the history of the wedding ring
happy Valentines Day my loves 💌
The wedding ring and the custom of exchanging rings during marriage ceremonies has existed for millennia, and has lasted through various cultural and political shifts, historical periods, wars, famines, periods of economic decline, and much more. We see the style of the ring change, we see what is symbolises change, we see the material change. In a sense, looking closely at the history of the wedding ring also reflects broader histories of religion, war, gender, and culture.
This essay will take you through the history of the wedding ring from its origins to the current day. When thinking of a wedding ring, it’s hard to not think of the traditional contemporary style – a large diamond, a gold band, worn on the left ring finger. I will demonstrate how some aspects of the wedding ring have ostensibly remained the same throughout time, and how some aspects have changed vastly. I will consider how the materiality of the wedding ring gives us further insight into the particular historical period and culture we are looking at, hopefully demonstrating the significance of such a small piece of jewellery in the history of humans. Like all history, the history of the wedding ring is not linear and certainly is not straightforward. As such, this is just a brief overview of a much broader history.
1. Ancient Egypt
The first record of people exchanging rings during a marriage ceremony is from 3,000 B.C, written on Ancient Egyptian Papyrus. We have a series of papyri that notes rings will be exchanged as part of a dowry [Fig. 1].
These were typically referred to as ‘love rings’ rather than wedding rings, because the wedding ceremony as we picture today did not yet exist. Ancient Egyptian wedding rings were primarily made out of braided hemp or reeds, and had rich symbolism rooted in them. Jewellery served an extremely important role in Ancient Egypt, and was available to the poorest to richest members of Egyptian society. In basically all of the visual evidence we have from the time, people were decked out in necklaces, arm bands, rings, earrings, crowns, and much more. See this image of Tutankhamun and his wife, for example [Fig. 2] From head to toe each limb has some form of jewellery on it. Jewellery was so significant both because it was beautiful, but more importantly because it was believed to be a talisman of power. Ancient Egyptians believed the jewellery they wore was imbued with a magic that could protect them, give them good luck in life, or even guide them through the afterlife. It was no small thing to exchange rings with ones loved one. To Egyptians, the circular form of the ring resembled an ouroboros of eternity as it had no beginning and no end. To exchange rings was to pledge eternal love to one’s significant other, which was made even more significant by the fact that Egyptians believed in an eternal afterlife. To exchange rings in this life was to love your spouse into the next.
Alongside the circular form of the wedding ring, we also get where we wear our ring from the Ancient Egyptians. They believed in the ‘vena amoris’ – the vein of love – ran from the left ring finger to the heart. While this is anatomically inaccurate, it is really romantic to reflect upon.
Ancient Greece
When Alexander the Great conquered Egypt in 322 A.D., the tradition of exchanging and wearing wedding rings was adopted by the Greeks and then the Romans. This is when we see the wedding ring as we know today take shape. Metal rings eventually became the standard in Greece and Rome. Typically, these would be made of iron or copper, though gold and silver were used for the wealthy. We also see the design of these rings become more elaborate and personalized. In Greece, rings often had mythological depictions related to love on them.
Fig. 3 is currently in the British Museum, though whether it should be is another essay altogether. It is dated around the Hellenistic period, circa 350BC. It is made of gold and depicts Aphrodite – the Greek Goddess of love and beauty – looking down to her son Eros, the god of love and passionate desire. In Aphrodite’s hand is a dove that symbolises gentleness and, again, love. Eros is also offering up a wreath that looks suspiciously like a ring. Could the act of proposing be shown through the ring itself? The wreath, like the ouroboros, also represents unity and eternity in its round shape. Fig. 4 is from the 4th century BC in central Greece. It shows the consistency of iconography on wedding rings. This time, Nike the Greek Goddess of victory is at the centre, but she still holds a dove and a wreath – representations of gentleness, love, and eternity. For the Greeks, it seems the wedding ring represented love and affection in the union of spouses. These rings speak to a society that was concerned with religion, beauty, and love – something Greek certainly was. The Greeks had such a complex view of love that they concocted 9 different types: Philia, Pragma, Storge, Eros, Ludus, Mania, Philautia, Agape and Meraki. Love was imbedded into Ancient Greek society at every turn from literature to art to divinity. Orpheus and Eurydice is likely the story most are familiar with, a tragedy of true love. “Love is the strongest force in the universe. It drives us to do extraordinary things, even to venture into the realm of death itself. Orpheus’ determination to rescue Eurydice showcases the immense power of love,” stated the Oracle of Delphi.
Ancient Rome
The Romans adopted the wedding ring tradition a bit after the Greeks did. The materiality of the ring was the same for both the Roman’s and the Greek’s; however, it was the Roman’s that officially codified the use of the ring in weddings into law. We know this because of various Roman Law codes and Pliny the Elder’s Historia Naturalis that speaks of iron engagement rings.
