Fig. 450.
Another extensive class of Anglo-Saxon fibulæ are what are usually called, though not very satisfactorily, cruciform, or cross-shaped. Fibulæ of this class are, perhaps, most abundant in the midland and south-eastern counties, but they are of very rare occurrence in Kent. They would appear, therefore, to have appertained mostly to the Angles, who were the inhabitants of Mercia, East Anglia, and Northumbria. They are sometimes of silver, but usually of bronze, and are variously ornamented with interlaced work, heads, and borders of various designs. Their form will be best understood from the accompanying engravings, which exhibit some of the most usual varieties. They are from Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire, and will serve as typical examples of this class of brooch.
Fig. 451.
Fig. 452.
Fig. 453.
Another totally distinct kind of fibula, or brooch, which is considered to be peculiarly of Irish type, but which, nevertheless, is occasionally met with in England, remains to be noticed. I allude, of course, to brooches of the penannular form,[57] the general type of which will be understood by the engravings given on figs. [453], [454], and [455], which are all Irish examples of more or less decorative character. The originals are in the museum of the Royal Irish Academy, as are also many other exquisite specimens of these interesting examples of early art.