“Hail Mary” brooch declared treasure
This week a coroner declared this gold medieval “Hail Mary” brooch treasure.
The find
William Nordhoff found the brooch in a field in Pewsey Vale, Wiltshire in early 2021.
William almost didn’t stop at the field as it was difficult to walk on, when he got a signal on his detector. When he dug down “there was this glint of gold looking back at me. I was so shocked it made me sit down for what seemed like ages I was just sat there looking at it. I knew straight away it was something special, because I’ve seen these brooches before but I’ve never seen these brooches with so much writing on them.”
Recorded at PAS
![PAS record of Hail Mary brooch](https://detectingfinds.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/WILT328649011-1024x731.jpg)
The brooch was recorded at the PAS as WILT-328649 where it was designated a Find of Note of National Importance.
The “Hail Mary” brooch
The medieval brooch has a lozengiform cross-section and is engraved on all four sides, Three sides read + AVE. MARIA. GRACIA. PLENA: DOMINVS: + // T: ECVM: BENEDICTATV: INMULIERIBV[…] // ET: BENEDI(CT)VS: FRVCTVS: VENTRIS: TVI. AMEN. This translates to“Hail Mary full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb“.
The final side reads + A + G + L + A + which are Hebrew for Atha Gebir Leilam Adonai, “Thou art mighty forever, O Lord“. This is thought to be used as a charm against fever and appears on other finds recorded at the PAS.
Although inscribed annular medieval rings are not uncommon, it is rare to have such a lengthy inscription. The workmanship is also impressive at it does not contain the usual spelling errors (except a missing “S” to accommodate the pin) found on other brooches.
Several things add to the importance of this find. It is gold, has four inscribed surfaces with a lengthy prayer and amuletic initials and these are error free. This is why it is considered of National Importance.