Belt fitting with rivets

Belts played a significant role in medieval clothing, which, while performing a strictly utilitarian function, were also a carrier of information about the wealth and social position of the wearer. Early medieval belts were still relatively modest because apart from the belt, they contained only a buckle, rarely equipped with a cap. In the late Middle Ages, following the prevailing fashion, the so-called long belt was sometimes worn. Its loose ends often reached to the knees or even to the feet. They were weighted down and decorated with various fittings. Richly ornamented fittings of a late Gothic belt were part of a treasure discovered in 1999 in Szczecin in the area on the Oder River. One of them, belonging to the so-called openwork fittings, has a horizontal scratch on the bottom, which serves as an engraver's mark. It is decorated with floral ornamentation. In this case, these are acanthus-like leaves and three-leaved lilies - popular ornamental motifs in the Middle Ages. In the late Middle Ages, the old Carolingian tradition was eagerly recalled, and metal belt ends were used.

Małgorzata Peszko