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A '''buckle''' is a fastener that is typically used to secure a [[belt]] or a strap. They frequently have tongues and some also have throat plates running back from the buckle along the belt. Historically buckles could be made of [[bone]], [[brass]], [[bronze]], [[silver]] and other [[metal]]s. A single buckle could be be made of a combination of these materials, such as [[Viking]] buckles of [[bronze|copper alloy]] with [[iron]] tongues.

Softer metals do not function well in high load areas as they bend.

A wide variety of buckle shapes existed and there are examples of tongued single (one loop) buckles dating to ancient [[Greece]]. Double (two loops on either side of a central bar) buckles existed from at least the [[medieval]] era.

They could be highly decorative and smaller buckles appear on [[shoe]]s from the mid-[[14th century]].

The buckle is used as a [[heraldic]] charge, as evidenced in the [[Codex_Manesse|Manesse Codex]].

[[category:clothing]]