STIRRUP

A complete, albeit broken, Medieval cast copper-alloy stirrup of c. 14th century date.

The stirrup was found across two periods of metal detecting with the foot first being discovered originally and the attachment point being found c 2.5 years later.

The object is broken approximately half way up from the foot of the strip in two patinated breaks such that each object retains c.50% of the arms. These arms are D shaped in cross-section, with a flattened inner side and convex outer face. They are 8.1mm wide at the attachment point and widen gradually along their remaining length 11.9mm and curve out then back in at a lower corner to merge into the integral, horizontal, foot-rest. The sides are undecorated.

The foot-rest is formed of an integral expanded base at right angles to the arms but connecting smoothly to their curved lower corners. It is expanded in width (30.4mm wide at maximum) but similar in thickness. In plan it takes the form of an elongated oval. The upper face is smoothed from use while the lower face has rough striations along it. At the front edge is a long perpendicular decorative lip projecting down 6.9mm. The lip is formed of two trapezoid projections (narrowing away from the foot rest), each with three raised ridges grooves running down their front, defined in part by incised lines to each side, flanked by smaller triangular projections, each with a single groove down their front. There are also two small rounded knops forming the centre of the lip between the two larger projections. The ridges on the largest projections are worn.

The attachment point at the top of the stirrup is made of a trapezoidal front plate expanded at its base which is 41.5m wide narrowing to 32.6mm wide over a length 34.2mm. Its outer face is decorated by three raised transverse ridges at the its lower end and a further transverse ridge at its upper end bounded on its upper surface by a raised ridged c4.4m long with square indentations. Between these ridges are 4 pairs of parallel linear arrangements of shallowly incised wrigglework. Three run longitudinally and the fourth runs transversely across the centre of the plate givng a cross flanked by verticals . The loop of the attachment point is placed on the reverse of this plate in its lower quarter. The integral loop projects directly from the plate as a sub-rectangular hoop c11.5mm deep and 9.6mm from the back of the front plate to the back of the loop with a vertical slot 26.6mm by 7.3mm through which the strap would have been looped.

When considered together the two fragments form an entire piece that is 154.0mm high and 61.2mm wide and weighs 131.12 grams

This stirrup can be compared with a stirrup from London (Clark 2004, 73-74; MoL O2587) dated by Clark to the 14th century, and also YORYM-1C7EB0 and the complete stirrup LIN-B53400, both on this database. It is possible it was even more similar to the other examples on this database in the form of the decorative lip when less worn.