Gallery Title
Gallery Title
brooch fragments
Accession Number NWHCM : 2013.114
Description
Post medieval silver hawking vervel. D-sectioned ring, the flat outer face of the band inscribed 'Henrye Prince'. The ends of the band are butted together and soldered onto the reverse of a shield-shaped plate aligned longitudinally with the band. The face of the shield is engraved with the badge of the Prince of Wales, three ostrich feathers enfiled by a coronet and passing through a scroll bearing the words ICH DIEN. Vervels of this type usually date to the late 16th or 17th century. The badge and inscription refers to Henry Frederick, son of James I and Anne of Denmark. Henry was born in 1594 and created Prince of Wales in 1610. He died of Typhoid fever in 1612. The vervel therefore dates to 1610-12.
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A hawking vervel is a small ring that identified a bird of prey used for hunting. This ring belonged to Frederick Stuart, Prince of Wales, eldest son of King James I, and was discovered at Cley-next-the Sea in Norfolk. While hawking vervals are common, ones with royal links are rare. There are no records indicating that Henry Frederick ever visited Norfolk, making this find even more exciting. Vervels had to be small and light so that they did not affect the bird in flight. They were attached to the leather straps tied to bird’s legs to make the birds easier to handle on the arm and to identify the bird if it were to become lost.The outside of the band is engraved ‘Henrye Prince’ and the shield is engraved with the heraldic badge of the Prince of Wales. Henry was only Prince of Wales for two years so we know that it was made between 1610 and 1612.
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