Introduction
Metal rings are among the relatively numerous objects in the archaeological material and had a wide range of uses (if we leave aside temple rings, knockers or coffin fittings, the most frequent uses are apparently for belts, horse harnesses, hangers for weapons and the like). The early medieval user chose ring fixation methods with several factors in mind:
- Function. The basic pillar is the decision whether the joint should be permanent or can simply be dismantled as needed.
- Strength. It is necessary to consider the loading capacity of the joint. Highly stressed joints require reinforcement in the form of additional layers of leather or metal.
- Aesthetics and price. The joint can be free of any decoration, or it can follow the path of a more visually captivating and expensive solution.
This triangle of thought has generated several solutions that we find in archaeology. For understandable reasons, the most represented types of ring fixation are those working with iron or non-ferrous fittings. In case that the joint is not intended to carry heavy loads, the ring can be inserted into the eyelet of the fitting, which is riveted to the leather base (e.g. Nikitina 2023: Fig. 52.1). A very common and strong connection is the two-sided strap end that encircles the ring (e.g. G̦inters 1981: Fig. 12; Vince 1991: 148). In both of these cases, it is not usual for the leather strap to pass through the ring. Cases where the straps pass through the ring are preserved especially when they are additionally secured with a metal clamp (e.g. Nikitina 2023: Fig. 51.7-8; compare with Vlasatý 2021). Cases of full-leather joints are rare due to the disintegration of organic matter, and appear more like inventions of academic authors and reenactors (e.g. Salmin 2016: 467). We assume that simple knots were made on the rings (see Vatican, BAV, Pal.lat.1071, 63v) and that some rings were sewn into layers of wrapped straps (see Wywrot-Wyszkowska 2000: 252).
The following text is the result of a long-term, but relatively haphazard collection of some leather fragments from the territory of Central, Eastern and Northern Europe from the 10th-15th century. The common denominator of these leather finds is the use of a specific knot, which is used to tie metal rings of a practical nature and other objects. Since the search is inherently unsystematic, it is quite likely that the same methods will be discovered in other centuries and regions of Europe. The article will be conceived primarily as a general selection of applications and will be continuously supplemented with new findings in the future. The main target group of this text are reenactors and others interested in the practical everyday life of the Middle Ages.
Definition and application proposals
The essence of the discussed knot is that a cut is made in the center of the strap near the end. The end of the strap is then wrapped around the material and the opposite end is threaded through the cut, creating a loop around the fixed material. Such a joint lacks any tied ends. It is a relatively strong joint that offers a certain flexibility and which at the same time does not rub, tightens itself and does not strangle the fixed material or its surroundings. Currently, we have identified this knot in at least a dozen finds from Belarus, Germany, Norway, Poland, Russia, Slovakia and Sweden from the 10th-15th century. Fixed materials are usually functional rings, any attached leather parts (eg knife sheaths) and the feet of birds of prey, but the original scale can be significantly wider. It is typical for the archaeological literature not to be very interested in organic remains, so the remains of knots are not described. One of the few exceptions is the study by Makušnikov and Lindenkov (2018), who presented a reconstruction of ring binding based on two Belarusian finds.
As leather straps are on the decline in today’s world, finding contemporary parallels is not easy. Probably the only industry that still uses similar knots is falconry, where they are called “jesses” (Ashley 1993: Cat. nos. 241, 434; Sternberg 2020: 46). In his encyclopedia, Ashley suggests using similar knots to bind the feet of geese, adding that birds tend to pull and untangle classic knots. In today’s world, the closest thing to it is the so-called cow hitch, which is performed on ropes, ropes and cords and has a wide range of uses.
The logic of creating slits in the leather and inserting the ends through them is a widespread phenomenon in the Middle Ages, which we see, for example, in shoe toggles (Groenman-van Waateringe 1984: 36; Mould et al. 2003: 3310-1) or sword scabbard straps (e.g. Volken – Goubitz 2020: 76). It is clear that the discussed knot is usually not used to tie rings and buckles in cases when the strap needs to be folded into two halves, and thus we do not find it in belt bags (see Krylaszova et al. 2014: Fig. 13; Viragos 2020: 22-3, 129-130) or a buckle of the Závada type (Robak 2018).
Fig. 1: Graphical reconstruction of the knot.
