Ring

Silver or gold rings engraved with figures of saints have become known as 'iconographic' rings. They seem to have been a particularly British type and sometimes combine religious imagery with romantic posies. They feature the most venerated saints of the middle ages: Sts Christopher, Catherine, Margaret, Barbara, John the Baptist and George. The choice of saint was probably dictated by local loyalties, membership of confraternities devoted to a particular saint or the desire to invoke that saint's help with a particular matter.Saints in pre-Reformation British beliefs played an important role as helpers and intercessors - wearing a ring engraved with an image of favoured saints was a way of maintaining a direct and personal relationship with them.

St George, the patron saint of England, is shown on this ring piercing a dragon with his spear. The cult of St George was established in 1415 after the battle of Agincourt and became an important part of national life. His feast day was celebrated with dramatic plays and he was invoked in the yearly Rogation ceremonies to beat the boundaries of parishes. St George was the patron saint of the Order of the Garter and particularly venerated by Henry V. The devotion to St George made fashionable by the royal court soon extended into the lower rungs of society. Statues, banners and other images of St George began to appear in great numbers in parish churches.
This ring is unusual in having a cast figure attached to the bezel rather than an image engraved upon the metal.