The rings materiality became central to the Romans, because to them iron and gold represented the unbreakable strength of the marital contract. We already start to see distinctions here: while the Greeks were concerned with love and beauty, the Romans concerned themselves with the physical strength of the ring and, thus, its wearers. The rings became less concerned with religious deities, and were not so explicit in the centrality of love. Instead, the idea of power and robustness was translated.
The most common type of ring associated with Roman’s is the fede ring. Fede means faith in Latin. These rings typically showed two hands combining in a solid grip at the centre of the ring. Fig. 5 is made of onyx and is from the 3rd century, and Fig. 6 is gold from around the 3rd century. On one level, these rings can be seen to signify the way the couple becomes one during marriage: they represent a unity strengthened by faith. On another level, the sheer physicality of an unending grip could almost be seen to represent entrapment. Indeed, these rings were initially given by the groom to the father of the bride to officially ‘purchase’ her. There is a sense the couple are bound to each other not just by love but by necessity. This makes sense considering the Roman era saw marriage become a stricter practice. Monogamy was enforced compared to Greece, and marriage was a signifier that the man now controlled the wife and her property. Marriage was no longer to represent love, but also to represent legal and economic ownership.
This is solidified through the next example of a Roman wedding ring: the infamous key ring [Fig. 7]. No, not a trinket you add to your house key, but a literal ring that had a key on it. These rings were typically made of iron, and were only worn by the wife. These rings were meant to symbolise her welcome into the husband’s home and her role in the management of the home. Again, we see how these rings have shifted from being representations of love to representations of the requirements of marriage. Rome was a patriarchal society, and women were often made to stay home, produce children, and do domestic duties. This ring is a visual symbol of that very duty. In that sense, while being a key that unlocks a home, we also get the sense that it locks the woman inside of the home.
Roman wedding rings move away from the religious depictions of Greek wedding rings, and instead stress the economic and political sphere of marriage at the time. The rings show us that the Roman’s did not prioritise love but instead strength and unity. They also did not stress romance but duty, specifically the duty of the woman. This is a great demonstration of how these rings illuminate the broader histories of these time periods. We see, through the rings, that Rome was becoming increasingly concerned with legality, wealth, and rules. Additionally, we see how they were becoming less and less devout, prioritising the interests of humans beyond Gods.
The Medieval Era
The Medieval era saw the wedding ring evolve into more elaborate forms with deeper religious significance due to the widespread of Christianity. There were also broader spheres of contact between countries, and international trade was increasing. As such, there was a wider access to various different materials such as gems to adorn wedding rings with. We see, again, how these rings can reflect broader histories: the variety of different ring types demonstrates histories of developing trade in the medieval era.
Around 11,000, the Fede ring had a revival amongst medieval peoples. Instead of depicting the hands within a signet, the ring itself became the hands adjoined. In the medieval era, Fede rings had a different meaning to the Roman era. The ‘faith’ aspect not only spoke to faith within the marriage but also faith in God and Jesus. Indeed, the medieval era saw religion become central to the act of marriage. The Christian church created and enforced marriage laws codified into Canon Laws. These were laws enforced by the Papacy who was said to speak for God. The ring became central to the act of marriage, and in the 12th century the Church declared a man should not give a ring to any woman unless he meant to get married. One was not just committing to their spouse but also to Jesus, and a life of living for their faith.
Fig. 8 is from the fourteenth century, and demonstrates the way the Fede ring was adapted into a style befitting the medieval era. The hands are clasped on one side, but on the other is a pyramidal bezel containing diamond crystal. Gems were increasingly used on rings during the medieval era, both to show wealth but also because they had their own symbolisms related to love and marriage. This ring demonstrates the way that precious gems became set within wedding rings, likely beginning the tradition of the contemporary wedding ring having a gold band and a precious stone. In fact, it is said that Archduke Maximilian of Austria commissioned the first recorded diamond engagement ring in 1477 for his bride-to-be, Mary of Burgundy. This event set a precedent for diamonds as symbols of eternal love—a tradition that would later be commercialized on a massive scale. Other gems were used in rings, too, such as Ruby that represented passion and love. During the Middle Ages, deep-red rubies were imported into Europe from India, Sri Lanka, and Burma. We can see, again, how these rings demonstrate histories of trade and show us how far European traders were able to travel. These rings, too, could translate what the betrothed couple desired for their marriage. A diamond, for example, showed they prioritised strength.
