The Ancient Symbol of Love

The wedding ring is one of the most famous, recognizable symbols of the union of two hearts in love. It?s origin has roots in many ancient cultures but is widely believed to have begun along the fertile flood plains of the river Nile, where the first wedding ring is believed to have been fashioned. Sedges, rushes and reeds, growing alongside the well-known papyrus were twisted and braided into rings for fingers and larger bracelets for wrists.

The circle was the symbol of eternity for the Egyptians as well as many other ancient cultures. It had no beginning and no end, like time and the shape was worshipped in the form of the Sun and the Moon. The hole in the center of the ring is not just space either; it is important in its own right as the symbol of the gateway, or door; leading to things and events both known and unknown.

It is not difficult therefore, to see how the ring and the gift of a ring began to be associated with love, in the hope that this most worthy of emotions could take on the characteristics of the circle and capture eternity. Just like today, it was worn on the third finger of the left hand, because of a belief that the vein of that finger travelled directly from the heart.

These early rings only lasted about a year before wear and tear took their inevitable toll. Hemp was probably the first choice of material, but some decided that they wanted a longer lasting material, and opted for leather, bone or ivory to craft their token of love. Then in later years, the arts of metallurgy became known and gradually replaced previous materials. At first, metal rings were often quite clumsily and uneven so for wedding gifts they had precious and semi-precious stones set into them because during this time Jewellery was usually more for show than sentiment. Eventually it was early Rome it was that adopted iron as the metal of choice rather than copper or brass as mostly elsewhere. This symbolized the strength of love a man felt for his chosen woman, though rust was a problem.

By now the act of giving and accepting a ring was now also considered to be legally binding and therefore enforceable. This tied the woman as the property of the man to some views but in truth also protected her rights as bride-to-be, and was summoned upon to prevent her from having her primary position usurped by rivals.

After the introduction of coins as currency, gold was rapidly promoted to first choice and later in medieval Europe gemstones were again a common addition. With rubies chosen for their red-like-a-heart colour, sapphires blue-like-the-sky, or most valued and sought after of all: the diamond.

In renaissance Italy silver made a comeback, and was now selected for the new idea of the highly ornate engagement, or betrothal ring with a golden duplicate of the original replacing it on the wedding day.

Of course, it was thought in Irish folklore to be bad luck or even illegal to be married with a ring made of anything but gold. Other world superstitions include the absolutely imperative point of making sure the ring is a perfect fit otherwise the marriage was considered doomed. A too-tight ring might point to painful jealousy or the stifling of one party by the other. Too loose, and a parting of the ways through careless acts or forgetfulness is indicated as a future danger to watch for.

Early Protestant puritans claimed that wedding rings were pagan and not to be used by the Godly at all but today almost most Christians accept the wedding ring as the ultimate symbol of and eternal union of love.

(Information Source: www.thehistoryof.net)

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