BRACCIALETTO (armilium, armilla, brachiale, manica). — From prehistoric times to the present day, the bracelet has served as an ornament for the arm of both men and women. It is almost always made of metal, worked by various techniques; nevertheless, bracelets cut from hard stone, ivory, amber, glass, or other materials are also frequently found, as are even examples made of hair.
It assumes symbolic significance in the oath that the Anglo-Saxons swore upon their bracelets; as early as the reign of Corrado I (d. in 919), it formed part of royal attire. In the early Christian period, the use of the bracelet continued even among great figures of the Church, such as s. Cipriano (PL 4, 473), in forms not very different from the classical type. We know from Clemente d'Alessandria (PG 8, 548) that women still wore, in his time, bracelets in the shape of serpents. Bracelets of various forms and materials have been found in the catacombs, for the most part of simple workmanship; many, especially those intended for children, were made of glass, agate, or bronze (Vaticano, museo Sacro). The finest example, in gold with rich decoration, found beneath the basilica of S. Pietro, dates from the post-Constantinian period. Already tending toward the Byzantine type of the sixth century are several silver bracelets composed of disks, bearing representations of the Madonna and saints. Some ancient examples recall Syrian motifs: for example, the one in the British Museum, with the Madonna on a medallion at the center and vine tendrils on the openworked body (from Egypt).
Barbarian art likewise developed the old classical forms with new decorations. Solid-gold bracelets in the form of a serpent are found, often with the body curved or circular, partly smooth and partly ornamented. It is characteristic of that art to terminate the ends with animal heads.
The few bracelets surviving from the early and late Middle Ages display more refined forms; with the Renaissance, the bracelet became even richer. The use of bracelets became very common in the eighteenth century, often with cameos or miniatures applied to strips of fabric, until classicizing forms experienced a revival in the nineteenth century.
Guglielmo Federico Volbach