Source: Makušnikov – Lindenkov 2018: Fig. 4, edited.
Falconry
Falconry jesses have been using the discussed knot since the Middle Ages at the latest. Illustrative examples are two finds from Novgorod. The first of them was found in the Nerevskyj excavation in a layer from the second half of the 12th century, while the second one in the Dubošin excavation in a layer from the middle of the 14th century (Osipov 2012: 212). A scheme of slightly different but still close jess is drawn in a detailed painting of the 13th-century manuscript Vatican, BAV, Pal.lat.1071 (62v, 63v), which houses the work On The Art of Hunting with Birds (De arte venandi cum avibus). In this manuscript we find the discussed knot used on the eye of the falconry bell. Jesses are also known from the 16th century (Fedorov 2011) and are used up to the present day. Leather fragments are known from Haithabu and Gniezno that resemble this form of jesses (Groenman-van Waateringe 1984: Tab. 18.2, 19.6; Purol-Wierzbicka 2015: 152).
Fig. 2: 12th-14th century falconry jesses. Source: Osipov 2012: Figs. 80-82.
Fig. 3: Diagram of the 13th century falconry straps.
Source: Vatican, BAV, Pal.lat.1071, 62v, 63v, 64v.
Belts
Despite their absence in the primary literature (e.g. Fingerlin 1971), belts with circular buckles are established throughout Europe from the 11th century (see Blomqvist 1948; Porzeziński 2006; Šikulová 1959: 113-4), which may have been used throughout the Middle Ages (see Měřínský 1991). The described knot appears to be very suitable for fixing circular buckles, as the tongue of the buckle can be passed through an incision in the leather and no sewing is required. We found the best-preserved example at the Russian site of Novenkoye in the Tver region (Badejev et al. 2024: Fig. 8.1). The remains of knots can be seen in two Belarusian finds from the Vetočka-IV and Mochovo localities (Makušnikov – Lindenkov 2018). Leather fragments, potentially originating from the knot, are visible on buckles from Devín, Slovakia (Plachá – Divileková 2012: 87) and Szczecin, Poland (Kowalska 2010a: Fig. 73.1). The knot was apparently also used on rings that were hung down from the belt found in Yuma barrow (Nikitina 2023: Fig. 87).
Fig. 4: Leather fragments connected with circular buckles.
Source, from left: Badejev et al. 2024; Makušnikov – Lindenkov 2018; Plachá – Divileková 2012.
Fig. 5: Belt from the Yuma cemetery. Source: Nikitina 2023: Fig. 87.
Long knives
Long knives of central Swedish production are characterized by the presence of cast rings, which were used to fix them to the belt (Stjerna 2007; Vlasatý 2020a). Despite the numerous interpretations brought by reenactors over the last decades, there is only one sufficiently convincing find, namely the rings from grave Bj 834 from Birka (SHM 34000 : Bj 834). Two of the three rings still bear fragments of a leather strap; one ring is equipped with the discussed knot, the other is equipped with a classic knot. It can be assumed that it was one and the same strap that encircled the wearer’s belt several times.
Fig. 6: Leather fragment attached to the ring from Bj 834 and approximate reconstruction.
Sources, from left: catalog SHM, Stockholm; author’s archive.
Horse bits
In 2023, the Secrets Of The Ice project of Norwegian glacial archaeologists published a video and photos of a newly found leather bridle with a snaffle bit from the Lendbreen Pass, Norway. The leather strap is attached to the ring of the bit using the discussed knot. The find is currently unpublished and undated. Although dating to the Viking Age is speculated, any medieval or modern dating can be suggested.
Fig. 7: snaffle bit from the Lendbreen glacier, Norway. Source: Secrets Of The Ice.
