CLOTHES & ACCESSORIES

ITEMS OF CLOTHING

BROOCHES

RINGS

NECKLACES

PATERNOSTERS

RELIQUARIES

GEMSTONE MEANINGS

Medieval Jewellery

Jewellery for women during the medieval period varied greatly between time periods. Some periods are known for their beautiful jewellery but at other times, ornamentation appears to be more often attached directly to items of clothing being worn- belts, jewelled bands, studded or embroidered clothes. Household inventories too, seem to reflect this.

Shown at left is the head of St Adelheid from 1260 which shows a magnificant crown, brooch and cloak clasps. At many times, crowns, coronets and jewelled items were worn as part of elaborate headware. These can be seen on the HEADWARE page.

The jewellery page is divided into six sections:

- BROOCHES - Marriage brooches, pilgrim badges & cloak fasteners
- RINGS - women's finger rings
- NECKLACES - necklaces, pendants and collars
- PATERNOSTERS - church approved jewellery
- RELIQUARIES - keeping your holy relics near
- GEMSTONE MEANINGS - what particular stones were believed to be good for

Jean de Jandun, an early 14th century writer comments on the markets on the bank of the river Seine. He writes:

On display here were all the objects to adorn the different parts of the human body: for the head, crowns, chaplets, and bonnets, ivory combs for the hair, mirrors for looking at oneself, belts for the waist, purses to suspend from them, gloves for the hands, necklaces for the breast, and other things of this type which I cannot list because I lack the Latin terms for these objects.

 

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