Rosaries are used in the Netherlands from the 12^th century onward. An older name for the string of prayer bead is "pater noster", that is "our father" in Latin, meaning the prayer that was recited for each bead. Strings of prayer beads are made of multiples of 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 or 150 beads. It is only in about 1450 that the rosary takes the form of alternating Hail Mary's and Our Fathers, a closed string of bead often terminated by a tassel or cross. The beads could be made of many different materials: amber, semi-precious stones such as quartz crystal, but also wood or bone for plainer beads.

These large beads have been found together with small beads and with a bone cross (nr. 626).

dimensions: 11 x 7 mm

provenance: Mechelen (B)