https://www.ukdfd.co.uk/templates/general_wide/img/logo.png https://www.ukdfd.co.uk/ https://www.ukdfd.co.uk/artefact/medieval.html https://www.ukdfd.co.uk/artefact/medieval/finger-rings/finger-ring-bezel-59235.html Fri, 24 Apr 2026 15:12:28 GMT Finger rings  

Description:		A silver-gilt bezel from a medieval finger ring. The bezel is square with rediused corners and simple punched decoration. The decoration consists of a square spiral of dots with a cross at the centre, possibly representing a physical journey to a spiritual destination. The back of the bezel is diagonally recessed to accommodate the hoop such that it would have been orientated lozengewise to the finger when worn. The hoop would have been soldered in position, but is now missing.
Category:		Medieval, Finger rings
Category:		Finger rings

]]> https://www.ukdfd.co.uk/artefact/medieval/seal-matrices/seal-matrix-59233.html Sun, 19 Apr 2026 19:06:05 GMT Seal matrices  

Description:		A vesica-shaped personal seal matrix of the medieval period. The intaglio design is difficult to interpret, but would appear to depict a fantastic flying quadruped with a human-head. The human head wears the hood of a jester or fool, most likely an allusion to the foolishness of man, which is found on many other seals of the time (e.g. UKDFD 12323). However, the detail of the hood is unusual; it is fashioned in the form of a bird-of-prey's head with hooked beak, which faces rearwards as worn. The Latin inscription is * S' THOME D' *LE GRENE - Seal of Thomas de le Grene. The back of the seal is plain except for a median rib, which terminates in a pierced suspension lug at one end. Origins of the de la Grene family name: The family name de la Grene (and its variants del Grene, de Grene) is of Anglo-Saxon origin, dating back to the late 12th century, with its roots primarily located in England. It is a locational surname that emerged from the Old English word "grene," referring to someone who lived near a village green, common land, or a grassy area.
Category:		Medieval, Seal matrices
Category:		Seal matrices

]]> https://www.ukdfd.co.uk/artefact/medieval/mounts/quatrefoil-mount-59234.html Sun, 19 Apr 2026 19:33:22 GMT Mounts  

Description:		A quatrefoil-shaped mount of the medieval period, probably from a book cover. The mount has a hollow-domed central boss and four peripheral pierced lugs at the cardinal points. The boss is decorated in moulded relief with a central lozenge, around which there is an inner circle of four crescents and an outer circle of eight wedges.The wedges point alternately towards and away from the centre. One of the pierced lugs retains the corroded remnants of an iron rivet. For protection against wear and tear, valuable books of the medieval period were adorned with matching conical or domed mounts that were placed at each corner, and often also in the centre, of the outer covers. See also UKDFD 57420.
Category:		Medieval, Mounts
Category:		Mounts

]]> https://www.ukdfd.co.uk/artefact/medieval/seal-matrices/seal-matrix-59231.html Sun, 19 Apr 2026 15:19:22 GMT Seal matrices  

Description:		An oval copper-alloy seal matrix with tapering hexagonal-section handle surmounted by a lozenge-shaped suspension loop. The engraved device is a male human head in profile. The intended inscription is * CAPVT SERVI DEI - Head of a Servant of God, but the letters U and V - both the vowel and consonant were a single letter at the time - have been rendered as C, resulting in * CAPCT SERCI DEI. See also UKDFD 38944.
Category:		Medieval, Seal matrices
Category:		Seal matrices

]]> https://www.ukdfd.co.uk/artefact/medieval/thimbles/thimble-59223.html Tue, 07 Apr 2026 20:10:12 GMT Thimbles  

Description:		A rimless domed copper-alloy thimble with manually produced circular indentations. The indentations are arranged in vertical lines on the lower part of the thimble, and in concentric circles around a central plain area on the top. The thimble also has a faint circumferential groove around the base. This type of thimble is often described as a ’skep’ or ‘beehive thimble’ on account of its shape.
Category:		Medieval, Thimbles
Category:		Thimbles

