Symbols of protection : the significance of animal-ornamented shields in early Anglo-Saxon England

T.M. Dickinson

doi:10.1179/007660905x54062

Symbols of protection : the significance of animal-ornamented shields in early Anglo-Saxon England

T.M. Dickinson

Archaeology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The significance of shields with animal ornament on the boss and/or board in early Anglo-Saxon society is sought in the coincidence of artefactual, stylistic and iconographic symbolism. Twenty shields buried in the 6th to earliest 7th century, together with seventeen further mounts which were probably originally designed for shields, form the basis of a systematic typological review; decoration in Salin's Style I is emphasised. Analysis of dating, distribution and use in burial establishes cultural and social contexts. The meaning of the ornamental repertoire is sought through iconographic analogies, notably with Scandinavian bracteates and their putative association with a cult of Óðinn/Woden. It is proposed that the animal ornament invested the shields with a specific apotropaic quality, which emphasised, and amplified, the protective role of select adult males, and hence their authority over kin, community and even kingdom

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	109-163
Number of pages	54
Journal	Medieval Archaeology
Volume	49
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1179/007660905x54062
Publication status	Published - Jan 2005

Bibliographical note

Reproduced with the permission of the publisher.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/007660905x54062

Cite this

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title = "Symbols of protection : the significance of animal-ornamented shields in early Anglo-Saxon England",

abstract = "The significance of shields with animal ornament on the boss and/or board in early Anglo-Saxon society is sought in the coincidence of artefactual, stylistic and iconographic symbolism. Twenty shields buried in the 6th to earliest 7th century, together with seventeen further mounts which were probably originally designed for shields, form the basis of a systematic typological review; decoration in Salin's Style I is emphasised. Analysis of dating, distribution and use in burial establishes cultural and social contexts. The meaning of the ornamental repertoire is sought through iconographic analogies, notably with Scandinavian bracteates and their putative association with a cult of {\'O}{\dh}inn/Woden. It is proposed that the animal ornament invested the shields with a specific apotropaic quality, which emphasised, and amplified, the protective role of select adult males, and hence their authority over kin, community and even kingdom",

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