(ORDO NEWS) — A valuable artifact was found in Wiltshire in the UK using a metal detector. The name of the person who found the medieval gold brooch with inscriptions in Latin and Hebrew has not been disclosed.
According to experts, this brooch, which is about 800 years old, probably had the function of a talisman. And it intertwined both religious and magical ideas of medieval society.
The inscription in Latin translates as “Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Amen”. And the inscription in Hebrew is the abbreviation AGLA, which means “You are strong forever, Lord.”
According to Northwestern University professor of religious studies Richard Kiekhefer, the Hebrew phrase “You are strong forever, Lord” was often used in medieval magical artifacts, while prayer was the standard chant of the Virgin Mary common among all Christians.
“I would like to emphasize that this combination of religion and magic is not something unusual,” Richard Kickhefer.
The expert emphasized that such a mixture of religious and magical meanings gave the amulet a special power in the eyes of the person who wore it.
The Hebrew abbreviation AGLA “was used very often in the Middle Ages, from high ritual magic to protective amulets and amulets. It is one of many divine names or words of power common in medieval traditions,” confirms Frank Claassen, professor of history at the University of Saskatchewan.
According to Katherine Ryder, professor of medieval history at the University of Exeter, biblical quotations in amulets were sometimes used as a way to protect a person from misfortune.
However, the expert believes that the brooch could not have had any magical meaning. “Perhaps it’s more of a gray area between what we think of as magic and religion,” says Ryder.
Given the small size of the brooch and the mention of the Virgin Mary, this item could have belonged to a woman.
“I’m guessing the brooch was attached to the women’s clothing of some kind of lightweight fabric,” says Karen Jolly, a professor of history at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She added that perhaps the brooch was worn as a means of protection during pregnancy or childbirth.
Now, according to British law, the find passes through the Treasure Act. He will determine the fate of the artifact. Perhaps it will be transferred to one of the local museums, and the person who finds it will receive a cash reward.
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