Landelinus belt buckle

Landelinus belt buckle (plate buckle) discovered at Ladoix-Serrigny (Côte-d’Or).

This plate buckle is dated to the first quarter of the 7th century.

This object, unique to date, bears the depiction of an extraordinary horseman Christ, menacing and armed in the manner of a Frankish chief. It is a Last Judgement directly inspired by the account in the Book of Revelation (see in particular the defeated beast in the upper right corner).

The interest of this object is further increased by a Latin inscription that gives us the name of its maker (Landelinus) and expresses the wish that “whoever owns it may live to the thousandth year in the Lord”.

Saint Landelin (Landelinus Sanctus) (c. 613-686), from the region of Bapaume (Pas-de-Calais, France), was a converted brigand who became a hermit, then successively founded and promoted the abbeys of Lobbes, Aulne, Wallers-en-Fagne and Crespin.