Rings of Romance

What could be more romantic than for someone to go down on one knee and present you with a diamond engagement ring? Or maybe your partner will slip a sapphire-studded eternity ring in among the hearts and ribbons of your next Valentine card. Why is it that the giving and receiving of a ring is so much more romantic than the swapping of, say socks or scarves?

Throughout history rings have played a prominent part in the heady drama of love. Their shape, their endless circle, has always been seen as a symbol of an eternal relationship -although originally that relationship wasn't one of love, but of possession! It all began with the caveman. Having dragged his chosen mate back to his cave, he would tie hoops of grass around the hapless woman's waist, wrists and ankles-to signify the permanence of the arrangement. In time, these circles of slavery became finger rings, first plaited from rushes but eventually being fashioned from ivory or amber. The giving of a ring at the time of a formal betrothal cropped up in Roman times - as a bride-price. At first, the ring was actually given to the bride's father! That's because where once a woman had been sold to her husband for ten cows or a field of barley, later the price was paid in gold, part of it in the form of a ring.

Rings, together with other jewellery, were used in place of money by people like the ancient Gauls and Britons, who handed over bags of jewels in return for land - or a wife. And in the days when a lord's signet ring was used to seal documents, the ring became a symbol of his authority. He could send a servant to market to buy goods on the strength of it: an early version of the credit card! So when he placed his signet ring on his bride's hand, he was telling the world that he'd bought her, too. Eventually, in the marriage business, the ring became a symbol of the contract and was given to the prospective bride — while the serious loot still went to her father. Often, though, the ring was too heavy to wear, so it would be used at the wedding ceremony but locked away afterwards. Not much romance there!