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Description: | Elaborate gilt copper alloy rowel spur. Fairly straight arm which projects slightly downwards from behind the heels, the forward end bending upward towards a figure of eight terminal. The sides are quite deep, flat on the inside face and slightly convex on the outer. The rowel shaft rises steeply from the main frame, and then dips sharply downwards, splitting into two arms with circular terminals, both pierced to hold an iron rowel in place. Fe corrosion on the rowel shaft terminals. The entire face of the object is decorated with an elaboratly incised and gilded design of uncertain motif.Short rowel-shafted spurs seem to have been popular from their introduction in the 13th century, right until the early 15th century, from when the main fashion changed to spurs with very long necks in the 15th and early 16th century (The Medieval Horse and its Equipment, Museum of London Medieval Catalogue). The shortness of the spur indicates perhaps a 14th century date for this object, however the design is very elaborate and may be a European import of a slightly later date (see Salisbury and South Wiltshire Medieval Catalogue, p68, pl. 1, spur number 38).Gilded spurs were buckled onto a mans heels as part of the formal ceremony of making him a knight, and gilt spurs were considered to be the perogative of knights (The Medieval Horse and its Equipment, Museum of London Medieval Catalogue).
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
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