Names of the Ring[594] in Various Foreign Languages.
| Anglo-Saxon | Hringe |
| Arabic | Khatam, maḥbas |
| Babylonian | Shemiru, lulimtu? |
| Bohemian, Serbo-Croatian | Kruh, prsten |
| Bulgarian | Prsten |
| Chinese | Pan-chih, chih huan[595] |
| Danish | Ring |
| Dutch | Ring |
| French | Anneau, bague |
| Gaelic (Erse) | Fainne, failbeagh |
| German | Ring |
| Greek, ancient | Δακτύλιος, δακτυλίδιον |
| Greek, modern | Δακτὐλιδι |
| Hebrew | Tabba’ath, ḥotham |
| Hungarian (Magyar) | Gyürü |
| Italian | Anello |
| Icelandic | Hringr |
| Irish | Fainne |
| Japanese | Yubi no wa |
| Laos | Pawp Mü |
| Latin | Anulus, anellus |
| Lithuanian | Ziedas |
| Persian | Angushtar (ḥaḷḳat) |
| Polish | Piercien, krouzek |
| Portuguese | Annel |
| Roumanian | Inel |
| Russian | Koltsó,[596] pérsten[597] |
| Ruthenian (Little Russian) | Persten |
| Sanskrit | Angulîya, anguli mudra |
| Serbian | Prsten |
| Siamese | New nang (nang pet) |
| Spanish | Sortija, anillo |
| Sumerian | MUR (KHAR) |
| Swedish | Ring |
| Syriac | Tab’â, ḥathmâ |
| Turkish (Osmanli) | Yüsük, halqa |
| Welsh | Modrwy |
The following hints as to the proper pronunciation of some of the rare words in the above list have been kindly furnished by Prof. John Dyneley Prince, of Columbia University, who has also supplied several of the names:
In prsten (Bulgarian, Bohemian and Serbo-Croatian), the r has a peculiar rolling sound with an inherent vowel; this cannot be correctly reproduced in English spelling. The ci of Polish piercien is pronounced like the Italian ci (chee). Little Russian (Ruthenian) and Russian persten means literally “finger-thing.” In the Lithuanian ziedas, the z is pronounced like French j, or our z and azure. The Hungarian gyürü sounds like dyü-rü; it means something rolled. The ṭ in Hebrew, Arabic and Syriac is an explosive t unknown in English; the letter rendered by the sign is a deep, guttural and faucal exhalation. Irish fainne is pronounced fau-in-nye, and the Welsh bodrwy is sounded as bod-roo-ee.
The word “ring,” tabba-ath, appears once in Genesis (xli: 42), the ring given by Pharaoh to Joseph; six times in Esther iii: 10, 12; viii: 2, 8 (bis), 10, the ring of Ahasuerus. In the New Testament the ring is mentioned once in Luke xv: 22, the ring given the Prodigal Son; and once in the Epistle of James, ii: 2. The word “rings,” as finger-rings, occurs in Exodus xxxv: 22, of the offerings of the people of Israel in the desert; in Numbers xxxi: 50; in Canticles v: 14 (this is probably to be rendered “rods”),[598] and in Isaiah iii: 21. That rings should be so rarely alluded to in the Old Testament might seem to prove that they were not as extensively worn in the land of Israel as some have assumed. The finest ancient Hebrew signet is said to be one of the time of Jeroboam II, King of Israel (790–749? B.C.), found at Megiddo. This is the seal of Shemai, the King’s Minister of State. It is of jasper and bears the finely engraved figure of a lion. The form is oval and the seal measures 3.7 by 2.7 cm.[599]
INDEX
A
- Aah-hotep, Queen, signet of, [117]
- Abbots’ rings, [280]
- Abbott, Dr., Egyptian collection of, [118]
