RING 



RING MONEY 



Various explanations have IKHMI given of the 

 connection of the ling with marriage. It would 

 appear that wedding-rings were worn liy the Jews 

 pnor to Christian linn-*. Fig. 1 shows a Jewish 

 marriage- ring lieautifully wrought in gold fili- 

 gree, and richly enamelled, now in the pomea- 

 siou of Lord l.undrsl...i,.uu r h. It haw been said 

 that as the delivery of the signet-ring to any 

 one was a sign of deputing or Mftring of author- 

 ity, so the delivery of a ring hy husband to wife 

 indicated her admittance to share his righU and 

 privileges. In pagan .times in Europe the ring 

 seems to have been connected with fidelity or with 

 espousals. Fig. 2 shows a form of betrothal- 

 ring called a ffimmel, or linked ring, which was 

 used in later times ; the up|>er fig. shows the three 



Fig. 2. 



part- brought together, the lower fig. the parts 

 separately. By mi ancient Nurse custom, described 

 in the yrbrygi<t Sagti, when an oath was im- 

 posed, he oy whom it was pledged passed his hand 

 through a silver ring, sacred to that ceremony ; 

 nnd in Iceland the ceremony of lietrothal used to 

 lie accompanied by the bridegroom passing his four 

 lingers anil thunili through a large ring, and in 

 this manner receiving the hand of the bride, as is 

 represented in a woodcut in an old edition of Olavs 

 Mayans. As lately as 1780 the practice existed 

 in Orkney of a man and woman plighting their 

 faith at the Standing Stones of Stcnnis by joining 

 their hands through the perforated Stone of Odin. 

 For betrothal, a* well a-s for marringe, a ring is 

 commonly liestowed ; and in many countries limh 

 spouses wear wedding rings. Although the third 

 linger of the left hand is the otlicial linger, rings 

 are worn on all fingers, and in medieval times 

 even the thumbs were frequently decorated with 

 large and massive rings. During the 16th, 17th, 

 and 18th centuries it was a 

 very common practice to have 

 mottoes inscribed on rings 

 ( lig. 3), including wedding- 

 rings, and the mm in was 

 called the posy or I - //</HVI/. 

 The ring was the syniliol of 

 the dominion of Venice over 

 the Adriatic; and yearly, on 

 Ascension Day, a ring was thrown by the Doge 

 from the ship /inrri,iiiin- into the sea, to denote 

 that as the wife is subject to her husliaml, so is 

 the Adriatic Sea to the republic of Venice. The 



iceepti f a ring forms an essential feature in the 



investiture of many Catholic dignitaries; and even 

 in tin- Anglican communion a sapphire p.mti 

 lical' ling was presented in BaptWIMr 1801 to the 

 new Archbishop of York. The 'fisherman's ring," 

 coiilaining an engraved representation of St 

 I'rier in an ancient fishing- lioat, JH the official 

 ring of investiture of the |xme. It is broken 

 and remade on the death of each pout ill, and 



Fig. 3. 



when presented to the new head of the church 

 he declares the name under which he desires to 

 rule, which name is thereafter engraved on it. 

 Cardinals on their elevation receive a sapphire 

 ring, and bishops on their consecration are also 

 invested with a special ring. The reception of 

 novices into Catholic sisterhood- is accompanied 

 with the presentation of a ring, which is worn I 

 badge of espousal to the church. In the invest i 

 tuic of sovereigns the ring also occupies an im- 

 portant place in the coronation ceremonial. In 

 addition to these, special rings were formerly \voin 

 by serjeants-at-law, who also on receiving sill; made 

 piesents to various functionaries of rings ( KHi some 



ti s. costing .")"> in all, cf. -.Yufi'.v inn/ t,inrriet, 



1884). Moreover, the knightly orders, masonic 

 liodies, and merchants employed distinctive rings 

 for enabling them to claim the privileges of their 

 orders or to facilitate their business. The carrying 

 of seals attached to the watch-chain in the tii-i 

 place, and next the introduction of gummed 

 envelopes, have had no small influence in decreas- 

 ing the official importance of rings. 



See the article GEM ; Fingtr-ring Lort, by \V. Jones 

 (1877), an elaborate compilation of the practices, sup' r 

 Btitions, and traditions connected with rings. See aluo 

 King's Antique (leint and Kitun (1872); Hittorii <ii"l 

 Poetry of Fiiiiirr-riniu, by C. Edwards (New York. 

 1880); articles by YA'aterton, Fortnum, and others in 

 Archnoloyical Journal ; and K. .Schneider, Die Oettaliinj 

 da Ringet rom Mittclaltrr bit in die Heuzcit ( Mainz, 1878 ). 



Ringan, ST. See NINIAN. 



Ringbones. This term is applied to osseous 

 or bony growths which are found upon the upper 

 and lower pastern bones of the horse. They are of 

 two kinds, true and false. The false ringlione is 

 an exostosis situated above the middle of the long 

 pastern bone, and as a rule gives no inconvenience, 

 and unless very large is not looked upon as an 

 ling/mildness. The true ringbones, which are of 

 two kinds viz. high and low are always to be 

 considered as constituting an unsoundncss of the 

 gravest character, involving the articular ends of 

 the bones, and giving rise to obstinate and often 

 incurable lamenesses. The high ringbone invohes 

 the pastern joint, and the low ringbone the colliu 

 joint, and is partly within the homy foot ; in many 

 cases both the high nnd the low ringl>oiies are 

 coexistent. Itingbones vary in size, but the di 

 of lameness does not depend u|m the mere size of 

 the new formation. Very often the 'ring ' may be 

 a mere segment appearing only upon the side of the 

 limb; in other cases it may completely envelop 

 the whole circumference. j;ingl>ones are heredi- 

 tary, and it is unwise to breed from an animal 

 having a ringlione. 



The treatment should le complete rest, fomenta- 

 tions and poultices at first, and afterwards blister- 

 ing, firing ; and in cases that do not give way to 

 these remedies the 'nerve operation' should be 

 performed. 



Ring-dove. See PIOF.OS. 



Kill". Money. In early comnierc<% liofore the 



invention of coinage, but after the inconveniences 

 of diiei i li.n ter became evident, the precious metals 

 in the form of rings and other personal ornaments 

 were used as a medium of exchange. The employ- 

 ment of gold and silver as currency in this form 

 among the early Egyptians is proved by content- 

 (Mirary wall-paintings showing the weighing of 

 gold and silver rings, one such picture occurring 

 in the decorations of a rock-grotto associated 

 with the cartouche of Amenophis II. The 

 allusion also in Genesis, xliii. 21, to the sons ot 

 .lacob finding their money ' in full weight ' in the 

 month of their sacks, may be taken as indicative 

 of such a currency at a time when coinage of 



