And, describing a beauty, the poet says:

"Rich Dandin's brilliant favors grace her ears."

As early as the time of Edward I. lovers extolled their mistresses in, and sought to win their affections by, amatory songs.

CHAPTER XI.

Archæology of the Wedding Ring.-First Use of Rings.-Ring Finger.-Betrothal Rings.-Rings necessary in English Church Marriages.-Objections to the Use of Wedding Rings.-Substitutes for Rings.-Gemmal Rings.— Joint-ring Posies.-Poetical Allusions to the Gemmal.-Examples of Betrothal Rings.-Examples of Wedding Rings.-Royal Rings.-Ring Posies.--Rienzi's Wedding Ring.—Rings given at Weddings.—Rush Rings.— Superstitions attaching to the Wedding Ring.-The Ring and the Cake.

THE

HE archæology of the wedding ring could hardly be exhausted in a volume as large as the one now before the reader; we can, therefore, give only an outline of it. The custom of wearing rings in general is so ancient that it is based upon fables. We have already explained that rings were worn in early Bible days, although it is doubtful whether they were used in the nuptial rites of the primitive Jews (vide p. 17). The ancient Greeks and Romans wore rings, and the latter certainly employed them. in their betrothals. Whenever and by whomsoever the nuptial ring was originally used, it appears to be clear that it was first employed at the ceremony of betrothal, and not necessarily at the second ceremony, or the benediction and completion of the marriage. These two ceremonies were in the earliest times, and with many nations, distinct from each other; but in later days they have become united into

one.

In the ninth century a ring was used by the Christians in their betrothals rather than at their weddings. Pope Nicholas, writing of this period, says, that. the man first

presented the woman with espousal gifts, among them being a ring, which he placed upon her finger; he then delivered the agreed dowry; and after that came the full nuptial ceremony. Muratore, writing of the ancient Italians, says: "In the ninth century a man who wished to pledge his faith as the future husband of a woman, placed a ring upon her finger, which is at the present day preserved for the benediction of marriage."

The Christian church doubtless adopted the wedding ring from the pagans of Italy, as a convenient sign of marriage; and it appears to be clear that the ring was thus used by Christians before marriage came to be regarded as a religious institution. Long after the Christian religion was adopted by the Romans, marriage was considered to be a mere civil contract, which was entered into before a magistrate. After the custom of keeping distinct the betrothal and the marriage ceremony fell into desuetude, the betrothal ring was still retained under the name of the engagement ring, but it was not always used for the final ceremony. As we have before explained, the nuptial rings of the Romans were made of various metals, as iron, brass, copper, and gold; and it seems that, while the ceremony of betrothal was distinct from that of marriage, the rings used were ornamented in various ways. But when formal

betrothal became obsolete the ring used at marriage took a plain shape, and was generally a simple hoop of gold, as at the present time. Now that betrothal and marriage are one and the same ceremony, all the ornamentation is bestowed upon the engagement ring.

In early times among the classical ancients the betrothal ring was worn, as by us at the present time, on the left hand, on the finger next to the least, because of an erroneous idea that a vein or nerve ran from that finger directly to the heart, and therefore it was thought that the outward

sign of matrimony ought to be placed in near connection with that seat of life. Another reason why this particular hand and finger were used has been given as follows: namely, the left hand is less employed than the right, and the finger next the least is more protected than any other one. Another reason why women wear their wedding rings upon their left hand is said to be, because that hand is a sign of inferiority or subjection.

In ancient days the ring appears to have been put upon the bride's right hand. Thus, according to the "Salisbury Manual," the bridegroom was to receive the ring from the priest with the three principal fingers of his right hand; and then, holding the right hand of the bride with his own left hand, he was to say, "With this ring I thee wed." He was then to place the ring on her right-hand thumb, and say, "In the name of the Father," then on the second finger, and say, "and Son," then on the third finger, and say, "and Holy Ghost," and finally on the fourth finger, and say, "Amen," where it was to remain. An ancient Pontifical ordered the bridegroom to place the ring successively on three fingers of the right, and then to leave it on the fourth finger of the left hand.

When children were betrothed by the Anglo-Saxons the bridegroom gave a pledge or wed, part of which consisted of a ring, which was placed on the maiden's right hand, where it remained until the actual marriage, when it was transferred to the left hand. The Anglo-Normans put the ring on the middle finger of the right hand. During the reigns of George I. and George II. the wedding ring, although placed upon the usual finger at the time of marriage, was sometimes afterwards worn on the thumb, in which position it is represented in the portrait of Lady Ann Clifford, Countess of Pembroke, and in other contemporary paintings.

It is now absolutely necessary that a wedding ring should be used at a marriage in the English church. The Rubric directs that "the man shall give unto the woman a ring, laying the same upon the book with the accustomed duty to the priest and clerk. And the priest, taking the ring, shall deliver it unto the man, to put it upon the fourth finger of the woman's left hand. And the man, holding the ring there, and taught by the priest, shall say, 'With this ring I thee wed, with my body I thee worship, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow."" The placing of the ring on the book, and delivering it into the hands of the minister, is a remnant of the ancient custom of the hallowing of the ring by the priest before it was placed by the bridegroom on the finger of the bride. This custom is still retained by the Roman Catholics, among whom the ring is consecrated by the priest, sprinkled with holy water in the form of the cross, and then returned to the bridegroom.

The Quakers reject the use of a ring in their weddings because of its heathenish origin, but many ladies of the Society of Friends wear a wedding ring after the ceremony. The Protestant church in Switzerland and the Mormons do not use a ring at their nuptials. During the time of the Commonwealth the Puritans endeavored to abolish the use of the wedding ring, for the reason that it was of pagan invention. Butler, in his "Hudibras," thus refers to the

fact:

"Others were for abolishing

That tool of matrimony, a ring,

With which the unsanctify'd bridegroom

Is marry'd only to a thumb

(As wise as ringing of a pig,

That used to break up ground and dig),

The bride to nothing but her will,

That nulls the after-marriage still."

Although a ring is absolutely necessary in a Church of