A detectorist found a very rare medieval gold brooch - a prayer amulet

A unique medieval gold brooch with inscriptions from 1150 to 1350 AD has been discovered in Wiltshire, England, with the help of a metal detector. The jewel is exceptional in its quality workmanship, impeccable stylistics and above all its double meaning - the text depicts a prayer written in Latin and also an abbreviation of a Hebrew incantation that was supposed to protect against evil powers...

The brooch was discovered last March by forty-nine-year-old William Nordhoff with his metal detector in a freshly ploughed field in Pewsey Vale. At first he thought it was just a ring of base metal, but when he removed the object from the dirt, he saw gold with inscriptions. He then reported the brooch to the Portable Antiquities Scheme. William has been searching since 2017, this was his most significant find to date.

Although brooches of this type and age have been found in the past, this one is unique in an archaeological context. Firstly, because the inscription is complete and without error (which was not common at a time when craftsmen were not literate), and secondly, because the inscription on four sides includes both a prayer and protective amuletic initials.

The brooch is made up of a circular frame with a needle attached by an eyelet. The front and back sides are bevelled to form four faces with inscriptions and letters in the Lombard style. The inscription on three of the faces is: + AVE. MARIA. GRACIA. PLENA: DOMINVS: + T: ECVM: BENEDICTATV: INMULIERIBV ET: BENEDI(CT)VS: FRVCTVS: VENTRIS: TVI. AMEN. Loosely translated, then: 'Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee / blessed art thou among women / and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. Amen." The S at the end of "MULIERIBV" is missing on purpose, it is not a spelling error. The place simply interfered with the fit of the needle.

The fourth area bears the inscription: + A + G + L + A +, which forms the initials of the Hebrew phrase: "Atha Gebir Leilam Adonai. (Means "Forever mighty, O Lord"). The initials AGLA were used in the Middle Ages as words of power to protect against disease, especially fever, and nefarious supernatural forces.

Due to its small size and the mention of the Virgin Mary, the brooch could have been owned by a woman: "For its small, though elegant size, I would guess it was used on women's clothing made of some lightweight fabric," Karen Jolly, a history professor at the University of Hawaii, told Live Science in an email. "This woman had sufficient means to buy the item or have it given to her. Whether she was literate or not, she knew what the inscriptions said and what it meant," she said, adding that the brooch may have served a protective purpose related to pregnancy and childbirth.

The brooch is very well crafted. "My main reaction is that it was made by someone who was very skilled, and that its first owner was at least a devout person who noted on it a devotion to the Virgin Mary and also a magical formula that protected him from various threats," commented Anne Lawrence-Mathers, a professor of history at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom.

The brooch was declared a treasure by the coroner at an inquest last month. The next step will be to have it valued, after which a local museum (presumably the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum) will be able to bid for and purchase the brooch for its collection at market price. The price has not yet been set at this time, but experts estimate it to be at least £5,000 - nearly £150,000.

Roman Nemec
Sources: thehistoryblog.com, livescience.com, dailymail.co.uk

brooch after removal from the ground

the brooch is really tiny - on the stamp the finder with his detector