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This piece is based on a Finnish brooch
from about the 7th c AD illustrating that
northern and Viking cultures were doing knotwork
before the Irish, and probably taught it to them.
It is not a hard and fast rule - but northern
knotwork was often less symmetrical that what we
know from the Irish craftsmen of the 9th to 12th
centuries Next to birds, snakes are probably
the oldest creatures to be connected with divine
power. They were particularly associated with the
gods and goddesses of the underworld, probably
because the snake lived in the ground.
Consequently, it was also a symbol of the earth
element. Because the ancient people saw the snake
shedding its skin, they thought it was shedding
its old age and becoming young again. It was
therefore a powerful symbol of regeneration.
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Colour: Multi Size: 2" x 1 1/2"
All
brooches can also be ordered as necklaces
"When thou hast still
farther wandered,
Thou wilt reach the Court of Pohya,
Where the walls are forged from iron,
And from steel the outer bulwark;
Rises from the earth to heaven,
Back again to earth returning;
Double spears are used for railings,
On each spear are serpents winding,
On each rail are stinging adders;
Lizards too adorn the bulwarks,
Play their long tails in the sunlight,
Hissing lizards, venomed serpents,
Jump and writhe upon the rampart,
Turn their horrid heads to meet thee;
On the greensward lie the monsters,
On the ground the things of evil,
With their pliant tongues of venom,
Hissing, striking, crawling, writhing;
One more horrid than the others,
Lies before the fatal gate-way,
Longer than the longest rafters,
Larger than the largest portals;
Hisses with the tongue of anger,
Lifts his head in awful menace,
Raises it to strike none other
Than the hero of the islands."
from the Kalevala
http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/kveng/
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