tour 19 of 23
The Vikings
Silver disc brooch of Ædwen
A hoard of objects, which included coins, gold
rings and this brooch, was discovered during the ploughing of a
field near Ely in 1694. The objects disappeared, but the brooch was
rediscovered in a private collection in 1951 when it was bought by
the British Museum.
There
is an inscription in Old English around the edge on the back.
Uniquely, it tells us who owned the brooch. The inscription may be
translated as: 'Ædwen owns me, may the Lord own her. May
the Lord curse him who takes me from her, unless she gives me of
her own free
will'.
The back of
the brooch is also decorated and has a fragment of silver strip
attached, onto which the fixings for the missing pin were mounted.
This strip is engraved with seven imitation Anglo-Saxon runes which
cannot be read. The nature of the damage may indicate that the
brooch was torn quickly and with some force from clothing and then
buried, perhaps at a time of
danger.
The bold but simple
decoration, the size of the brooch and the inscription suggest that
its owner was a woman of some status.