CHAPTER II.

RING SUPERSTITIONS.

A MYSTERIOUS significance has been associated with rings from the earliest periods, among various nations. They were supposed to protect from evil fascinations of every kind, against the 'evil eye,' the influence of demons, and dangers of every possible character; though it was not simply in the rings themselves that the supposed virtues existed, but in the materials of which they were composed, in some particular precious stone that was set in them, as charms or talismans, in some device or inscription on the stone, or some magical letters engraven on the circumference of the ring.

The ring worn by the high-priest of the Jews was of inestimable value, chiefly, according to a tradition, of its celestial virtues; and the ring of Solomon, as Hebrew legends state, possessed powers which enabled him to baffle the most subtle of his enemies. Some curious particulars respecting this ring will be found in Josephus (lib. viii. ch. 2),

1 Chaucer, in his 'Squire's Tale,' says:—

'Then speaken they of Canace's ring

And saiden all that such a wondrous thing
Of crafte of ringès heard they never none,
Save that he, Moses, and King Solomon
Hadden a name of cunning in such art.'

which, however, are considered as interpolations. According to this he witnessed the healing of demoniacs by one Eleazar, a Jew, in the presence of the Emperor Vespasian, by the application of a medicated ring to the nostrils of the patient. The Jew recited several verses connected with the name of Solomon, and the devils came forth through the noses of the patients. It was to this great prince the honour of this discovery is attributed, as well as other magical operations, and without him it would be improbable to obtain success.'1 The signet-ring of Solomon had the mystic word schemhamphorasch engraved upon it, and procured for him the wonderful shamir, which enabled him to build the temple. Every day at noon it transported him into the firmament, where he heard the secrets of the universe. This continued until he was persuaded by the devil to grant him his liberty, and to take the ring from his finger; the demon then assumed his shape as King of Israel, and reigned three years, while Solomon became a wanderer in foreign lands.

According to an Arabian tradition, King Solomon, on going to the bath, left his ring behind him, which was stolen. by a Jewess, and thrown by her into the sea. Deprived of his miraculous amulet, which prevented him from exercising the judicial wisdom for which he was celebrated, Solomon abstained for forty days from administering justice, when he at length found the ring in the stomach of a fish that was served at his table. Many curious fictions on this subject are related by Arabian writers in a book called ‘Salcuthat,'

Among the Mohammedans at present a talisman, consisting generally of a formula on a scrap of paper, or sentences from the Koran, is placed in a piece of stuff and put into a ring between the stone and the metal. Although the Mussulman doctors generally concur in considering these practices vain, and many Asiatics do not use them, yet the multitude still retain a predilection for them.

devoted to the subject of magical rings, and they trace this particular ring of Solomon in a regular succession from Jared, the father of Enoch, to the wisest of men.'1

Old legends state that Joseph and the Virgin Mary used at their espousals a ring of onyx or amethyst. The discovery is dated from the year 996, when the ring was given by a jeweller from Jerusalem to a lapidary of Clusium, who indicated its origin. The miraculous powers of the ring having been found out by accident, it was placed in a church, when its efficacy in curing disorders of every kind was remarkable -trifling, however, in comparison with its singular power of multiplying itself. Similar rings were claimed as the genuine relic by many churches in Europe at the same time, and received the same devout homage.

This superstition of the 'Virgin's Ring' still prevails in Catholic countries. Thus, the correspondent of the 'Standard' newspaper, in an article contributed to that journal on 'Art in Perugia' (Sept. 4, 1875), writes: We went into the Duomo, or cathedral of Perugia. It is not among the churches most worth visiting. Several other churches contain far more, and more interesting works of art in various kinds. The "Nuptial Ring of the Virgin Mary," which is the treasure on which the Chapter of Perugia most prides itself, is not to be seen. A sacristan whom I innocently asked to show it to me, looked at me and spoke to me as much as if I had requested him to show me round the wondrous scene described by the Seer of the Apocalypse. He told me, indeed, when his first astonishment at my ignorant audacity had somewhat calmed down, that the ring could be seen if I would "call again" on St. Joseph's day next, on which solemnity it is every year exhibited from a high bal1 Appendix.

cony in the church to the kneeling crowds of the faithful from all the country-side. Meanwhile it was locked away behind innumerable bars and doors, the many keys of which are in the keeping of I do not know how many high ecclesiastical authorities.

The ring itself, a plain gold circlet-large enough, apparently, for any man's thumb, and about six times as thick as any ordinary marriage-ring (I have seen an accurate engraving of it)—is, of course, in no wise worth seeing. But the casket in which it is kept-a very remarkable specimen of medieval goldsmiths' work-is, by all accounts, very much so. However, it is not to be seen, not even on St. Joseph's day, to any good purpose.'

I may add that the celebrated painting of the Marriage of the Virgin, by Perugino, was formerly in this chapel of the cathedral, called 'Del Santo Anelo,' or the Holy Ring, but was removed, with many other spoils, after the treaty of Tolentino, and is now in the Museum of Caen, in Normandy.

In the old Mystery of the 'Miraculous Espousal of Mary and Joseph,' Issachar, the 'Busshopp,' says:

'Mary; wole ye have this man

And hym to kepyn, as yo lyff?'

Maria.In the tenderest wyse, fadyr, as I kan,
And with all my wyttys ffyll.'

Ep'us.-Joseph; with this rynge now wedde thi wyff,
And be her hand, now, thou her take.'

Joseph.-Ser, with this rynge, I wedde her ryff,

And take her' now her' for my make.''

The planet Jupiter was considered by the Hebrews propitious for weddings, and the newly-married gave rings on those occasions, on which the words Mazal Tob were in

1 Appendix.

scribed, signifying that good fortune would happen under that star.

A remarkable gold talismanic ring, supposed, on satisfactory grounds, by Colonel Tod (author of Annals and Antiquities of Rajast'han') to be of Hindu workmanship, was found some years since on the Fort Hill, near Montrose, on the site of an engagement in the reign of the unfortunate Queen Mary. This ring had an astrological and mythological import. It represented the symbol of the sun-god Bal-nat'h, around which is wreathed a serpent guardant, with two bulls as supporters, or the powers of creative nature in unison, typified in the miniature Lingam and Noni-in short, a graven image of that primæval worship which prevailed among the nations of antiquity. This is the pillar and the calf worshipped on the fifteenth of the month' (the sacred Amavus of the Hindus) by the Israelites, when they adopted the rites of the Syro-Phoenician adorers of Bal, the sun. Colonel Tod considered that this curious relic belonged to some superstitious devotee, who wore it as a talisman on his thumb.

According to Zoroaster, Ormuzd represented the Good Principle, and Ahrimanes the Evil. The former is seen on ancient sculptures, holding, as an emblem of power, a ring in one hand.

All the Hindu Mogul divinities are represented with rings. The statues of the gods at Elephanta have, amongst other ornaments, finger-rings.

From Asia, legends connected with rings were introduced into Greece, and numberless miraculous powers were ascribed to them. The classical derivation of the ring was attributed to Prometheus, who, having incurred the displeasure of Jupiter, was compelled to wear on his finger an