- Abbesses’ rings, [280]
- Aberdeen, Earl of, [339]
- Achametis, on dreams of rings, [298]
- Add-a-link ring, [93]
- Adjustable rings, [93]
- Adler, Cyrus, [viii]
- Ælian, [32]
- African rings, [64], [83], [84], [328]
- Agate, [81], [87], [335]
- Agincourt, rings found on battlefield of, [165]
- Agla motto on healing rings, [339]
- Agricola, Johannes, on healing rings, [351]
- Ahasuerus, signet of, [116]
- Ahlstan, Bishop of Sherbourne, ring of, [271]
- Albert, Prince, [225]
- Albertus Magnus, on virtues of talismans, [311]
- Alexander the Great, signet of, [123]
- Alfonso X, Lapidario of, [304], [305]
- Alfonso XIII, old usage said to have been observed at marriage of, [213]
- Alliot, Hector, [viii]
- Amber, [104], [341]
- entire rings of, [104]
- Ambrose, St., [128]
- Amelia, Princess, Memorial ring of, [43]
- Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten), ring of, [67]
- American Museum of Natural History, [65]
- American rings, [17–30], [47], [84], [85], [108]
- Amethyst, [34], [50], [73], [86], [111], [125], [126], [158], [227], [252], [279], [328], [335]
- Andalusite, [86]
- Anglo-Saxon rings, [195]
- of Bishop Ahlstan, [271]
- of Ethelswith, [173], [174]
- of Ethelwulf, [173], [174]
- Anhalt, princess of, magic ring of, [316], [317]
- Annay, Sir William d’, ring given to by Richard Cœur-de-Lion, [177]
- Anne, St., betrothal ring of, [261]
- Anne of Denmark, [189]
- Antiochus IV, Epiphanes, signet of, [125]
- Antoninus Pius, head of, on signet, [140]
- Anularius, a ring-maker, [16]
- Anuli natalitii, [15]
- Anulus pronubus, [193]
- Apollonius of Tyana, magic rings of, [296], [325]
- Aquamarine, [158]
- Aquinas, St. Thomas, [211]
- Arabic rings, Mohammed’s seal, [141]
- with carnelians, [141]
- mottoes and devices on, [142]
- Archæological Institute, London, [73]
- Archers’ rings, [87], [105–108]
- Aristophanes, of rings, [9]
- Aristotle, blamed by Plato for wearing rings, [32]
- Arnulphus, Bishop of Metz, ring of, [269]
- Art nouveau rings, [87]
- Artemidora, mummy-case of, [51]
- Artemidorus, rings in dream-book of, [37]
- Arundel collection, [171]
- Arundel, Thomas, keeper of jewels of Edward the Confessor’s shrine, [175]
- Assyrian and Babylonian rings, [3]
- ancient contract as to emerald set in one, [4], [5]
- Assyrian jewellers’ firm, [4]
- Astle, Thomas, [155]
- Astrolabe ring, [88]
- Auckland, Lord, [101]
- Augustine, St., [299]
- Augustus, [336], [347]
- signet of, [130], [131]
- Aurelian’s seal ring, [133]
- Austrian rings, [87], [110]
- Avery, Samuel P., [66]
- Avitus, Archbishop of Vienne, letter of, describing ring, [266], [267], [277]
- Aztecs, treasures of the, [19]
- silversmiths of the, [20]
- finger-rings of the, [20]
B
- Bachaumont, Louis Petit de, [76]
- Bacon, Francis, on telepathic test with a ring, [326], [327]
- Bacula, little rod for rings, [55]
- Bagobos of Philippine Islands, superstitions of the, [352]
- Balas-ruby, [276]
- Bardel, W., [x]
- Barlow, Hon. Peter T., [vii], [153]
- Barr, Miss Ada M., [vii]
- Barrow, F. H., [viii]
- Beatty, W. Gedney, [vii]
- Beauvoisin, Mlle. de, rings owned by, [76]
- Becket, St. Thomas à, ring taken from shrine of, [182], [183]
