Abstract
This is a study of the Baltic brooches’ derivatives attributed by A.N. Ambroz almost half a century ago to brooches (group 8) of “round brooches” type. Previously, it was believed that round brooches were preceded by local brooches of the Roman period, which had protrusions along their perimeter. Round clasps of the Merovingian era, found in Sambia and the Masurian Lake District, fall into three subtypes according to their characteristics. They are united by the materials from which they are made (a bronze base with a silver coating) and an umbilical ornament in the form of concentric rings. At the present stage of research, it has been established that these brooches imitate luxurious (gold plating with inserts of stones) clasps from the areas of the Franks and Alemanni. This was the result of the desire of Masurian and then Prussian jewelers to emphasize the eventual connection of their customers with their trading partners (relatives) from the western part of the continent. This specifi c feature of the Prussian culture of the 7th century manifested itself both in rare but representative luxurious details of military equipment, which testifi ed to the appearance of princes from the Merovingian world in the Prussian environment, and copying by the Prussians (and, at the same time, the inhabitants of Mazury) representative details of the dress of the Franks and Alemanni of the 6th –7th centuries after the victory of the Prussians in a military clash with the inhabitants of the Masurian Lake District, round brooches are closer to the end of 7th century up in the Prussian tribal area as trophies of war. It is not excluded, however, and the commercial nature of the ways of distribution of round fasteners with umbilical decor. Round brooches of subtype 3, imitating the umbones of round shields characteristic of Prussian horsemen at the turn of the 7th–8th centuries, became imitations of the products of Merovingian craftsmen already in the workshops of Prussian jewelers in the land of Warmia.
Keywords
Round brooches, Merovingian era, Masurian Lake District, Sambia and Warmia lands, Prussians, Franks, Alemanni.
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