Fastening leather products
The knot has found wide application wherever one leather strap needs to be firmly fixed and stably suspended or pinned to a counterpiece. One of the other possible applications is fastening the strap to knife sheaths and similar cases (scissors, combs, axes). A hole was simply created in the edge of the product, around which a fixation point was created with the knot. We see such a solution in sheaths from Haithabu (Groenman-van Waateringe 1984: Tab. 22.2) and Schleswig (Schnack 1998: 21). A bag is known from medieval Novgorod, which was attached to the belt by the discussed system (Matechina 2009: Tab. XXXI.1). A similar system was apparently used to attach straps to some slings (Kowalska 2010a: Fig. 80; 2010b), leather plates holding crampons (Vlasatý 2017) and apparently also some shoes. The presented solution is also suitable for connecting multiple straps together, as shown by the find from Haithabu (Groenman-van Waateringe 1984: Tab. 19.5). Fragments of unknown leather products in the form of straps and corners with the knots are known both from Haithabu (Groenman-van Waateringe 1984: Tab. 19.4) and from Wolin (Kowalska 2019: Fig. 113; Wojtasik 1960: Tab. VIII.3). The mentioned products show that the knot can be fixed not only to the edge by means of one hole, but also to the center of the material by means of two parallel cuts around which the strap is wrapped. A modern analogy is represented by a strap attached to a leather case of a fire striker, which is kept in a museum in Evensk, Magadan Oblast, Russian Federation (Borobej – Chachovskaja – Mitko 2013: Рис. 5).
Fig. 8: Sheaths from Schleswig and Haithabu.
Source: Schnack 1998: 21; Groenman-van Waateringe 1984: Tab. 22.2.
Fig. 9: Bag from Novgorod. Source: Matechina 2009: Tab. XXXI.1.
Fig. 10: Leather fragments from Haithabu.
Source: Groenman-van Waateringe 1984: Tab. 19.4-5.
Fig. 11: Tentative reconstruction of a slingshot. Author’s archive.
Scourge (hypothetical)
The Trewhiddle hoard from the 2nd half 9th century includes a remarkable silver chain object interpreted as a scourge (Wilson – Blunt 1961). The silver knit is bent in half in such a way that it is tied with a cow hitch to a large bead. The method of fixation to the bead is similar to the discussed knot, but it is not made of leather. We can assume that there could have been organic variants of this object as well.
Fig. 12: Trewhiddle scourge.
Source: British Museum catalogue; Wilson – Blunt 1961: Pl. XXVI.
Fastening pendants and tools (hypothetical)
A large number of jewelry and tools from the Early Middle Ages have a hole or ring for hanging, namely ear spoons and other toilet utensils (Preidel 1940: 565-6), fire strikers (Vlasatý 2023a), touchstones (Ježek 2017) or scoops (Poláček – Marek – Skopal 2000: Abb. 2.3). These objects could have been hung using the simple knot described above.
Fig. 13: Fire striker from Tuna Alsike, grave XI.
Source: SHM Stockholm.
Shields (hypothetical)
Inner sides of early medieval shields were equipped with rings that allowed fastening of split straps with a buckle for carrying on the back (Vlasatý 2020b). The rings could also be used to fasten the handles of bossless shields (Vlasatý 2023b). The author of the article experimentally used the mentioned knot to fasten the shield strapping, and the results are impressive: with a width of 1 cm and a thickness of 0.15 cm, the knot is able to support a weight of 3 kg and holds even in demanding conditions after more than 5 years. It is an all-round practical solution that is simple, does not add weight and does not waste material. It is also possible to imagine that the discussed knot could have been used to fix the locking toggles made of wood, which could have replaced the rings.
Fig. 14: Shield rings. Author’s archive.
Helmets (hypothetical)
Roughly a tenth of all early medieval European helmets from the 9th-12th century is equipped with symmetrically or asymmetrically located holes at the edge of the dome in the ear area or on the neck protector in the cheek area (e.g. Macků – Pilná 2021). The holes are circular, with a maximum diameter of approximately 0.5 cm. It is not possible to rule out that these holes originally participated in fastening the padding, but their location in the area of the ears is a good premise for the theory that the holes were used to fasten chinstraps, given the iconography of the 12th century. In this context, three Eastern European helmets of the 13th-14th century should be mentioned (Novopavlovsk, Semenovod and Šadrino): in these helmets, the holes are filled with omega-shaped eyelets used to hang rings (Gorbunov – Isupov 2002: Fig. 1; Maklasov et al. 2018: Figs. 1-2). Split straps could be attached to these rings using the discussed knot.
Fig. 15: Helmets with rings at temples, Novopavlovsk and Šadrino sites.
Source: Gorbunov – Isupov 2002: Fig. 1; Maklasov et al. 2018: Fig. 1.
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