POSY RING BINDING LOVE AND FAITH

Wide gold band with D-section, plain on the exterior and engraved on the interior in Italic script with the English motto: “Godlye⸳ love⸳ will⸳ not⸳ remove :⸳” Preceding the motto is an as-yet unidentified maker’s mark in oval punch with a capital letter ‘R’. The ring shows signs of wear through age and remains in good, wearable condition.

Literature:

Posy rings derive their name from the term poésie, or poetry. These rings bear inscribed mottoes either in prose or verse. They enjoyed enduring popularity throughout the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Earlier examples feature inscriptions in gothic letters visibly engraved on the exterior of the band, while later examples like the present ring conceal their mottoes inside the hoop with their personal messages known only to the giver and recipient. Posy rings are mentioned in the plays of William Shakespeare (1564–1616), including Hamlet and The Merchant of Venice. From the fifteenth century onward, such rings were known to be exchanged between lovers, friends and family members expressing affection, friendship, faith, or even New Year wishes. They enjoyed great popularity in England, especially as betrothal or wedding rings.

Faith, belief, and love were inextricably linked in the commitment to marriage, and this ring was likely given as a token of betrothal or on the occasion of a wedding. In post-Reformation England, couples often chose posy rings as wedding bands, particularly those bearing religious inscriptions that affirmed their faith while invoking God’s blessing and protection in the hope of a happy and enduring union (see Scarisbrick 2021, p. 164). Joan Evans records in her compendium on posies and posy rings (1931, p. 43) the same motto found on this ring, along with related variants such as “Godly love cannot remove.”

Adaptations of the motto “Godlye love will not remove” appear on posy rings in various important collections, including those in London and Oxford. Examples are held in the British Museum (Dalton 1912, nos. 1171–1172), the Museum of London (62.4/48), and the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (AN1933.1585, given by Joan Evans in 1933), as well as in the Griffin Collection (see Scarisbrick 2021, pp. 166–168, cat. nos. 93–95). In these contexts, it is noted that the phrase “godly love” appears in the marriage service as authorized by the Book of Common Prayer.

For a history of posy rings with extensive examples ranging from the medieval to the eighteenth century, see Scarisbrick 2021; for further studies on posies, see A Garland of Love: A Collection of Posy-Ring Mottoes, London, 1907; Dalton 1912, pp. 174 ff.; Evans 1931; Oman 1974, pp. 39 ff.; Taylor and Scarisbrick 1978; Scarisbrick 2007, pp. 74 ff. See also for an analysis of posies found on rings, ring brooches, and seals: Malcolm Jones, “The Beautiful Game: Courtly Love Posies in Anglo Norman Inscribed Jewellery and Seals,” in Journal of the British Archaeological Association, 2024, 177:1, pp. 101-130. 

R-1101