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.

Norse Woman’s Bronze Trefoil Brooch

By Danr Bjornsson

September 2004

The Norse often borrowed ideas from other cultures and sometimes reformed those ideas in their own style. They also made extensive use of "found" metalwork – taking a coin or other metalwork and modifying it to a new decorative or practical purpose. A fine example of these practices is the trefoil (three-lobed) brooch. It is believed that the first trefoils were decorative mounts from horse tack or sword belts from mainland Europe. Such mounts were probably brought back to Scandinavia by Viking raiders. They were then modified to serve as brooches. Later, the style was probably copied to completely original Norse jewelry. There are many finds from the Viking Age of trefoil brooches, both converted mounts with European artwork and original brooches with Norse artwork.

A trefoil brooch has a pin on the back and is used to close the woman’s shawl or overcoat. The pin is mounted between two of the three lobes such that, when pinned, the third lobe hangs straight down, looking like a capital "Y." In a few cases, trefoil brooches were designed so that chains or small tools could be hung from the lower lobe of the brooch, much like they were hung from the turtle brooches.

The reasons for mounting the pin in a "Y" shape are not known for certain, but here are my theories. This arrangement is practical; the shawl pulls horizontally out while gravity pulls down. The "Y" shape may also have some feminine or fertility symbolism. The shape looks a bit like a Thor’s hammer, but the hammer was usually a male symbol.

I designed this brooch for my lady. The pattern is a basic Jelling dog very similar to the one on the Jelling cup. With three lobes, the three dogs create pattern with radial symmetry. Norse art, unlike Celtic art, was not often symmetrical. However, I wanted this design to please the modern eye as well as fit the period style. I put a small cross in the center, as we are Christian. On the lower lobe I hid a tiny bindrune, which is an animal figure shaped into my first initial, the dagaz rune (D). Finally, I included a loop on the bottom in case she wanted to hang something from it.

I spent about 8 hours designing the artwork, then 2-3 hours carving an original model in layers of plastic and sheet metal (easier to work with than wax that was available in period). The back of this original had simple marks to show where the pin and loop would attach. I sand-cast this into pewter, which I then dapped into a dome shape on a trefoil dapping block that I carved. Finally, I sand-cast a copy of the pewter prototype in bronze, adding the lugs for the pin and loop into the sand mold directly using the marks on the pewter prototype as a guide. I finished the brooch with modern methods, i.e. sanding, drilling, and polishing. I also mixed in a few period methods, such as filing and pickling, when necessary. I bent the pin from steel wire, case-hardened the wire, and installed it with a nickel hinge pin, bending the catch down to hold the end of the pin. I used nickel because, if the brooch catches while in use, it will be the easily-replaced hinge pin and not the brooch that breaks. The metalworking phase took about 6 hours.

I created this brooch for my lady. As we build our félag (fellowship, a.k.a. household), she has considered making brooches like this part of the regalia worn by the women of the group. I enjoyed designing and making it, and look forward to making more.

Back to Danr's A&S page.