Medieval Jewelry

[Lady Ann of Draycott]

Does anyone know what type of jewelry was worn by medieval noble women and what it looked like?  I'm thinking about what would have been worn around the time of King Arthur.  Thanks! 

[DonaCatalina]

Mostly small items like rings, brooches, pendants and cloak pins.
Because noblewomen usually had every part of their head and neck covered, earrings were not practical. Why waste gold where it can't be seen?



These people carry some items that are historical replicas.
http://talbotsfineaccessories.com/jewel.html
This page has some interesting reading on medieval jewelry
http://nora.hd.uib.no/non/echt/budapest/SRM/types.htm

[Lady Ann of Draycott]

That article was interesting! Great links! Thanks!!

[gem]

Do you mean the historical King Arthur, of Roman Britain (5th century), or the King Arthur of the early medieval romances (12th C)? 

[Lady Ann of Draycott]

Sorry, I meant the 12th century legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Camelot and all that. 

[Baroness Doune]

According to The Handbook of English Mediaeval Costume by C. Willett and Phillis Cunnington, the jewelry women wore in the 12th century consisted of:
1. Elegant girdles, extremely long and decorative.  A thick cord of silk, wool, or linen, or was made of thongs plaited together or worked into a design on a broader belt ending in silk cords.
2. Ornamental chaplets of gold, bracelets, rings, necklaces and brooches

[isabelladangelo]

Brooches to hold the cloak around the shoulders was pretty big.  Here are a few good pages on artwork depicting clothing from the time.  You can see some of the brooches and trim they wore around that time:
http://www.uvm.edu/%7Ehag/rhuddlan/images/
http://www.geocities.com/aenor_anjou/treatise.htm
http://www.gelfling.dds.nl/bliaut.html
http://www.eg.bucknell.edu/~lwittie/sca/garb/bliaut.html  <- can see a belt or girdle on one of the statues
http://www.wymarc.com/artifacts/magi/magi.html

Basically, it was all about the trim.  The trim was what made the outfit and not really jewelry. 

[groomporter]

Some neat period illustrations of 16th century jewelry with a link to the online library with the full manuscript
http://bibliodyssey.blogspot.com/2009/01/jewel-book.html

[silverstah]

If you're looking for a vendor for medieval jewelry, check out Raymond's Quiet Press:

http://www.quietpress.com/

All of their pieces are based off of extant historical finds, and their work is wonderful and reasonably priced.

[Dayna]

OOuuuuwwww

I Thank You for this link, however my wallet may feel differently 

Dayna

[Cilean]

Does anyone know what type of jewelry was worn by medieval noble women and what it looked like?  I'm thinking about what would have been worn around the time of King Arthur.  Thanks! 

 
Okay so that would be about 400 so I have some links for Anglo Saxon type jewelry.
http://www.courses.rochester.edu/hahn/eng150/asjewels.htm

http://www.museumofjewelry.com/period-items-anglosaxon-c-103_81_85.html

This is Karen Larsdatter's Site and she has quite a lot of information:
http://www.larsdatter.com/




I hope this helps you out!!!

Cilean

[Hatter]

It is of course not historically accurate but my Lady has purchased several pieces from TJ Maxx.  Mostly pins of various sizes.  She has received many complements on these items from danes and crafters alike.

[sapphireandsage]

For necklaces, you'd have seen simple pendants with rough-cut jewels hung on cording...much less fancy-pants than Tudor times, for sure!

[PollyPoPo]

spam reported