Deadly bodkin

 

Deadly bodkin

 

The deadly bodkin' is an ornamental hairpin which Belinda holds at the Baron's throat in combat. However, this is not an ordinary hairpin but it has a mystical history. It was once three seal rings that Belinda's great-great-grandfather wore. After his death the three seal rings were melted down to make a belt buckle for his widow. The buckle was transformed into a whistle for her grandmother. Later on, it was melted into a hairpin for her mother, and Belinda inherited this hairpin from her mother. This history imbues the hairpin with the same significance as Agamemnon's sceptre or Achilles' shield in The Iliad.