- Beefsteak Club memorial rings, [47]
- Benedict XIV, [281]
- Bequests of signets, [149]
- Berghem Lodowyck van (Louis de Berquen) cuts diamonds for Charles the Bold, [215]
- Béquet, Albert, [59]
- Berlin Mineralogical Museum, [108]
- Berlin Royal Museum, [67]
- Bernard of Clairvaux, St., signet of, [145]
- Bernhard IV, Margrave of Baden, portrait of, [62]
- Berteildis, wife of Dagobert I, signet of, [138]
- Beryl, [134], [158], [252], [334], [335]
- Besborough collection, [73]
- Betrothal rings, see [wedding rings]
- Bible, rings mentioned in the, [1], [115], [116], [336]
- Bibliothèque Nationale, [162]
- Bibliothèque du Roi (later Bibliothèque Nationale), [139]
- Bingham, Hiram, [viii]
- Inca rings found by, in Peru, [83]
- Bishop, Heber R., collection, [55], [105], [106]
- Bishops’ rings, of Allstan, Bishop of Sherborne, [271]
- of Arnulphus, Bishop of Metz, [269]
- of Ebba, Bishop of Rheims, [270]
- of Bishop of Flambard, [275]
- of Bishop Geoffroy Rufus, [275]
- of Archbishop Greenfield, [272]
- of Bishop Hervée, [273]
- of Hilary, Bishop of Chichester, [272]
- Innocent III’s definition of, [273]
- of Archbishop Parker, [276]
- of Seffrid, Bishop of Chichester, [272]
- of Archbishop Sewell, [272]
- of Archbishop Sigfroi, [274]
- of Bishop John Stanberry, [275]
- stolen by Piers Gaveston, [276]
- set with green tourmalines, [276]
- of Bishop William of St. Barbara, [275]
- of Bishop Wykeham, [275]
- of Wytlesey, Archbishop of Canterbury, [275]
- Blake, W. W., [ix]
- Blakeslee collection, portraits in, showing ring wearing, [62]
- Bloodstone, [158], [191], [331]
- Bohemian garnet wings, [109]
- Boleyn, Anne, sends “cramp rings,” [343]
- Boniface IV, mention of pontifical ring in decree of, [267]
- Boniface VIII, ring found in tomb of, [273]
- magic ring of, [306]
- Bonza, Buddhist priest, rings made by, [82]
- Boog, Theodore de, [xi]
- “Book of Thetel,” magic ring described in, [311]
- Borde, Andrew, on cramp rings, [343]
- Borgia, Cesare, motto in poison-ring of, [37]
- Borgia, Lucrezia, rings at betrothal of, [215]
- Borgias, poison rings of the, [37]
- Borough, Sir Edward, wins diamond ring at tournament, [181]
- Bossuet, Jacques Béminge, memorial ring given him by Princess Henrietta Anne, [45]
- Boston Museum of Fine Arts, [192]
- Braddock, Charles S., Jr., [ix]
- Brandon, Thomas, Earl of Suffolk, wins ruby ring at tournament, [181]
- Brantôme, Pierre de Boudeilles, Seigneux de, [168]
- Branualdius, [300]
- Brass rings, [82], [84], [352]
- Brera gallery, Milan, [203]
- British Museum, [x], [5], [35], [39], [40], [44], [50], [58], [68], [69], [75], [82], [86], [89], [98], [99], [100], [104], [136], [143], [150], [151], [173], [197], [251], [257], [293]
- Bronze age, rings of the, [2]
- Bronze rings, [58], [89], [109], [251], [257], [293]
- Broun, W. H., entire emerald ring, owned by, [103]
- Brouwer, Bart., entire diamond ring by, [105]
- Brummagem rings, [113], [114]
- Burgundian rings, [73]
- Burmese rings, [82]
- Butler, Samuel, [194], [222]
- Buxtorf, Johann, on Hebrew betrothal rings, [203]
- Byron, Lord, signet owned by, [152]
- Byzantine rings, [143], [144–146], [161], [197], [256], [338]