Introduction

"Jewellery was man's answer to the profound human need for self-adornment and, consequently, is one of the oldest forms of decorative art."(Barron, p.9)

"Our general unwillingness to cross traditional disciplinary boundaries has unnecessarily limited our vision of what the Renaissance might be."(Findlen, p.113)

When examining love and marriage in the Renaissance, very few historians have attempted a discussion of an important part of this process, the betrothal or wedding ring. Through material culture methodologies focused on an object like a ring, questions and interpretations can be formed concerning romantic love in this period. When supplemented by contemporary literature of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, current historiography can be reexamined and new avenues of study are presented for social historians of love and marriage.

Raphael,The Marriage of the Virgin, (reprint Levi, 1988)

IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS

Jewelry: Includes any decorative article that is made of metal, gemstones, and/or hard organic material of high quality, contrived with artistry or superior craftsmanship, and intended to be worn on a person....(Newman, p1)

Gimmel (or Gimmal) ring: A type of finger ring that is composed of two or three separate hoops linked together, having the same Shank split lengthwise so that the hoops can be fitted together unnoticeably as one hoop. The Bezel is also split so that when joined it forms one ornament; it is sometimes decorated with clasped hands, or a heart-shaped ornament. Such rings were worn as an engagement or wedding ring, appropriately engraved on the facing sides of the hoop. They were made of gold or silver, sometimes with niello (dark grey substance for decorating silver and gold) decoration or set with a gemstone. They were made in the mid-fifteenth century. The hoops could be separated only by cutting one of them, but they were sometimes separated and worn in this way until rejoined by a goldsmith following the marriage. (Newman, p.137)

Fede Ring: The fede or hand-in-hand ring has been in use on love rings since Roman times all over Europe. It sometimes appears in a secondary position at the back of the hoop of a ring with a gem-set bezel and was commonly used on the bezels of silver and silver-gilt rings from the twelfth until the seventeenth century. This ring is silver with clasped hands at the back of the hoop; the bezel has three knobs imitating stones. It dates to the thirteenth century. (Oman, 1974)