The Ravalli Republican., 1898-03-09
HISTORY OF THE EARRING.
Flow Various Nations Havs Regarded the
Ear Pendants,

How Various Nations Havs Regarded the
Ear Pendants.
The custom of studding the person
with gems IS of extreme antiquity.
and tho fashion OF piercing the ear
lobes for the purpose Of sustaining
gems set in gold has been followed
by most races from tho earliest
times to the present day. Homer
describes how Juno placed pendants
in the lobes of her ears. Eardrops
were presented by Eurydamas to
Penelope, and among the AthenlanS
it was mark Of nobility to have
the ears bored,
Among the Phnnicians, however,
the wearing Of earrings was the
badge of servitude, and the same
custom obtained with the Hebrews.
The rabbis assert that Eve ears
were bored when she was exlled
from Eden RS /, sign of slavery and
submission to the will OF her lord
and master. The Egyptian women
wore single hoops Of gold in their
ears, and in Biblical times the Gus
tom appears to have been universal.
They appear to have been regarded
as the most cherished possessions Of
their wearers and were only parted
with under Sleat stress of necessl-
ty. Thus, the golden calf is sup
posed to havo been made entirely
from the gold earrings Of the peo-
nle,. Among the Arabs the express
sion ito have ring in one S ears
is synonymous with TO be Il slave, y
and to the present day an Arab who
has been conquered by another
places a ring through his ear as a
sign of obedience and servitude.
So general was the use Of earrings
in Rome and SO heavy were they
that there We're women whose pro
fession was that of ''ear healer, y
who tended the ears of those ladies
who had torn or injured the lobes
with the weight Of their pendants
These specialists were known as au-
rieuloe ornatirei. At one period the
Roman men took - !VcaruS ear
rings, but the CUSTOM was forbidden
by Alexander Severus, while IL
Greece the children wore an earring
in the right ear only.
to
the fashion of wearing earrings ap
pears to have been general in Eng
land from the conquest.
The early Saxons appear to have
worn rings Of plain gold in thei
ears, while in the fourteenth centu
ry these appear to have been deco
rated with small pearls. In the reig
Of Eliza beth earrings were adopte
by men of fashion, and the custo1
spread until in James Is time Il
the courtiers had their cars pierced
The earrings worn by men took til
form of either plain wire rings {
crosses OF triaugles of gold, studde
with gems. s.-
There is a very ancient MOTTO
which is still held by country foil
that tho pie1 cling Of the ears is goo
for the sight The origin Of this b
lief is lost, but it has obtained Fl
centuries. It is scarcely necessa1
to state thai thobelief is quite wit
out Foundations
In the middle ages it vas the Gu
tom for lovers to present earrin
to their mistresses, and persons WI
were about to be married used
stick flower through the ring
over the ear, much as a clerk wou
apen, as sign of their being {
gagged
A. curious variety of earring mu
worn during the reigns of; Efizabe
and James | was the ear stri1
This has been alluded to by ma
writer's. Thus in: the Westmins
drolleries we find:
Yet for thy sake l. will not bore my care
To hang thy dustie slkcn shoe ties there
t1Itl otV1I, IL Lily oelA1 '1o, p
lishel in 159S has
What maan st thou, DIM that walks all O
breasted,
Drawn through the ear with ribands?
AS to whether the wearing
wires through the ears is likely
conae into general fashion again
this country we do not offer q
opinion. There must, we sho
imagine, always be prejud
against the modification of the fit
necessary, and the custom of Ii
ing children ears pierced
ceased to be general for many yei
but the dictates of f;lshion are ticl
and it is just possible that we II
see leaders OF fashion wearing b
ear md nose rings before the cl
Of the century Who knowsE--
change.
He Had His ''Ijosc."
Eo1,,,11ory- tbn Erro7