page_title: Fibula (brooch)
hierarchical_section_title: Fibula (brooch)
caption_attribution_description: English: Walters 54.421 and 54.422 are a pair of superb eagle-shaped fibula found at Tierra de Barros (Badajoz, southwest Spain) made of sheet gold over bronze inlaid with garnets, amythysts, and colored glass. Pendants once dangled from the loops at the bottom. The eagle, a popular symbol during the Migration period adopted from Roman imperial insignia, was favored by the Goths. Similar eagle-shaped fibulae have been excavated from Visigothic graves in Spain and Ostrogothic graves in northern Italy, but this pair is one of the finest. These fibula would have been worn at the same time to fasten a cloak at either shoulder.
context_page_description: A fibula is a brooch or pin for fastening garments, typically at the right shoulder. The fibula developed in a variety of shapes, but all were based on the safety-pin principle. Unlike most modern brooches, fibulae were not only decorative; they originally served a practical function: to fasten clothing, such as cloaks. In English, "fibula" is not a word used for modern jewellery, but by archaeologists, who also use "brooch", especially for types other than the ancient "safety pin" types, and for types from the British Isles.
  There are hundreds of different types of fibulae. They are usually divided into families that are based upon historical periods, geography, and/or cultures. Fibulae are also divided into classes that are based upon their general forms. Fibulae replaced straight pins that were used to fasten clothing in the Neolithic period and the Bronze Age. In turn, fibulae were replaced as clothing fasteners by buttons in the Middle Ages. Their descendant, the modern safety pin, remains in use today.
context_section_description: A fibula (/ˈfɪbjʊlə/, plural fibulae /ˈfɪbjʊli/) is a brooch or pin for fastening garments, typically at the right shoulder. The fibula developed in a variety of shapes, but all were based on the safety-pin principle. Unlike most modern brooches, fibulae were not only decorative; they originally served a practical function: to fasten clothing, such as cloaks.  In English, "fibula" is not a word used for modern jewellery, but by archaeologists, who also use "brooch", especially for types other than the ancient "safety pin" types, and for types from the British Isles.
  There are hundreds of different types of fibulae. They are usually divided into families that are based upon historical periods, geography, and/or cultures. Fibulae are also divided into classes that are based upon their general forms. Fibulae replaced straight pins that were used to fasten clothing in the Neolithic period and the Bronze Age. In turn, fibulae were replaced as clothing fasteners by buttons in the Middle Ages. Their descendant, the modern safety pin, remains in use today.
  In ancient Rome and other places where Latin was used, the same word denoted both a brooch and the fibula bone because a popular form for brooches and the shape of the bone were thought to resemble one another. Some fibulae were also sometimes used as votive gifts for gods.
  Lost fibulae, usually fragments, are frequently dug up by amateur coin and relic hunters using metal detectors.
caption: These eagle-shaped fibulae, dating from the 6th century were found at Tierra de Barros (Spain, then the Kingdom of the Visigoths) and are made of sheet gold over bronze.[1] The Walters Art Museum.
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