The Quoit Brooch Style and Anglo-Saxon Settlement: A Casting and Recasting of Cultural Identity Symbols

The quoit brooch style, a decorative style of animal and geometric motifs, is unique to southern England in the fifth century AD, with the greatest concentration of such items occurring in Kent. Suzuki defines the style through ananalysis of its design organisation, and, by comparing it with near-contemporary styles in England and on the continent, he identifies those features which make it unique. He argues that the quoit brooch style was made and remadeas part of the process of construction of new group identities during the political uncertainties of the time, and sets the development of the style in the context of the socio-cultural dynamics of an emergent post-Roman society.The rigorous archaeological analysis of the style and the study of its historical implications in the light of written sources illuminate the wider issues of social interaction in a period of change, and the formation of culturalidentity. SEIICHI SUZUKI did his Ph D in linguistics at the University of Texas at Austin, his MA in medieval studies at the University of York, and he is currently Professor of English and Germanic Studies at Kansai Gaidai University, Japan.

Table of Contents:
Part 1 Introduction: the quoit brooch style - previous studies and current issues; the data; analytical framework. Part 2 The system of the quoit brooch style - towards a formal account: a structural-synchronic perspective; the rules of the quoit brooch style design organization; the grouping of the quoit brooch style objects; a comparative-diachronic perspective; introduction; the place of plain motifs; the placement of zoomorphic motifs relative to geometric motifs; combination of distinct animals; the mask between animals; border animal friezes; the use of animal heads; palmette-based patterns; conclusion. Part 3 The quoit brooch style in society - towards a socio-cultural account: a comparison of quoit brooch style belt plates with late Roman counterparts; a comparison of quoit brooch style brooches with other brooch types. Part 4 On Jutish contributions to the formation of Kentish cultural identity: Scandinavian grave goods of the middle 5th century in Kent; Scandinavian grave goods of the late 5th century in Kent; Scandinavian gold bracteates; Jutlandic relief brooches. Part 5 Conclusion - the quoit brooch style and Anglo-Saxon settlement: the quoit brooch style - migration and cultural identity; the quoit brooch style and the settlement of Kent - Hengest and Oeric/Oisc. Appendices: catalogue of quoit brooch style objects and related items; distributions of zoomorphic design features in quoit brooch style objects; exceptions to the rules of design organization in quoit brooch style objects; the rules of design organization of the quoit brooch style and their applicability to other styles.

Review :
A valuable contribution to research.