Ring

This ring is known as a posy ring, deriving from the French 'poesie ' (poetry). Posy rings were plain hoops inscribed with mottoes or saying, that might express sentiments of faith, commemoration, friendship and love. It was an especially popular type of ring in the fifteenth century. The romantic inscriptions on posy rings suggest that they were also used for weddings.

The phrase engraved on the ring in French, ‘Io sui de druerie, ne me dune mie’, can be read as ‘I am a love gift, do not give me away’. A longer version of the motto was woven into a ribbon attached to the seal of King Richard I: ‘Jo sui de druerie/ Ne me denez mie/ Ki nostre amour deseivre/ La mort pui is ja receivre’ (I am a love token, do not give me away. If our love is separated, may the perpetrator incur death.) 'Druerie or dru are terms often found in medieval texts and romances and refer to friendship, love, affection or tenderness. Although the text on this ring is in French, it could have been made elsewhere as French and Latin were languages used by the educated across Europe.