant (e.g. see record number BERK-13D924). In profile, the pendant curves inwards slightly towards the base.The pendant has a heavily corroded and uneven, brown/green surface and no surviving decoration can be discerned (e.g. enamel, gilding or engraving). The pendant measures 37.5mm from the suspension loop to the pointed base, and is 26.5mm wide. It weighs 8.94 grams.In “the Medieval Horse and its Equipment” (2004, Clarke (ed.)), Griffiths (p62) states that pendants would have been suspended from horse harnesses by means of small mounts riveted to the straps (e.g. see record WMID-91E942, and for a complete mount and pendant, see record SWYOR-17FA58). He also points out that although pendants and mounts were copper alloy, the pin that held the two together was usually iron, and with movement, the loop of the pendant frequently wore through. Griffiths concludes: “It is no surprise, therefore, that most pendants occur as isolated finds.” (p62)Based on the large number of pendants more recently available for study, Griffiths (1986, cited in Clarke, 2004, p62) states that horse harnesses appear to have been decorated with copper alloy pendants from the 12th century onwards, becoming more numerous in the 13th century. From perhaps the second half of the 13th century heraldric designs appear on pendants, with coats of arms depicted with coloured enamels, silvering, and gilding, and increasingly in the form of small shields. By the end of the 14th century, pendants were in decline with fashions changing to decorative leather or fabric trappings. Based on this work by Griffith’s (1986), it is likely that the pendant described in this record can be dated to circa 1250 – 1400.