Bow fibulae are one of the three classes of fibulae; the other two classes are penannular fibulae (class A) and plate fibulae
(class C). Bow fibulae have a body set apart from the pin, usually in
some form of an arc, giving the appearance of a bow, with the pin as the
string (hence, the name). The body of the bow is generally long and
narrow. While bow fibulae can be only decorative the gap between bow and
pin means that many types can be used to fasten together a bulk of
fabric.
A sample of bow fibulae types from Riha, E. Die römischen Fibeln aus Augst und Kaiseraugst. (1979). PDF
Their are dozens
of types, sub-types and varieties of bow fibulae, but all are included
in one of six bow fibula groups. The groups are based on one-piece
construction (entirely made from) one piece of bronze, or more than
one-piece construction, the type of pin: spring or hinge, and the pin
connection.
One Piece Construction, Spring Pin
Early
bow
fibula were made from one piece of bronze. The entire
fibula from
the catch, to the bow, to the spring, to the tip of the pin was created
by shaping and bending a single piece of bronze with great expertise and
skill. The pin extends from the end of a spring consisting of one or more loops, usually four. The
spring tendon (the wire connecting the two ends of the
spring wraps under the bow. The tension of the
spring helps keep the pin in place. The wire foot (a-b below) is the most common pin catch/holder. The
solid foot is a late development.
Spring with four turns and tendon below (1), wire foot (a-b), a sample of bow group B1
fibula (
Riha group 1) from
Riha, E.
Die römischen Fibeln aus Augst und Kaiseraugst. (1979).
PDF Again,
the entire
fibula from the catch, to the bow, to the hook and plate, to
the spring, to the tip of the pin was created by shaping and bending a
single piece of bronze with great expertise and skill. The pin extends from the end of a spring. The tension of the spring helps keep the pin in place. The tendon (the wire connecting two ends of the spring) is held above the spring by a "spring hook." The hook holding
the spring was an invention of the Augustan period, which did not go
beyond the 1st century. Predominantly group 2
fibulae are open/framed
foot, or perforated foot, but occasionally also solid foot.
Spring with four turns and tendon below (2), a sample of bow group B2
fibula (
Riha group 2) from
Riha, E.
Die römischen Fibeln aus Augst und Kaiseraugst. (1979).
PDF Two-Piece Construction, Spring Pin
One-piece
construction
was rapidly replaced by the much easier to manufacture
two-piece
construction in the middle of the 1st century A.D. The
spring with
spring pin remained in use until late in the Roman period, primarily
in free
Germania and the adjacent areas of the Roman provinces. The needle
holders are not of uniform shape, which should be expected since the
type was produced over a long period and large geographical
area. The
needle catches
tend to be
higher than other groups, some are tubular.
The
spring sleeve was a Gallo-Roman
type predominantly of the 1st century. The
type has two piece construction with a
spring pin. The
spring
is
covered with a sleeve which holds the
spring,
spring tendon and pin in place and but also
hides the mechanical aspects of the
fibula and improves the appearance.
The
type predominantly has an open/framed foot, or perforated foot, but
occasionally also
solid foot. In later times it was reused in a different form and in other areas (
Limes, Danube provinces) for a few
rare fibula types.
Fibula pin spring and spring sleeve (4.1 - 4.11), a sample of bow group B4
fibula (
Riha group 4) from
Riha, E.
Die römischen Fibeln aus Augst und Kaiseraugst. (1979).
PDF
Fibulae with spring sleeve from
Van Buchem, H.
De Fibulae Van Nijmegen. (Nijmegen, 1941).
