A very large ring, bearing great general resemblance to the episcopal ring, was occasionally worn as a thumb-ring by the laity. A specimen of such a one is selected from the Londesborough collection in [Fig. 131]. It is somewhat roughly formed of mixed metal, and has upon the circular face a conventional representation of a monkey looking at himself in a hand-mirror. This is surrounded by a cable moulding, and on each side is set two large stones. The outer edge of this ring is also decorated with a heavy cable moulding: inside, next the finger, is the cross and sacred monogram, placed on each side of the mystic word anamzapta, which we shall immediately have to explain more fully when speaking of the rings commonly worn as charms.
These massive thumb-rings were indicative of wealth or importance, when worn by the middle classes who had obtained any municipal position. When Falstaff speaks of his slenderness in his youth, he declares that he could then have “crept through an alderman’s thumb-ring.” Like the massive gold chains still worn by that honourable fraternity, they told of a trader’s wealth. The inventories of personal property belonging to burgesses in the Middle Ages, contain frequent allusions to such rings, without which they would have felt shorn of an important part of their head-earned honours. Among the wills and inventories preserved at Bury St. Edmund’s, published by the Camden Society, is one made by Edward Lee, of that town, bearing date 1535, in which he bequeaths to a friend, “my double wreathed ryng of gold, whych I ware on my thumbe.” From this description it is evident that this ring must have borne great resemblance to that given in [Fig. 131], with its outer cable or double wreathed pattern. There is a brass in Hastings Church, Sussex, with the effigy of a gowned citizen wearing such a ring. That such rings became in the end indicative of that class, and were retained in fashion for this reason when they had been long discarded from general use, may be safely inferred from the description of a character introduced in the Lord Mayor’s Show in the year 1664, who is said to be “habited like a grave citizen—gold girdle and gloves hung thereon, rings on his fingers, and a seal ring on his thumb.” Such rings were evidently used according to the most ancient mode as personal signets, by such as were not entitled to bear arms; hence originated the quaint inventions known as “merchant’s marks,” which were impressed on merchandise, painted on shields instead of armorial bearings, inserted in memorial windows of stained glass, and worn on the thumb for constant use in sealing. A very fine ring of this kind is engraved in the Journal of the Archæological Institute, vol. iii., and is here copied in [Fig. 132]. It was found in the bed of the Severn, near Upton, and is probably a work of the fifteenth century; it is of silver, and has been strongly gilt. The hoop is spirally grooved, and upon the circular face is a large letter H, surrounded by branches.
Fig. 133. | Fig. 134. |
The custom of placing initial letters on rings is a very old one, and they are sometimes surmounted by crowns or coronets; hence they have frequently been mistakenly appropriated to royalty. [Fig. 133] is a ring of this kind, with a crowned I upon it; hence it was once called “King John’s ring.” It is most probably the initial of the Saviour’s name as King of the Jews, in the same way that the crowned M may indicate the Virgin Mary as “Queen of Heaven,” a favourite popish designation. Such rings may have been worn from religious feeling, or from the superstitious belief in the efficacy of holy names as preservatives from evil. The baseness of the metal of which they are often made, and their consequent small value, precludes the possibility of their having belonged to royalty. The same remark will apply to a ring also engraved in the Journal of the Archæological Institute, and now in the possession of the Rev. Walter Sneyd. It is there described as of mixed yellow metal gilt; on either side of the hoop there is a crown ([Fig. 134]), of the form commonly seen on coins of the twelfth century, and on the signet are the words, ROGERIVS REX, chased in high relief. In the form of the character they correspond closely with legends upon coins of Roger, second Duke of Apulia, of that name, crowned King of Sicily A.D. 1129; he died A.D. 1152. This ring has every appearance of genuine character, but it is difficult to explain for what purpose it was fabricated, the inscription not being inverted, and the letters in relief ill suited for producing an impression. It seems very improbable that King Roger should have worn a ring of base metal; and the conjecture may deserve consideration, that it was a signet not intended for the purpose of sealing, but entrusted in lieu of credentials to some envoy. The popular literature of the Middle Ages abundantly proves this custom to have been in general use. The tale of Ipomydon, in Weber’s “Ancient Metrical Romances,” notes the gift of a ring to the hero from his mother, which is to be used as a token of recognition to his illegitimate brother, and which is brought secretly to his notice by being dropped into his drinking horn. In the “Romance of Florence and Blancheflor,” a ring serves the purpose of letters of introduction when the hero is on his travels, and ensures him hospitality when he deserves it.
