Note: This documentation is not as thorough as some of my previous work due to time constraints created by the need to publish this immediately balanced against my desire to share my work with others. My previous work contains documentation for most of the concepts and processes discussed here. As time permits, I will flesh out this document to the same standard I held myself to in previous research.

Heraldic Miniature Clothing Hooks

By Danr Bjornsson

May 2004

On a trip to Denmark in 2001, I saw many pairs of heraldic clothing hooks in the Danish National Museum. These hooks dated to approximately the 13th Century, were mostly made of pewter. Each set consisted of 2 eschuteon (shield-shaped) pieces, one with a hook and one with a loop, such that when clasped the two shields sat side-by-side. Each hook’s eschuteon measured about one inch square. The heraldic design was roughly cast in the surface of the eschuteon, made up of incised lines to represent different tinctures and outline the charges. The photo I attempted to take of these hooks did not turn out, unfortunately. . Similar artifacts consisting of only the hook portion (no loops) and with non-heraldic decorative motifs were found from Viking Age York and were classified as garter hooks (Hall).

Recently I decided to try something similar. There are many large clothing hooks on the market, so for additonal challenge I created heraldic hooks in the smallest size I could, and cut two patterns from one piece so they could be cast together. I used a round shape since that is the shape of shield my persona would have used. Hooks of this size are perfect to close the neck of an undertunic, a cuff, small pouch, or other clothing accessory.

In period, craftsmen could carve their originals from wood or wax, or for very small items like this they might engrave a soft metal such as tin. I used sheet plastic because it has no grain, is easy to carve like wax, but is much less brittle than wax. I carved two different patterns, the winged arrow that is my badge and the ivy-leaf paw-print that is our household badge. With both a hook and loop half for each, this came to four unique pieces, all attached to one sprue so that, with each casting, two sets are created. The pattern did not include the exact location of the stitching loops, used to attach the hooks to the garment, because those would be easy to drill later.

I then sand-cast the pattern, cut them from the sprue, drilled the stitching holes, and smoothed and polished the hooks. Working in this small size means that I had to be very careful in filing and polishing – too much polishing literally strips away the pattern or destroys the item. As a result the finish on these is somewhat rougher than some of my metalwork. Finally, I bent the hooks to shape.

I enjoyed making these hooks due to the challenges inherent in their small size, and the new things I learned by making multiple items on one sprue. I will continue to make these in this size and larger sizes, so that all our garments have the proper heraldic hardware.

Bibliography

Agricola, Georgius, trans. Herbert & Lou Hoover, De Re Metallica, Dover Publications, NY, 1950, ISBN 0-486-60006-8. This book covers the 16th-century techniques of metallurgy, including the technological, legal, and safety aspects of surveying, timbering, mining, refining, smelting, alchemy, and the other tools and techniques required to locate ore and turn it into usable metals. It provides excellent background technological information for any metalworker.

Bayley, Justine, Non-Ferrous Metalworking from Coppergate, from The Archeology of York, Vol 17 The Small Finds, Fasc. 7 Craft, Industry and Everyday Life, Council for British Archeology, York, 2000. ISBN 1.872414.30.3. This small book in the Archeology of York series is just what the title says it is, and very useful for research into this field.

Biringuccio, Vannoccio, trans. Cyril Smith and Marth Grundi, Pirotechnia, Dover Books, New York, 1959, ISBN 0-486-26134-4. This translation of a sixteenth-century work on metals and metalworking contains a great deal of information on metallurgy and casting.

Hall, Richard, The Viking Dig: The Excavations at York, Bodley Head, London, 1984, ISBN 0-370-30802-6. This book provides an excellent overview of the excavations of York, covering a time period from the Iron Age up to Medieval times. This book would be very useful to any student of Norse culture, or Dark Ages arts and sciences.

Theophilus, trans. John Hawthorne and Cyril Smith, On Divers Arts, Dover Books, New York, 1979, ISBN 0-486-23784-2. This translation of an early twelfth-century treatise on painting, glassworking, and metalwork is one of the foremost period sources for researchers of these arts.

Various museums in Denmark. In the summer of 2000, my lady and I traveled to Denmark and visited the National Museum in Copenhagen, the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde, the Viking Museum in Ribe, and the research/reconstruction sites at Fyrkat, Trelleborg, Jelling, and Lehre. We took many photos, saw many artifacts, and spoke to an archeologist or two. What we saw on this trip gave us ideas and research for years of arts and sciences projects. Our only complaint is that we had to take our own photos, which did not always come out well when taken through the glass that protected the artifacts. None of the museums sold information or photos of individual artifacts.

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