Amuletsthe gallery← amulets.guru
Norse, Germanic, Baltic & Slavic · c. 500 BCE – 1900 CE

Bracteates

Meaning

Bracteates are thin gold medallions stamped on one side, modelled on Roman imperial medallions. They show a head over a horse (often read as Odin healing Balder's horse, as in the Merseburg Charm), beasts, and runic words like ALU (perhaps 'ale', meaning ecstasy or protection) and LAÞU ('invitation').

Intent

They were worn as high-status talismans by elite women and men and given as gifts by rulers, conferring divine protection, luck and rank. Many were buried in hoards, possibly as offerings.

Significance

They are the most important source for pre-Viking Germanic religion and early runic inscriptions, a brief golden age of Nordic art. About 1,000 are known, most from Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

History

Bracteates were made during the Migration Period, roughly 450–550 CE, in southern Scandinavia, and spread to England, Germany and Frisia. Scholars (Hauck, Axboe) classify them as types A–D by motif.

Making yours
2–10 cm thin gold foil pressed over a carved die, with a beaded wire rim and a ribbed loop.
Norse, Germanic, Baltic & Slavic: the tradition

In pre-Christian Scandinavia and the Germanic world, protection came from the gods and from signs: Thor's hammer, runes, gold bracteates stamped with Odin. Amber from the Baltic shore had been carved into amulets since the Stone Age. Christianisation from the 9th to 11th centuries produced hybrid objects such as crosses cast in the same moulds as hammers. In the Slavic East, Byzantine Orthodoxy met older fever and serpent beliefs to produce the zmeevik. Scandinavian and Finnish peasant culture kept a strong tradition of protective objects against trolls, the evil eye and illness into the 19th and 20th centuries, documented by folklorists and now in the ethnographic museums of Stockholm, Oslo and Helsinki.

