|
Date: |
|
Description: | Copper-alloy horse-harness pendant length 30mm, width 22mm, thickness 6mm, weight 5.23g. The pendant is circular in plan and depicts a shield in the centre. The shield is slightly raised from the plate and has a cross in the centre that is filled with red enamel. Around the outside is the inscription AVE MARIA GRACIA, meaning 'Hail Mary, (full of) grace'. At the top is a loop for suspension.The device and iconography employed in this pendant are interesting and it is probable that it has some relationship with the Crusades and most likely represents the military order of the Knights Templar. A near identical example is recorded on the PAS database from Norfolk (NMS-F4ABB6) and in three examples from Yorkshire with probable Templar association (IHS-6F1E82, IHS-6FCF57, IHS-7018F5). All of the parallels suggest a date in the 12th to 13th centuries AD, and if a connection to the Templars can be suggested (which remains uncertain), then it should date no later than 1314 AD when the order was dissolved. Compare also SF-3A4CD2, LIN-7A7E90, DENO-F5F2C5 and YORYM-6D3B53.
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
|
|