On Fig. 8, you can see there is an inscription around the edge of the ring. This is a type of ring we now call the posy ring that began in the 14th century. ‘Posy’ means poetry, and this is because these rings would feature small engraved verses, typically hidden inside the band for privacy. These ring-types were intensely romantic, and were purposed for the idea of romance that medieval and early modern people had. The medieval era especially had a wide-spanning tradition of ‘courtly love’ found in literature and art from the time. Courtly love emphasized nobility and chivalry, and centralised love and romance as a transcendent act – a Godly act. Think of Chretien De Troy’s Lancelot, for example, who is heralded as the best example of courtly love. His love for Guinevere makes him a better knight who swears to protect and serve because of his love. I have collated some of my favourite examples of posy rings below [Fig. 9]
The ring labelled 1 demonstrates how these rings were influenced by the flourishing literary romantic culture of the time. It is inscribed AMOR VINCIT OMNIA which translates to ‘love conquers all’. Isn’t that so romantic? This inscription is actually the same as one found on Prioress’s brooch in Canterbury Tales, demonstrating a tangible link between posy rings and the courtly literature tradition. For those who may not know, the Canterbury Tales are a series of 24 four stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. Each tale has a didactic function, and is heavily concerned with religion, social convention, and romance.
The ring labelled 2 has a French inscription that translates to ‘of my love you may be sure’, a validation that the spouse can be secure in their relationship. There are also sprigs inscribed on the outside of the ring, a symbol of fidelity and love.
The third states ‘tout pur bein’ meaning all for good – the idea that marriage is a positive act for good. This ring also has a wreath decorating the outside, a call to the Greek ring symbolism of the wreath. We can see, again, the way these rings can transcend and call back to history.
The fourth one is my favourite, and it translates as ‘two hands, one heart, till death us part’. Really romantic, but also demonstrates the differences in the symbolism of wedding rings and the continuities. The stress on death parting the couple differs from the eternal love of the Egyptian union, for example. We also see the significance of hands being conjoined in the union, a call to the Fede ring of the Romans.
The fifth ring is the only one that is already in English, and it states ‘trew love is my desire’. I thought this would be a good one to end on because it sums up quite perfectly what posy rings show the viewer: that the pursuit of love was central to medieval and early modern marriages. These rings are intensely romantic and reflect a society that was increasingly concerned with the importance of love – human love and Godly love. They also demonstrate that being married, once a public display, was becoming more private and fuelled by feelings rather than just duty. While the rings above do not have them, other posy rings also had biblical verses inscribed upon them, demonstrating once again the centrality of religion to marriage practices.
The Early Modern Era
The Early Modern period that saw a complex development of the posy ring into something called a gimmel ring. Before this, rings could have been worn either by the husband or wife, but were typically not worn by both. The ‘gimmel’ rings – also referred to as the ‘twin’ rings because of its etymology being rooted in the Latin Gemini – required one ring to be worn by each spouse. These rings are complexly designed rings that interlock to create a whole. It symbolises that each spouse is one half of a whole that can come together. They would be worn separately before the wedding and then joined together on the day of the ceremony. Some of the common symbols in gimmel rings were the fede hands, forget-me-not flowers, and red hearts. Again, we see the way history perseveres.
Martin Luther – the man who wrote 95 theses and started the Protestant Reformation – wore a gimmel ring with his wife, Catherine Bora [Fig. 10]. Their rings were, ironically, very ornate considering Luther’s whole thing was no excess in the church. Anyways. Catherine’s ring is made of pure gold, and shows a crucified Jesus surrounded by the instruments of torture that were used on Him. Inside, Martin and Catherine’s initials and the date they were wed is inscribed. When the rings join together a secret message is found that states, in German, ‘What God has joined let no man put asunder’. We see how these rings reflect the role of God in marriage and in love, and can also demonstrate the beliefs of a significant figure in religious history. Luther, clearly, credited God for his love and insisted on maintaining His supremacy even down to the detail of wedding rings. This inscription is taken from religious scripture, also significant because Luther believed in rooting Christianity in the scripture itself rather than allowing men to speak for God.
These gimmel rings also demonstrate general worries and concerns of people at the time. Fig. 11 shows an image of a baby on one ring and a skeleton on another, conveying an increased concern with life and death. This ring was made in the 1631, at the peak of the revival of the bubonic plague in Europe that killed millions. The skeleton is a symbol of Memento Mori – an artistic trope that acts as a reminder of the inevitability of death. This ring tells us that two things are certain in-life: birth and death. As with Martin Luther’s, the ring states ‘"Whom God has joined together, let no man tear asunder.". Love and death co-exist in this ring, reminding the spouses of their finite time on earth, making it all the more romantic to make the most of the love they have now that God has given them.
