Coin/Disc Earrings

There aren't a lot of examples of earrings in the medieval paintings I have been looking through so it is hard for me to advice you on the subject.
From the early renaissance in Italy though, all the fine ladies have earrings made with gold and pearls. Italy is a European centre of innovation during the medieval times and the renaissance and this earring is from the early Middle Ages, 7th century:

Link

You might be able to find something similar - gold, colorful stones, circular and cross motives.
Along with the tendency to use coins in jewlery in the prior nordic periode of the Viking Age I thought I would post you some earrings inspired by coins:

Etsyseller GenJewel

Etsyseller donnaKBaker

Etsyseller onelifejewelry

Armstreet.com

The last pair I bought for my wedding this september. :)

The Sword

1290 AD, a woman with a sword
from the Royal Armouries Manuscript 

For a long time I have been focusing on the medieval bride, but with every bride comes a groom, and certainly he must have had some influence on such a theme. So an entry on a primarily male accessory, the sword is in order. And although it was the exception rather than the rule, women did at times carry arms as well.

The middle ages weres a time of war, and so there was numerous weapons in the average arsenal. War is among the great motivaters for new technology. Professional armies ermerged i the Middle Ages, much like the effecient romans a 1000 years earlier.

The sword came in many variations in medieval times.
Such as the broad sword, that had 2 edges meant for cutting as oposed to stabing. It was the tool of the knights and very expensive. They can be made both for one and two hands.
The falchion sword wich was short and with a single edge. It was a cheap and low quality sword, meant for cutting and slicing.
The great sword is huge and also with two edges. It was meant to be wielded with two hands and could weigh around 4,5 kg / 10 pounds. It required a great amount of training to wield properly.
Longswords had an incredible reach and thrusting capacity and was also meant for two hands.

Broadsword

Falchion sword

Greatsword

A sword were (and is) not a cheap choice for a groom, but it does gives a man a certain something. In the Bronze Age a warship could be bought with 10 bronze swords so you can understand the value of this weapon. If you are having the wedding at a medieval festival or reenactment museum, you might be able to borrow one. And once again I will remind you that you need a permission to carry that kind of weapon.

(Source: Middle-ages.org.uk)

Beau Coop's Medieval Shoes

Sometime even the fashion designers get inspired by medieval times. As the devoted medievalista I am I have browsed the great internet for modern medieval clothes and decor, and came across the Spring/Summer 2011/12 collection by Carrie Cooper, inpired by a dark tale of a medieval mass murderess. There are both men and women's shoes and I liked them so much I wanted to share :)Women's shoes
Sandals

Boots

Flats and heels

Men's shoes

I know this is just a lot of shoes but I got carried away :) Aren't they rockin' medieval cool?! Go to this link to see if Carrie Coopers shoes are being sold in a shop near you.

Jewelry Designer Emily Armenta

I came across Emily Armenta when searching for medieval inspired jewelry for weddings. The designs has a timelessness to them that apeals to me and small elements that leads the mind to bygone days of knights and maidens. She draws inspiration from Spanish poets like Lorca and Antonio Machado and says of her collection The Old World: "I awakened to a vision of jewelry as a galería, a passageway, which connects the past to the present."

Earrings

 Rings

She also has a collection for men: Romero, with cuff links, rings and leather cuffs

I had such a hard time choosing which pictures to show you, and then I didn't even get to the bangles and necklesses. It's a pricy choice, but if you want to shower yourself in medieval luxury, I think this is a pretty nice way. ;)

Rainy medieval wedding savior

What to do when then big day arrives and the beautiful outside photo location you chose is a nature's shower? Most medieval ceremonies takes place outside also, and it will probably be hard to convince the guests to remain seated in 45 minutes while slowly getting soaked. At least you can just smile, put on these fleur de lis rain boots on, take your weapon shield umbrella and go dancing through it!

I had to show you these two cute safety nets for the big day:

LINK

 

LINK                                                              LINK

At least you can move through the rain in modern medievalness without getting the feet or the hair wet. And with the spring unfolding rainy days are very likely :)

Danish National museum's medieval Collection

Today I went to the Danish National Museum in Copenhagen to prepare for the winter finals. The semester is at an end, and so is the course on Early Bronze Age and and Neolitikum (late Stone Age.)
While I was there I saw their medieval collection as well as I know they have a bridal crown. It's not a particularly big exibition but I enjoyed it immensly.
I am excited to show you some pictures from it, especially of the engagement rings.

I love the one on the right with the man and the woman holding eachother. The second one from the left features two hands coming together and is a fairly common motive from around 1200-1500.
The bridal crown is magnificent found under the floor in a Jytlandian church. Presumably it is from 1525 and was worn by a wooden Idol of Mary. Sometimes the churches would have a bridal crown that the brides getting married could borrow in case they couldn't afford their own. Maybe this one have been such a crown:

Another object worth mentioning are the luxurious drinking horns. I am not sure for what event they were intended but surely it could be a wedding:

I really love museums. Being surrounded by all these old treasures takes me right back in time. I also like looking at all the weapons and oversized swords. I am hoping that Robert comes to the wedding with a sword in his belt :)

I have a lot of pictures and I'll be making an entry with more of the gleaming rings for you :) Happy new year - The Medieval Bride

My medieval drawstring pouch

I want you all to see this beautiful pouch that I have bought. It's print on silk by http://baba-store.com/. They are very kind and provide good service. It is inspired by a medieval tapestry "the lady and the unicorn" from the 15th century.

There are six tapestries in the series and they are very beautiful. Here is the one that inspired the pouch:

The Baba shop I bought it from is not specialist in the medieval times but they do have other pouches from painters who, although they are not contemporary, have severel medieval motives with knights and maidens, like this one: 

It is Art Nouveau, which is obviously a much later art style, but you can't deny that it's pretty, and can you blame someone for finding their inspiration in the medieval times? ;-)