The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-04-17
FINGER RINGS OF .ANC1ENTS. y
/.
tNew York America,

tNcw York American.l
lhere is nothing with which strange
customs and superstitions. and .rrc
ana leg'fidary associations. have been
mere closely associated than she ring
which ornaments the hand. y seems
IMPOSSIBLE to ascertain When ,;nrs
hrst began to be worn. but ,hcre IS
mention of them in the oldest manus-
cripts that nave been found. and
some have also been dug up. evidently
belonging TO an age Of which We know
but little.
In ancient times some rings were
supposed TO be wonderworkers. hay-
ing the power TO work great miracles,
ana having slaves who would do the
oiddlng OF any n who possessed sucl,
rings. The jewelers. of ancient Athens
went further than this. however. and
made rings to order. which they
promised to endow with whatever
mar the buyer demanded, They
must have profted largely nv the
credulity OF their customers.
Even in the early centuries Of the
christian era. rings were sunposed to
have the power for good or evil. Each
setting. too. had it's peculiar merits,
and there are people today in whom
this superstition fingers.
The customs OF various countries in
relation to rings are interesting. Peo-
PIE seemed to have been all agreed
that the ring was an emblem Of DOW.
er or authority. AT the period when
the art of writing was known to bur
very Few. 1t vas the custom for men
to wear rings on which some distin.
gushing sign or badge was engraved,
so that the owner could use il as a
seal. and thus give proof OF authenti-
city of letters and other documents,
We read in the bible of Pharaoh taxi
ing off the ring from his own hand
and placing it upon Joseph's hand
When the latter was made prime min
lister TO Egypt. A ring was given 10
Hannah by King A~shasuerus. as a sign
Of his authority for extcrminatinE the
Jews: and when, on the plea of Nor
decai. the royal decree was revoked.
Hannah was compelled to give the ring
10 Mordecai. who sealed with it the
royal letters which announced the
good news TO his people.
The ring of the Fisherman is worn
by the pope. and all briefs which he
issues are attested by its signet. On
the death of a pope his ring is broken
and a new one made for his successor,
The Episcopal ring ie hat which is
conferred upon a newly made bishop,
In the days when Venice was in the
zenith of its power the doge used 10
~ I III asN Siistoh way anu InIOW
a gold ring into the Adriatic. saving:
We espouse thee. O, sea. as a tok.
en- of u perpetual domination over
thee"
Finger rings were not used in an.
cient Babylonia and Assyria. The sig
net took the form OF a cylinder, cut
from crystal or hard stone and per-
forated from end to end. The rings
which have been found in ancient
Egyptian tombs are OF gold. silver.
glass. brass and glazed pottery. The
Etruscans used very largely n gold
jeweled ring. mounted with a scarab.
Greek signet rings were usually set
with engraved gems. while in the old
Roman republic only iron rings were
worn. But customs changed in the
days Of the empire. Large owners Of
property and soldiers had the right to
wear gold rings: silver rings were
worn by freedmen. and iron rings by
slaves.
In the catocombs a number Of ivory
kcy-mounted rings were found. The
master Of the house, used 10 unlock
the treasury casket with. one of these
keys and il was 4 sign OF hts absolute
" --.H 80