Merovingian Disc Pendant

Alemannic swastika disc with snake motif.

This early medieval pendant with a depiction of a snake in the form of a swastika is modelled on an Alemannic decorative disc from the Merovingian period.

Ornamental discs with snake depictions were widespread among the Alemanni as jewellery during the Early Middle Ages from 500 to 700, and in the Merovingian period they were an integral part of the women's costume of the Alemanni.

Link to the historical model...

The Alemannic ornamental disc is made of high-quality silver-plated bronze and, like the original, has a central bronze part.

Diameter of the Alemannic ornamental disc: 4.8 cm.

A black leather cord in 1 m length for the Alemannic ornamental disc is included.

The serpent has played an important role in mythology and the performing arts in the Germanic world since the Bronze Age and was close to ancient fertility rites, representing the return of life in spring and its death in winter.

The serpent may also have had a special position in the cult of the dead, as indicated by the Germanic serpent Nidhöggr on the World Tree and the world-embracing Midgard Serpent. The serpent is part of the mythological canon of many peoples. It appeared not only in Germanic mythology, but also in Siberian shamanism and the beliefs of Indo-European peoples.