PDFHinge Pin
This
type probably originated in Italy. It became the most popular form of
closure for Roman provincial
fibulae, and is characteristic of the bow
brooches from the early imperial times to the beginning of the 2nd
century. Outside the Roman Empire and after that time, this
type of hing
was seldom used. The
sleeve hinge consists of a small sleeve at the top
of the
head which is forged from a square sheet metal plate and then
rolled up. In a center-cut slot, the spiked needle is inserted and held
by a shaft (usually iron) passing through the whole sleeve. At the ends
of each of the Aucissa
fibulae and their early successors were buttons
holding the hinge
axis; later, the hinge
axis was clamped in the sleeve
and needed no buttons. The needle always carries a thorn-like projection
on its perforated oval plate, which beats against the
head of the
fibula and, by virtue of this resistance, causes the suspension to
spring forth. The
sleeve hinge is used exclusively in
bow fibulae. The
needle is primarily rectilinear, but bends hand in hand with the
flattening of the bow to the outside to continue to leave enough space
between the bracket and needle. For group 5, triangular to quadrangular
(i-m below) solid plate
needle holders are characteristic, but now and
then they also have a simple perforation. The
sleeve hinge is considered
a typical Roman construction. The
sleeve hinge fibulae are by far the
largest group of Roman
fibulae in terms of numbers.
Fibula pin hinge with a hinge pin sleeve (5), a sample of bow
fibula group B5 (
Riha group 5) from
Riha, E.
Die römischen Fibeln aus Augst und Kaiseraugst. (1979).
PDF
Around
the end of the second century, perhaps in connection with a change in
the production of
fibulae, the
tube hinge was introduced. It was the
primary hing form in the Middle and Late Roman period. Like the hinge in
general, this construction is limited to the Roman provinces. The hinge
system itself functions like that of group 5. The hinge arms, however,
are cast or well soldered and always larger than those of the sleeve
hinge and lengthen and thicken over time: at the end are the massive or
hollow
cross arms of the onion button
brooches. The pin is not held in
place by
lateral buttons, but is clamped. The needle has the same shape
as in group 5. Sometimes, however, it has no thorn-like projection to
push the needle outward so security measures to keep the needle in the
catch-plate were necessary. The
fibulae of group 6 are, with a few
exceptions, showing high
needle holders with disc or
foot-shaped feet. This construction is characteristic of the late Roman
period.
Tubular
fibula pin hinge (6), a sample of bow
fibula group B6 (
Riha group 6) from
Riha, E.
Die römischen Fibeln aus Augst und Kaiseraugst. (1979).
PDF
Bow Fibula Types - Page Links in Alphabetical Order
References
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Römische Fibeln des 1. und 2. Jahrhunderts N. Chr. (Duisburg and Rheinhausen, 1973).
Boelicke, U.
Die Fibeln aus dem Areal der Colonia Ulpia Traiana. (Mainz, 2002).
PDFBohme, A. "Die Fibeln der Kastelle Saalburg und Zugmantel" in
Saalburg Jahrbuch, XXIX. (1973).
Bojovic, D.
Rimske Fibule Singidunuma. Muzej Grada Bograda Serija - Zbirke i Legati Katalog XII. (Belgrade, 1983).
Busuladzic, A. "The Fibulae Collection from Mogorjelo" in
Opusc Archaeol 32, 2008.
PDFCurta, F.
Not 'Slavic ' after all: Bow Fibulae of Werner 's Class IIA. (Bucharest, 2010).
Curta, F. "Werner 's Class 1H of "Slavic"
Bow Fibulae Revisited" in
Archaeologica Bulgarica VIII, 2004.
Dandridge, Pete. "Idiomatic and Mainstream: The Technical Vocabulary of a Late Roman Crossbow Fibula" in
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Ettlinger, E.
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Brooches at Bagendon" in E. Clifford,
Bagendon, a Belgic Oppidum (1961). pp. 167 ff.
Jobst, W.
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PDFKostrzewski, J.
Die ostgermanische Kultur der Spätlatenezeit. (Leipzig, 1919).
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Metzler, J.
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Die römischen Fibeln aus Augst und Kaiseraugst. (1979).
PDF Ritterling, E. Das Frührömische Lager bei
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, L.
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Sedlmayer, H.
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