The significance of the Celtic Pendant

Celtic Jewelry can be traced back to a very distant past roughly during the period bwteen 2000 BC and 550 AD when silver and gold was used by Celtic craftsmen to create exceptional pieces of jewelry decorated with a variety of Celtic symbols. Celtic pendants were one of the earliest types of bodily adornment to be crafted by these ancient civilizations.

The word pendant orignates from the French word "pendre" and also the Latin "pendere" which translates as "to hang down". Pendants are a loose-hanging piece of jewelry which tend to be attached to a necklace by a small loop. This piece of Celtic jewelry can also be referred to as a "pendant necklace".

Pendants as pieces of Celtic jewelry can serve a variety of functions, which can also be combined:

• Award ( for example the Order of CúChulainn)
• Identification
• Ornamentation
• Ostentation
• Protection
• Self-affirmation

There are a multitude of specialized variations of pendants in use today including lockets which open and pendilia, which hang from larger objects of metalwork.

There is a wide range of Celtic pendants available from Blarney.com making the perfect Irish gifts and also a great piece of jewelry to accentuate any outfit. These pendants are expertly handcrafted from Sterling Silver or gold or even traditional Irish bog oak.

As ornate pieces of Celtic jewelry, they evoke the rich and varied history of the anicent Celtic world by utlising the various symbols of that period such as Celtic crosses, shamrocks, trinity knots, claddaghs, trinities and such. The Blarney collection is populated with a variety of works by Ireland's finest Celtic jewellers.