Equal-armed brooch

Bronze equal-armed brooch. On the top two deer or goats on each side of a central knob. The motif seems to have been well-known in late Viking Age decorative art and occurs on a handful of other equal-armed brooches and also on large round brooches of silver and other precious metals. A more stylised version can be seen on a number of box brooches from Gotland. One interpretation is that the motif is Christ. The brooches are Scandinavian, reworked in order to be more clearly read and understood. The knob in the middle is thought to represent the "well of life" that the animals (people) drink from in their longing for paradise. The scene and motif play on a stanza from the Psalms in the Old Testament of the Bible; "As the deer pants for streams of water, so I long after You, Oh God". For this reason this type is called 'paradise brooch'. Settlement find, Norrtil, Sankt Olof Parish, Uppland. Loan from Sigtuna Museum.

Image rights: Ola Myrin, Historiska museet/SHM (CC BY 4.0)

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