Photo of a padlock dated 1544
Sketch of a padlock with ward springs and hinged shackle, dated 1544
Archeological digs at Stegeborg Castle in Östergötland province have unearthed a remarkable padlock that has a hinged shackle with ward springs. Made of iron, the lock has three reinforcement ribs welded lengthwise on the lock body. Between them, letters are welded forming the name ESBJÖRN and the year 1544, making the letters both decoration and part of the reinforcement. Each of the three reinforcement bands ends with a crown at one end, resulting in the triple crown symbol of Swedish royalty. The name may refer to Esbjörn Torkelsson, who was endowed with the title of castellan (governor of the castle, a non-hereditary title) in 1544, who may well have ordered the 2.4 kg, 16.4 cm long lock.
This padlock is from the County Museum of Östergötland in Linköping.
Sketch of a padlock with ward springs and hinged shackle, dated 1575
Photo of a padlock with ward springs and hinged shackle, dated 1575
This lock is made from iron in two parts. The lock body is barrel-shaped with a swinging, partly arched shackle fitted with an elegant curlicue and a separate piece with ward springs. The mantle is protected with reinforcements in both directions. A vertical key slot is located in the same short end as the shackle attachment. One side of the shackle is marked 1573. The lock is a part of Raine Borg’s collection.
Padlock with ward springs and hinged shackle
Photo of a spherical lock
Sketch of a spherical padlock, locking principle
Sometimes called an “apple lock,” a spherical lock opens with a turning key. Made of two semispherical pieces of iron welded into a sphere. The lock has a hinged shackle with a notch or opening in one leg into which a spring-loaded bolt slides to lock it. To unlock, the key bit is turned to slide the bolt aside.
This type of lock is found in lock collections all over Europe. Most county museums in Sweden have them.
One version, a semispherical lock using the same locking mechanism, is found in museums in Rouen and Bordeaux in France.
Photo of a triangular padlock
Sketch of a triangular padlock
A shackle padlock made of iron with a triangular lock body. Welded reinforcement strips on the front and back. This lock, which has a jointed shackle, locks with a turning key in the same way as a spherical lock.
This type of lock is found in a range of sizes in lock collections all over Europe. In Sweden, they are found at museums in Stockholm, Sigtuna, Västerås, Visby, and Gislöv.
Photo of half heart-shaped padlock
Sketches of half heart-shaped padlock
Padlock made of two pieces of iron. From the side, the lock body is shaped like a half heart. The lock shackle has double ward springs. The keyhole is on one side and the lock opens with a half-turn of the key, which compresses the springs so the shackle can be withdrawn.
This type of lock is found in lock collections all over Europe; in Sweden at the Museum of National Antiquities in Stockholm, in Sigtuna, Västerås, Visby and Gislöv.
Photos of square padlocks, box locks
Photos of square padlocks, box locks
Sketch of square padlock, box lock
A new type of padlocks came into use in the 16th century. Shaped like a square box made of sheet metal with a profiled edge, and riveted or screwed together with a bottom plate with the same profile. In the oldest versions, the separate shackle is omega-shaped and has both legs inserted in the lock body. These older locks are beautifully decorated with punched holes and the keyhole is protected with a flap. The lock opens with a turning key, whose bit slides the spring-loaded bolt to the side so that the shackle legs can be withdrawn.
In a later version, only one shackle leg is inserted in the lock body; it serves as a twist shackle while the other leg lies against the front of the lock with the shackle inserted in the lock body. The shackle is held in locked position by the spring-loaded bolt.
This type of lock, originally from Germany in the early 16th century, comes in many varieties throughout the Nordic region, including tumbler mechanisms, and was still being manufactured in Sweden in the 18th century.
German architect and sculptor Adam van Düren worked in Sweden and Denmark in 1487–1532. In the early 16th century, he depicted a similar padlock on a well basin in the crypt of the cathedral in Lund.
Photos of barrel padlocks with swing shackle joints
In the late 16th century, many padlocks were manufactured with partially curved swinging shackles with curlicues and spring locking. They were manufactured in parallel with the hinged barrel padlocks of the day and share many similarities with them.
Many of these locks are still found in collections all over Sweden, exhibiting great variation in form and decoration.