The foot is the opposite end from the
head and is where the pin is closed in a pin-catch or pin-rest. Based on sculpture, mosaics and other depictions,
fibulae were usually
(always?) worn with the foot up. Foot is, of course, a modern name for this
fibula part and, although it is apparently not appropriate, it is the correct term.
Wire Foot, c. 480 B.C. - 100 B.C.
Only the bow fibula with one-piece construction has the wire foot. These 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 bronze wire with great expertise
and
skill. One end of the wire ends with the point of the pin. The catch was made by hammering flat the appropriate
section of the wire and then rolling it create a slot to hold the pin in
place. The end of the wire forming the foot is wrapped around and attached to the bow.
"Wire foot" examples (a - b) from
Riha, E.
Die römischen Fibeln aus Augst und Kaiseraugst. (1979).
PDF
Van Buchem 13 - 15, pl. 2, 1 - 3: Van Buchem, H. De Fibulae Van Nijmegen. (Nijmegen, 1941). PDF
On the Early Le Tene fibula (Van Buchem 13, pl. 2, 1) the foot is bent upwards toward the bow, but there is sometimes a
small space between. This part of the foot sometimes ends in an animal
head design.
Bent Foot (Folded Foot), 1st Century A.D. - 6th Century A.D.
These fibulae
are known by a wide variety of names: folded foot, returned foot, tied
foot, umgeschlagenem fuss, etc. The foot of the fibula is bent back towards the head
and is tied to the bow. This bend creates the catch, which is often in a
U-section. On most tied-foot types the bent-back foot ends in a narrow
wire which is tied to the bow by coiling around it several times.
However, on cast types the foot and bow are cast together as one piece,
though it usually still has a ridge in imitation of the original coiled ties.
This fibula group originated in southwest Russia and the Pontic Steppes in the 1st century A.D. with the Early Bent-Foot Fibula. It was a direct descendant of middle La Tene fibula which also use a tied foot design - the wire foot described above. The foot of these later fibulae is, however, bent under the bow in a simple U-shape. It ties to the bow from below, unlike the earlier Middle La Tčne fibula which is bent over the bow and ties to the bow from above. Compare the Middle La Tčne fibula below (Van Buchem 14, pl. 2, 2) with the bent foot fibula below (Almgren pl. 7, 158).
After beginning on the Pontic Steppes, the type spread to Romania and Hungary, likely with the Sarmatians or other steppe peoples. The type
also spread among the German peoples of northern and central Europe. It
was in use among the Chernyakhov culture in the Vistula and southern
Baltic region in the 2nd and early 3rd centuries A.D. The main types of
these fibulae are One-Piece Bent Foot Fibula, Gothic Bent-Foot Fibula, and Dacian Bent-Foot Fibula. These vary in construction and do not necessarily apply to specific peoples despite the type names.
Bent-Foot fibulae remained in use in the Danube region until the 6th century A.D. The later types are known as Byzantine, or sometimes Romano-Byzantine, Bent-Foot Fibula. They come in three main types: Byzantine Bent-Foot Fibula, Thick Bow Byzantine Bent-Foot Fibula, and Cast Byzantine Bent-Foot Fibula. These vary in construction and shape. The cast Byzantine Bent-Foot fibula has a bow entirely cast in its final shape and form, including the foot, which although cast imitates the folded and tied foot of the earlier types.
Genceva group V. is Fibula types with a "Folded Foot" (pp. 109 - 113, type 18 - 21b; pl. XVI, 1 - XVII, 10).
Genceva, E. Les Fibules Romaines de Bulgarie de la fin du 1er s. av. J.-C. ā la fin du VIe s. ap. J.-C. (Veliko Trnovo, 2004). PDF
Note: On the vast majority of fibula without a wire foot or bent foot, the bow has ornamentation at the same location where a knot would be on a fibula with a wire foot or bent foot. This is a skeuomorph, an ornamental design based on a feature (the knot) that was a necessary structure on the earlier form of the object (a fibula with a wire foot).
Solid Foot / Solid Catch, 1st Century B.C. and Later
Solid foot / solid
needle catch types (i, l, m) from
Riha, E.
Die römischen Fibeln aus Augst und Kaiseraugst. (1979).
PDF
Riha plate 3, 92 - 100:
Riha, E.
Die römischen Fibeln aus Augst und
Kaiseraugst. (1979).
