HARNESS PENDANT

A cast, copper alloy harness pendant dating from AD 1150-1300. The pendant is circular with a central motif of a shield on an enamelled teal or turquoise coloured background, charged with a white enamel cross pattee. The shield is recessed from the height of the enamel and the metal is a dark red/grey colour. It may have been enamelled in a different colour, or may have been silvered. The central motif is surrounded by a legend on a gilded band. It is difficult to read but probable says: AV(E MA)[RIA GRA]CIA (Hail Mary full of Grace). There is also a free-moving bar still attached through the suspension loop of the pendant where it would have been attached to a harness.

The device and iconography employed in this pendant are interesting and it is probable that it has some relationship with the Crusades and potentially represents one of the military orders, either the Knights Templar or the Knights Hospitaller/Knights of St. John. There are four examples from Yorkshire on the PAS adatabase with probable Templar associations (IHS-6F1E82, IHS-6FCF57, IHS-7018F5 and SWYOR-5503A3). All of the parallels suggest a date in the 12th to 13th centuries AD, and if a connection to the Templars can be determined (though this remains uncertain), then it should date no later than AD 1314 when the order was dissolved. Compare also SF-3A4CD2, LIN-7A7E90, LIN-6A21B6, YORYM-2BCC57, SWYOR-289416, YORYM-6D3B53, SWYOR-D8C192, NMS-EEF2A4 and DENO-F5F2C5.

A particularly striking parallel is SWYOR-FE9552, which also has an inscription which reads AVE MARIA GRACIA. The words mean 'Hail Mary, full of grace' in Latin and are the opening words of the prayer known in English as the Hail Mary. The central cross pattee refers, in all likelihood, to the arms of the Knights Templar, who used argent, a cross pattee gules as their arms (a red cross on a white background). Although the design of the motif matches that of the Knights Templar, the colours do not.

The Knights Templar were initially formed to defend the Holy Land; after a somewhat hesitant start the Order grew rapidly, and its Houses are found across Europe. Much of the Knights' success was due to their ability to act as international bankers; their wealth resided largely in the substantial amount of land bequeathed to them by devout individuals seeking to ameliorate the fate of their souls. By no means all Knights Templar resided in the Holy Land; in common with all large organizations, the Knights had 'employees' wherever their property lay. Templar Houses are found throughout Yorkshire, e.g., Snainton near Malton, and the Preceptory of Temple Hirst, in Birkin, was a Knight Templar possession. A significant number of villages, including Escrick, have Templar tombs in their churches. It may be significant that this pendant was found in Birkin.

The pendent has a diameter of 21.7mm and a thickness of 2mm. It weighs 4.53gm.