Rings

POSY RING WITH A PROMISE TO NONE OTHER

Gold flat band, plain on the interior and engraved on the exterior in French with black letters the motto: “vous et nul autre” (“you and no other”). The ring shows signs of wear through age but remains in good, wearable condition.

 

Posy rings derive their name from the term poésie, or poetry. These rings bear inscribed mottoes either in prose or verse. 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. On earlier examples, such as the present ring, the message is visibly engraved on the exterior. Rings of this type are known as “black letter rings.” In later centuries, the motto was more frequently concealed inside the hoop, so that its personal message was 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. They enjoyed enduring popularity throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, particularly as betrothal and wedding rings.

 

The same French motto, “vous et nul aultre” (“you and no other”), is inscribed on a fifteenth-century posy ring in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (M.57-1946). A related variant from the V&A, “autre ne veuil” (“desire no other”), is also recorded in Church 2011, pp. 16–17, fig. 8. A simplified form, “nul aultre,” was noted by Joan Evans in her compendium (1931, p. 11) and appears on a ring in the Museum of London (inv. no. 81.155). Various versions of this favored declaration of love—meaning, in essence, “all my love is for you alone”—occur widely on medieval rings, ring brooches, and even aglets, expressing loyalty and devotion. For comparable inscriptions see, for example, Scarisbrick 2021, p. 51, no. 5; and Malcolm Jones, “The Beautiful Game: Courtly Love Posies in Anglo-Norman Inscribed Jewellery and Seals,” Journal of the British Archaeological Association 177:1 (2024), p. 126, note 18.

 

French was the language of courtly and aristocratic life in England from the Norman Conquest through the late Middle Ages, and its use here suggests the ring’s original owner belonged to the upper echelons of society.

 

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.