1906] The eruciform brooches of Norway. 55 
evident that the workman always had the opportunity of seeing 
older brooches still in use and that consequently some of the features 
eharacteristic of the early stages of the development may spontan- 
eously have been combined with the late forms of the type, especi- 
ally as the whole development of the erueiform brooehes in Norway 
has taken place, in my opinion, within a space of time not much 
more than å hundred and fifty years. 
 Respecting the head of the brooches I will first draw the 
attention to a detail which ought to be spoken of — though of 
little importance as to the transformation of the form — as it has 
sometimes been mentioned as å feature indicating a late stage of 
development. As seen from many of the figures above it is a fact 
that, when seen from the side, the plate is a little sloping å pro- 
portion to the foot, being a little raised. This peculiarity is seen 
already in the prototype of the eruciform brooches and is also very 
common through the whole development of them, but sometimes 
missing even among the early forms. It is not till the very latest 
varieties that it is regularly given up. 
The variations of the dimensions of the plate and of the shape 
of the knobs have already been spoken of suffieiently to give an 
impression of the general transformation of them; it may be men- 
tioned only that the head of the brooches in the Eastern district 
generally have preserved the original shape better than in the late 
Western forms. I proceed to treat the not uninteresting question 
about the development of the form of the bow. 
The simple bow with parallel edses, which is certainly the 
original form of it, is always preserved besides the later variations, 
though it is gradually made shorter and broader than before.) But 
even early we find specimens the bow of which is a little broader 
in the middle than at the ends, and somewhat later the middle part 
is extended so as to form a pointed angle on both sides. Å marked 
specimen of this sort is seen in the late brooch fig. 72.) The form 
of the bow seen here is certainly a speciality of the eruciform 
brooches, developed from the original form of this type, and it 
seems also to be confined to the Scandinavian Peninsula, as I have 
1) As mentioned above, the shortness of the bow is one of the typical 
differences between brooches from the Scandinavian Peninsula and from Den- 
mark. In the later English brooches the bow is also generally very short. 
*) Nordheim, Hedrum pgd. Larvik. Skien Museum, nr. 8720. Published by 
the kind permission of Mr. J. CHRISTIE, director of the Skien Museum. 
