medieval ring

British Museum

Museum number

2005,1106.1

• Dimensions

  • Diameter: 23 millimetres
  • Height: 10 millimetres
  • Thickness: 2 millimetres

• Inscriptions

  • • Inscription Type

      inscription

    • Inscription Position

      exterior panels

    • Inscription Language

      French

    • Inscription Content

      cest mon decir

    • Inscription Transliteration

      c'est mon desir

    • Inscription Translation

      it is my desire

  • • Inscription Type

      inscription

    • Inscription Position

      books

    • Inscription Language

      French

    • Inscription Content

      EC PO YR

    • Inscription Transliteration

      espoir

    • Inscription Translation

      hope

    • Inscription Comment

      each book with two letters

Finger-ring, gold, of hollow construction. The hoop is decorated at three points with the motif of an open book. Six, spherical pellets decorate the top and bottom of the hoop at the points where the leaves of the book are placed. Between each book a beaded panel of text is inserted. Each open book is inscribed with two letters.

This ring is part of a collection of 'Veneto-Byzantine' jewellery found in 1840 in the Castle of Chalcis on the Greek island of Euboea (known as Negroponte by the Venetians). Euboea was one of the most important Venetian colonies in the Aegean before it was captured by the Turks in 1470. This jewellery, hidden by the rich inhabitants of the island at the threat of invasion, exemplifies the unique and elegant tastes of these Venetian expatriates.
The castle at Chalcis was often compared to King Arthur's Court at Avalon. This particular ring, in the form of a knight's belt, evokes images of the splendid tournaments held in the castle, an essential display of the chivalric culture of the time.