The Cruciform Brooch and Anglo-Saxon England : The Boydell Press : 9781843839934 : 1843839938 : 19 Mar 2015 : Examination and analysis of one of the most important artefacts of Anglo-Saxon society, the cruciform brooch, setting it in a wider context. Cruciform brooches were large and decorative items of jewellery, frequently used to pin together women's garments in pre-Christian northwest Europe. Characterised by the strange bestial visages that project from the feet of thesedress and cloak fasteners, cruciform brooches were especially common in eastern England during the 5th and 6th centuries AD. For this reason, archaeologists have long associated them with those shadowy tribal originators of the English: the Angles of the Migration period. This book provides a multifaceted, holistic and contextual analysis of more than 2,000 Anglo-Saxon cruciform brooches. It offers a critical examination of identity in Early Medievalsociety, suggesting that the idea of being Anglian in post-Roman