PDF
Genceva plate VII, 1 - 12:
Genceva, E.
Les Fibules Romaines de Bulgarie de la fin du 1er s. av. J.-C. ā la fin du VIe s. ap. J.-C. (Veliko Trnovo, 2004).
PDFFrame Foot / Open Foot, 1st Century B.C. and Later
The frame foot or open foot appears to be intended to look more like the wire foot on earlier
fibulae.
Bow fibula with a
spring hook or
spring sleeve
predominantly have an framed foot or perforated foot (but occasionally also a solid foot as seen on some of the examples above).
Open foot / frame foot
type (c) from
Riha, E.
Die römischen Fibeln aus Augst und Kaiseraugst. (1979).
PDF 
Riha plate 23, 598; Riha plate 35, 951: Riha, E. Die römischen Fibeln aus Augst und
Kaiseraugst. (1979). PDF
Perforated Foot / Perforated Catch Plate, 1st Century B.C. and Later
The perforations on the foot (catch plate) appear to be purely ornamental.
Bow fibula with a
spring hook or
spring sleeve
predominantly have an framed foot or perforated foot (but occasionally also a solid foot).
Perforated foot types (d - h) from
Riha, E.
Die römischen Fibeln aus Augst und Kaiseraugst. (1979).
PDF
Genceva plate IV, 1, 2, 5:
Genceva, E.
Les Fibules Romaines de Bulgarie de la fin du 1er s. av. J.-C. ā la fin du VIe s. ap. J.-C. (Veliko Trnovo, 2004).
PDF
Riha plate 18, 458, 460;
Riha plate 32, 864, 866:
Riha, E.
Die römischen Fibeln aus Augst und
Kaiseraugst. (1979).
PDF
Long Parallel Catch Plate
This solid foot variation with a long catch plate is very common.
Long parallel catch types (n - o) from
Riha, E.
Die römischen Fibeln aus Augst und Kaiseraugst. (1979).
PDF
Genceva plate XVII (modified):
Genceva, E.
Les Fibules Romaines de Bulgarie de la fin du 1er s. av. J.-C. ā la fin du VIe s. ap. J.-C. (Veliko Trnovo, 2004).
PDF Perpendicular Catch Plate
A perpendicular catch plate is much less common than a parallel catch plate.
Perpendicular catch plate
type (p) from
Riha, E.
Die römischen Fibeln aus Augst und Kaiseraugst. (1979).
PDF
Kovrig plate XI, 112 & 114:
Kovrig, I.
Die Haupttypen der kaiserzeitlichen Fibeln in Pannonien. (
Budapest, 1937).
PDF
Genceva plate XV, 1 - 11:
Genceva, E.
Les Fibules Romaines de Bulgarie de la fin du 1er s. av. J.-C. ā la fin du VIe s. ap. J.-C. (Veliko Trnovo, 2004).
PDF The tubular catch is most commonly used with a cast
tubular hinge. Without a
spring or the thorn-like projection to press the pin into the catch, the tubular
pin catch provides better security for the pin.
Tubular
needle catch / channel
needle catch types (q - s) from
Riha, E.
Die römischen Fibeln aus Augst und Kaiseraugst. (1979).
PDF
Genceva plate XIX, 2 - 11:
Genceva, E.
Les Fibules Romaines de Bulgarie de la fin du 1er s. av. J.-C. ā la fin du VIe s. ap. J.-C. (Veliko Trnovo, 2004).
PDF
Genceva plate XXIII, 1 - 2:
Genceva, E.
Les Fibules Romaines de Bulgarie de la fin du 1er s. av. J.-C. ā la fin du VIe s. ap. J.-C. (Veliko Trnovo, 2004).
PDF
Note: The bow fibulae types with a spring pin were made with every type of foot and pin catch except the wire foot. This is not surprising because these fibulae include a great variety types that were manufactured over a very long period from the mid-first century until the late empire.
References
Genceva, E. Les Fibules Romaines de Bulgarie de la fin du 1er s. av. J.-C. ā la fin du VIe s. ap. J.-C. (Veliko Trnovo, 2004). PDF
Kovrig, I. Die Haupttypen der kaiserzeitlichen Fibeln in Pannonien. (Budapest, 1937). PDF
Riha, E. Die römischen Fibeln aus Augst und
Kaiseraugst. (1979). PDF
Van Buchem, H. De Fibulae Van Nijmegen. (Nijmegen, 1941). PDF
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