Early Irish Buttons

[Neil]

Starting on my very basic early Irish kit and just wanted to know, was there such as thing as buttons? If so what kind etc??

[Billy]

Not sure if there was, but to me, the balance of evidence suggests they were introduced by the Norse, since our word for buttons in irish is Cnaipe, which comes from Old Norse [Knappr, or something like that].

Toggles may have been in vogue before then, which are pieces of wood or antler with two perforations, like the buttons of a duffel coat.

Iron age cloaks in western Europe show the use of leather toggles, which are formed by cutting strips, and rolling them up upon themselves to make cylinders, and small leather tabs were left, to attach them on.

Buttons as we know them can be found in Bronze Age, or actually copper age, Ireland, and are made of jet, and shaped like cones. They have V perforations in them, where the button holes meet inside the button, and don't actually pierce the front. They seem to be absent from the Archaeological period, until they reappear in Viking contexts.

I could be dead wrong about this, I'm simply saying that, from memory, I don't recall buttons in iron Age or early medieval contexts.

le meas,
Billy.

[Neil]

Thanks Billy,
I've got lots of bits of leather lying around so reckon I can make a few toggles to do the job

[the_power]

It's worth mentioning - for jackets/clocks, its likely that pins were used to fasten them, rather than leather toggles.

Billy, have you seen toggles on anything other than leather items ? I've used them on viking shoes, and leather pouches, but I'd be nervous about adding them to a wool jacket or similar.

John

[Neil]

Well in that case what kind of pins would you recommend??? Or in other words what modern pins would I be able to pass off as authentic and not have to worry about being stabbed by as well when fighting?

[the_power]

Uh...not modern pins. Bone pins, maybe copper, brass or iron pins. At the simple end, you often see a metal pin, with a simple ring on one end, the point on the other. The ring was then tied to the garment in case you'd lose it.

John

[Guthrum]

Uh...not modern pins. Bone pins, maybe copper, brass or iron pins. At the simple end, you often see a metal pin, with a simple ring on one end, the point on the other. The ring was then tied to the garment in case you'd lose it.

John

Bone pins probably the most common. Dead easy to make. You don't need complex rings, since a hole at the head end, and a leather thong, are all you need for a very secure fastening [copes with a Force 7 in the North Sea!].

[claimhteoir]

My Irish arms 16thC Ionar has a lovely antler toggle!