In the Old Town of Edinburgh, from the 15th century or so, there used
to be enclosed stalls/workshops along the main street (today often called »Royal Mile«), near
St Giles Cathedral,
where various tradesmen such as goldsmiths and silversmiths offered their wares.
For obvious reasons these stalls could be locked up at night and were thus referred
to as »luckenbooths« (as in, »locking booths«). The city got rid of them in the 1810s.
The »Luckenbooth brooch« is a traditional Scottish piece of jewellery that
symbolises love and devotion and is produced and sold by jewellers in Edinburgh.
It is generally made of silver and features a crown above a heart (or two
intertwined hearts). Posher versions of the brooch can sport (semi)precious stones and/or
are made of gold instead, and variations of the design include thistles or St Andrew’s crosses.
The name exists since approximately the 18th century.
In addition to serving as love tokens, Luckenbooth brooches were also used as charms
to fend off the »evil eye« or protect babies from harm.
Interestingly, from the mid-18th century these brooches were a popular trade/barter object
with American Indians such as the Iroquois, and ended up as part of various traditional
Native American outfits of the 18th and 19th century.
Photograph by Anselm Lingnau. Thanks to Marie Schwarz for the loan of the brooch.