]]> https://www.ukdfd.co.uk/artefact/medieval/strap-ends/strap-end-59209.html Sat, 28 Mar 2026 16:33:09 GMT Strap-ends  

Description:		A composite three-piece strap-end comprising sheet front and back plates and a cast forked spacer. The attachment edge is straight and square, and the spacer has a single-collared, acorn-shaped terminal knop. There are two visible rivet holes with surviving copper-alloy rivets, one at the attachment end for retaining the strap, and one immediately above the knop for securing the front and back plates. There is possibly a second strap-retaining rivet closer to the attachment edge, but not discernible on the images. The front plate is decorated with a border of punch-marks; the back plate is plain.
Category:		Medieval, Strap-ends
Category:		Strap-ends

]]> https://www.ukdfd.co.uk/artefact/medieval/mounts/castle-shaped-mount-59195.html Sat, 21 Mar 2026 16:07:22 GMT Mounts  

Description:		A cast copper-alloy mount moulded in the shape of a three-turreted castle with an open gate or door.  The mount has three holes for attachment, all of which retain copper-alloy rivets.  See also UKDFD 57151, PAS: BH-B04142 and harness-pendant suspension mount, UKDFD 31602.
Category:		Medieval, Mounts
Category:		Mounts

]]> https://www.ukdfd.co.uk/artefact/medieval/buckles-and-buckle-plates/clasp-fasteners/folding-strap-clasp-59164.html Sun, 01 Mar 2026 16:08:48 GMT Clasp fasteners  

Description:		A composite single loop folding strap clasp consisting of frame and rotating closure. The frame is rectangular, formed from a sheet-metal strip and fitted with a separate spindle for the closure. The rotating closure is of sheet metal and is decorated with two incised saltires.
Category:		Medieval, Buckles and buckle plates, Clasp fasteners
Category:		Clasp fasteners

]]> https://www.ukdfd.co.uk/artefact/medieval/keys-and-locks/casket-key-59163.html Sun, 01 Mar 2026 13:48:49 GMT Keys and locks  

Description:		A crude medieval casket key made from folded copper-alloy sheet. The key has a sub-circular bow with a concentric sub-circular aperture, a hollow shank and a simple bit.
Category:		Medieval, Keys and locks
Category:		Keys and locks

]]> https://www.ukdfd.co.uk/artefact/medieval/pilgrim-souvenirs-and-secular-badges/pilgrim-s-souvenir-59156.html Thu, 26 Feb 2026 19:33:25 GMT Pilgrim souvenirs and secular badges  

Description:		A circular cast lead or lead-alloy pilgrim's souvenir of the late medieval period. The front of the object depicts the sacred monogram, IhC, in black letter style on a field of leafy fronds. The abbreviation mark through the h has been worked into a crown, and the whole design is encircled by an ornate beaded border. The back of the object has a mould-joint ridge and the stump of a central shank. Interestingly, the stone mould referenced below was used to produce roundels of identical design to the present type. It was found at King Manor, Clarendon in 1887. The author in describing the roundels comments: "Surviving roundels of this kind appear not to have been designed as pilgrim badges, however. Examples with the Ihs monogram have turned up at London, Coventry and Bristol, as well as Salisbury, and these are fitted with a long rivet, not a pin. One of the London finds was riveted to a piece of wood and not to a complete paten, as stated in Mitchiner 1986, p 194. Other examples with central rivets are decorated with figures of saints, the Five Wounds, the vernicle, rose, crown and sunburst. Clearly they cannot be called paten centres, but they may perhaps have been made for the thick bases of wooden drinking-bowls, the cheap equivalent of prints from mazer bowls, like the copper alloy print 'enamelled' with a crowned heart containing the sacred monogram on a late fourteenth-century maplewood mazer belonging to St John's Hospital, Canterbury." See also UKDFD 26680.
Category:		Medieval, Pilgrim souvenirs and secular badges
Category:		Pilgrim souvenirs and secular badges

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