Celtic Chatelain

The name chatelaine derives from the French term used to mean the female owner, or wife of the owner, of a large house. In the Middle Ages the chatelaine was designed to have all the tools necessary for the woman of the household to sort out any problem she may encounter in her day. With time the chatelaine and the objects it held evolved from being a purely utilitarian object into a decorative symbol that reflected the status of the wearer. Chatelains can be found from the bronze age through Colonial America.

Our Celtic chatelain would have been in use in the Iron Age, and contains tools for grooming - a pick, tweezers, and an ear spoon. In Celtic culture, they were often attached to a fibula brooch and worn on clothing to be easily accessible. You can see an example of this in A visual Catalog of Richard Hattatt's Ancient Brooches, pg 291.