Rings sometimes bore the name and title of the Saviour in full, as in [Fig. 135] from the Londesborough collection. Two hands are clasped in front; it was, therefore, most probably a gift, or betrothal ring. It is silver, somewhat rudely fashioned. The inscription (here engraved below it) is in uncial characters, and shorn of its somewhat awkward abbreviation, reads “Jesus Nazareneus Rex.”
Fig. 135. | Fig. 136. | Fig. 137. |
The same collection furnishes us with the specimen of a religious ring ([Fig. 136]), apparently a work of the fourteenth century. It has a heart in the centre, from which springs a double flower. On the upper edge of the ring are five protuberances on each side; they were used to mark a certain number of prayers said by the wearer, who turned his ring as he said them, and so completed the series in the darkness of the night. Such rings are of very common occurrence, and must have been in general use. They are sometimes furnished with more prominent knobs, as in [Fig. 137]. They are termed decade rings when furnished with ten bosses, which were used to count the repetition of ten aves, but they are occasionally seen with one or two additional bosses; when there are eleven, they notify ten aves and a paternoster; the addition of the twelfth marks the repetition of a creed.
Allusion has already been made to the mystic virtues attributed to stones during the Middle Ages, and for the fondness for collecting antique gems. They were coveted not only as works of art, but for their supposed power over the circumstances of life, or the welfare of individual wearers. The idea very probably originated with the Gnostics of the East, who engraved stones with mystic figures believed to impart good luck or to keep off evil influences. So completely had this belief gained hold on all classes, that a Gnostic gem set as a ring was found on the finger of the skeleton of an ecclesiastic, in the Cathedral of Chichester, “affording indubitable evidence that these relics were cherished in the Middle Ages by those whose express duty it was to reprove and check such gross superstition.”[115-*]
This belief was ultimately reduced to a system. An old French Lapidaire, compiled in the thirteenth century, assures us that a stone engraved with the figure of Pegasus or Bellerophon is good for warriors, “giving them boldness and swiftness in flight,” very contradictory qualifications, it must be allowed. One with the figure of Andromeda had the power of conciliating love between man and woman. “A gem bearing the figure of Hercules slaying a lion or other monster, was a singular defence to combatants. The figure of Mercury on a gem rendered the possessor wise and persuasive. The figure of Jupiter with the body of a man and the head of a ram, made the man who bore it beloved by everybody, and he was sure to obtain anything he asked. If you find a stone bearing the figure of a hare, it will be a defence against the devil; if you find a dog and a lion on the same stone, it will be a preservative against dropsy or pestilence. The figure of Orion was believed to give victory in war. If you find a stone, in which is Perseus holding in his right hand a sword, and in his left the Gorgon’s head, it is a preservative against lightning and tempest and against the assaults of devils. A stone on which is engraved a long-bearded man sitting on a plough, with a bending in his neck, and four men lying down, and holding in his hand a fox and a vulture, this, suspended about the neck, enables you to find treasures. If you find a dove, with a branch of olive in its mouth, engraved in pyrites, and mount it in a silver ring, and carry it with you, everybody will invite you to be his guest, and people will feast you much and frequently. The figure of a syren, sculptured in a jacinth, rendered the bearer invisible. A fair head, well combed, with a handsome face, engraved on a gem, gave to the bearer joy, reverence, and honour. Such were the qualities attached to ancient gems in the Middle Ages.”[116-*]
Many plain stones were also believed to have magical virtues. Thus, the amethyst prevented drunkenness, and was consequently often set upon wine cups. The crystal clouded if evil was about to happen to its wearer. Amber was good against poison, hence drinking-cups were formed from it. The topaz cured and prevented lunacy, increased riches, assuaged anger and sorrow, and averted sudden death. Such was the faith placed in stones until the end of the sixteenth century. Dr. Donne speaks of