The Celtic Tradition
While the Celts are, of course, localised to the Western parts of the world, their developing traditions did differ and ran alongside the general European traditions. Celtic wedding rings trace to pre-Roman Celtic tribes (c. 500 BCE), who viewed marriage as an equal contract rather than a transfer of ownership. Early bands were plain gold or bronze, but by the Middle Ages, intricate knotwork emerged, symbolizing eternity and interconnectedness. You can see this type of knotwork in manuscripts like The Book of Kells, an illustrated manuscript and Celtic gospel book from 800 AD [Fig. 12]. The most famous of these knotworks is the Trinity Knot, a knot made up of three interconnected leaf-shaped loops. This knot represents eternal love and infinity, much like the Egyptian ouroboros and the Greek wreath. It is said that Saint Patrick used the Trinity Knot emblem to teach the Celts about the Holy Trinity. The continuous knotwork signifies the interconnectedness of the lifecycle of birth, life, and death.
.We do not have many material examples from ancient and medieval Celtic rings, but the ones that do survive demonstrate the ability of the Celts to create intricate and complex geometric designs that were highly symbolic in their jewellery. Fig. 13, for example, is from the 7th or 8th century and was found in Tipperary. You can see the skill of the maker, with beaded wire being twisted into shape.
The Celtic ring that most of us will be familiar with today is the Claddagh ring. The Claddagh ring was first produced in the 17th century, and belongs to the type of Fede rings due to the clasped hands. Fig. 14 is the oldest known Claddagh ring from around 1700. It was made by renowned Galway goldsmith Richard Joyce. While the Fede ring only has the symbol of hands, the Claddagh has a series of interrelated symbols that represent the qualities of love. The heart represents romantic love, the hands friendship, and the crown loyalty. The Claddagh is still worn today, and has persisted especially in Celtic cultures who want to keep their heritage alive. It has a series of signifiers, such as if the heart is pointing inwards on the left-hand it means one is married.
The Modern World
Let’s fast forward to the 20th century, where our conception of the modern wedding ring was consolidated by the De Beers company. While the wedding ring has undergone significant transformations in materials, design, symbolism and cultural significance in the centuries it existed, the modern era has seen these changes accelerate due to technological advancements and marketing innovations.
The Early 20th century, specifically the 1920’s saw an introduction of more colourful and interesting shape wedding rings. These rings were heavily inspired by the Art Deco and Art Nouveau artistic style that originated in Paris. These styles were defined by their geometric shapes, strong architectural designs, and colourful patterns. The rings became architectural in themselves, and the line work of the ring would often be identical to that of the architectural building in art pieces. These styles represented a golden era of American and British history – the roaring twenties! This was an era characterised by luxury, glamour, exuberance, and the prospect of progression. Their jewellery was no different. We see bright green emeralds, glimmering diamonds, and interesting shapes. These rings were glittering and luxurious, but that would change in just a decade.
After the Great Depression and then the onset of World War II in the 1940’s, restrictions were imposed upon wedding rings. The restrictions limited the rings to being plain 9-carat gold bands [Fig. 15]. This was also the era where all men started wearing wedding rings, said to remind them of their significant other while they were away. As expected of a war period, decadence became deprivation due to the lack of trade goods being circulated. Everyone had to sacrifice their small luxuries, and this is reflected through the simple design of wedding rings. These simplified rings remained until 1947 and prompted a diversification of the band itself, using higher quality metals and re-using the posy trend to inscribe initials and declarations of love onto the rings. This plain bands didn’t last for long, however, because of the hugely successful marketing campaign of De Beers.
De Beers is a diamond mining company that was established in 1888 by business man Cecil Rhodes. From its inception in 1888 until the start of the 21st century, De Beers controlled 80% to 85% of rough diamond distribution. While the price of diamonds was falling around the world due to depression and war, De Beers concocted a genius marketing campaign to make the diamond – and only the diamond – synonymous with love. The 1947 campaign, famously titled ‘A Diamond Lasts Forever’, convinced the public that the diamond was the symbol of indestructible love. Movie stars would be given these diamond rings in romantic movies, lecturers would go to universities to speak on the superiority of the diamond, the pristine image of the diamond ring was on bill-boards everywhere [Fig. 16]. The campaign was incredibly successful, and from 1939 to 1979, De Beers’s wholesale diamond sales in the United States increased from $23 million to $2.1 billion. Even today, the diamond is still associated with weddings and a lasting love. It makes up a huge percentage of wedding rings, though the tide is turning today.
But this history of the diamond ring is not so innocent, and reflects histories of colonialism. The founder of De Beers, Cecil Rhodes, was an imperialist with heavily racist views. "I contend that we are the first race in the world, and that the more of the world we inhabit the better it is for the human race," he is quoted. Some also believe he set the way for Apartheid by attempting to expand the British Empire into North Africa. Indeed, his desire was to expand the British Empire by any means possible: “the furtherance of the British Empire and the bringing of the whole world under British rule, for the recovery of the United States, for making the Anglo-Saxon race but one Empire” was his desire. De Beers itself also pillaged the natural resources of various African countries, detracting from the possible trade gains the country could have made itself. We are shown again how a small piece of jewellery can be so significant in illuminating contentious histories.
So interesting!! Thanks for this essay :)
This was so interesting!!