See all 326, save the ones that feel rightAsk about having one made
Gold BracteateGold BracteateScandinavian · 400–600EARLY MEDIEVAL BRACTEATEEARLY MEDIEVAL BRACTEATEUnited Kingdom · 450Smyckebrakteat, dräktspänne amulet from SwedenSmyckebrakteat, dräktspänne amulet from SwedenSwedenHåkon IVHåkon IVSlitebackaSlitebackaGrafschaft Orlamünde, Hermann II. (1206-1248), Brakteat, mcsearch (2)Grafschaft Orlamünde, Hermann II. (1206-1248), Brakteat, mcsearch (2)EARLY MEDIEVAL BRACTEATEEARLY MEDIEVAL BRACTEATEUnited Kingdom · 500Landsberger HohlpfennigLandsberger HohlpfennigFoleFolePOST MEDIEVAL BRACTEATEPOST MEDIEVAL BRACTEATEUnited Kingdom · 1550TrollhättanbrakteatenTrollhättanbrakteatenRunbrakteat, KungsladugårdenRunbrakteat, KungsladugårdenEARLY MEDIEVAL BRACTEATEEARLY MEDIEVAL BRACTEATEUnited Kingdom · 400EB1911 Scandinavian Civilization - gold bracteateEB1911 Scandinavian Civilization - gold bracteateFirst period of the later iron age in Sweden; published 1911Brakteat - Historiska museet - DIG 25647Brakteat - Historiska museet - DIG 25647EARLY MEDIEVAL BRACTEATEEARLY MEDIEVAL BRACTEATEUnited Kingdom · 450Trollhättanbrakteaten + Vg 228Trollhättanbrakteaten + Vg 228Trollhättan II bracteateTrollhättan II bracteateEARLY MEDIEVAL BRACTEATEEARLY MEDIEVAL BRACTEATEUnited Kingdom · 400Brakteaten(Gold)Brakteaten(Gold)Brakteat - Historiska museet - DIG 55889Brakteat - Historiska museet - DIG 55889EARLY MEDIEVAL BRACTEATEEARLY MEDIEVAL BRACTEATEUnited Kingdom · 450Gold BracteateGold Bracteate400–600Object from the exhibition We call them Vikings produced by The Swedish History Museum (13619683204)Object from the exhibition We call them Vikings produced by The Swedish History Museum (13619683204)EARLY MEDIEVAL BRACTEATEEARLY MEDIEVAL BRACTEATEUnited Kingdom · 450Lombard gold bracteate from Cividale, ItalyLombard gold bracteate from Cividale, ItalyMid-6 th to first half of the 7 th century / Mitte 6. bis erste Hälfte 7. JahrhundertBrakteat - Historiska museet - DIG 56345Brakteat - Historiska museet - DIG 56345EARLY MEDIEVAL BRACTEATEEARLY MEDIEVAL BRACTEATEUnited Kingdom · 500WelschingenWelschingencirca 6 th century date QS:P,+550-00-00T00:00:00Z/7Guldbrakteat fr Viglanda Skånings-Åsaka sn kopia (2M16-B1074) 9770Guldbrakteat fr Viglanda Skånings-Åsaka sn kopia (2M16-B1074) 9770EARLY MEDIEVAL BRACTEATEEARLY MEDIEVAL BRACTEATEUnited Kingdom · 550Gold BracteateGold Bracteate400–600Swedish History MuseumSwedish History MuseumEARLY MEDIEVAL BRACTEATEEARLY MEDIEVAL BRACTEATEUnited Kingdom · 475Lombard woman's grave goods from Poysdorf, Austria - gold bracteateLombard woman's grave goods from Poysdorf, Austria - gold bracteatefirst half of the 6 th century date QS:P,+550-00-00T00:00:00Z/7 / 1. Hälfte 6. JahrhundertBrakteat - Historiska museet - DIG 55548Brakteat - Historiska museet - DIG 55548EARLY MEDIEVAL BRACTEATEEARLY MEDIEVAL BRACTEATEUnited Kingdom · 500Antica roma, bratteati, forse dati come paga ai soldati, poi rilavorati in scandinaviaAntica roma, bratteati, forse dati come paga ai soldati, poi rilavorati in scandinaviaBrakteat - Historiska museet - DIG 25646Brakteat - Historiska museet - DIG 25646EARLY MEDIEVAL BRACTEATEEARLY MEDIEVAL BRACTEATEUnited Kingdom · 500Bracteate from Funen, Denmark (DR BR42).jpg brightenedBracteate from Funen, Denmark (DR BR42).jpg brightenedBrakteat - Historiska museet - DIG 56346Brakteat - Historiska museet - DIG 56346EARLY MEDIEVAL BRACTEATEEARLY MEDIEVAL BRACTEATEUnited Kingdom · 525Bracteates Over Hornbæk NationalmuseetBracteates Over Hornbæk NationalmuseetBrakteat - Historiska museet - DIG 56344Brakteat - Historiska museet - DIG 56344EARLY MEDIEVAL BRACTEATEEARLY MEDIEVAL BRACTEATEUnited Kingdom · 475Brakteat-fra-Kjøllergård DO-2094 2000Brakteat-fra-Kjøllergård DO-2094 2000Guldbrakteat fr Viglanda Skånings-Åsaka sn kopia (2M16-1074) scanGuldbrakteat fr Viglanda Skånings-Åsaka sn kopia (2M16-1074) scanEARLY MEDIEVAL BRACTEATEEARLY MEDIEVAL BRACTEATEUnited Kingdom · 500Brakteat Leszek Biały stojący rycerzBrakteat Leszek Biały stojący rycerzHistoriska museet 034Historiska museet 034EARLY MEDIEVAL BRACTEATEEARLY MEDIEVAL BRACTEATEUnited Kingdom · 600Brakteat krakowski Leszek BiałyBrakteat krakowski Leszek BiałyObject from the exhibition We call them Vikings produced by The Swedish History Museum (13618431354)Object from the exhibition We call them Vikings produced by The Swedish History Museum (13618431354)Brakteaten Biberach um 1220 BMMBrakteaten Biberach um 1220 BMMGold bracteate Skonager NationalmuseetGold bracteate Skonager NationalmuseetLüneburger Münzpokal - Deckel - junges JanusgesichtLüneburger Münzpokal - Deckel - junges JanusgesichtMariedammbrakteaten SHM 12762Mariedammbrakteaten SHM 12762monnaie : Alsace, Léopold-Guillaume d'Autriche, bactréate, 1632-1662monnaie : Alsace, Léopold-Guillaume d'Autriche, bactréate, 1632-1662monnaie : Alsace, Philippe V, bactréate, 1590-1599monnaie : Alsace, Philippe V, bactréate, 1590-1599

More from Norse, Germanic, Baltic & Slavic: Thor’s hammers (Mjölnir) · Amber amulets · Zmeeviks & lunnitsy · Kaptorgas & capsule amulets · Scandinavian, Finnish & Sámi folk charms · Other & unsorted Norse
Every type in the gallery

Anything in the gallery can be made: any piece, any tradition, in its own material or yours, by hand from the documented original. Numbered. Price on commission, quoted before anything is made. I reply within one business day.