Some male friends are puzzled. Why do you have to give a ring or a diamond to get married? I remember that many years ago, the advertisement of a diamond ring was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people – the diamond will last forever and one will last forever. Most girls believe that the diamond is the best representative to witness the unbreakable love between two people.
The relationship between marriage and ring has a long history. Engagement or wedding rings appeared almost in ancient Roman times, and related records have been recorded in the literature. Ironically, according to scholars’ research, this custom directly originated from the “business marriage” habit of buying a wife with money. When the engagement was established, the ring was given to the fiancee’s father as a proof that the money had been paid in full. At the same time, there are similar provisions in the Roman Law. However, to be precise, the habit of giving rings in ancient Rome was manifested at the time of engagement rather than marriage, and the habit of exchanging rings with each other was not yet formed at that time.
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Around the 3rd century BC, the seal ring used when signing the “contract” began to be regarded as an engagement ring. The ring has become the proof of the special “contract” of marriage. Once the bride accepts the ring, she has the obligation to keep her virginity to her future husband; If she does anything unfaithful during the period when the marriage agreement has taken effect, she will be investigated for legal responsibility. This is because people at that time had a high degree of “virginity” complex.
Domenico Killanda asked the bridegroom to wear a ring for the bride
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According to the records of Pliny the Elder in the History of Nature, the engagement ring was once made of iron. Later, there was the habit of giving the engagement ring made of gold to the fiancee. In the ancient Roman era, there was a custom for the betrothed to carve their initials on the ring as a gift to their fiancee. At that time, however, there was no custom of exchanging rings.
According to the research of Tacitus (about 55-120), in the Germanic society, once the marriage agreement is established, the groom will send the woman cattle, horses, weapons, or money; Rings, swords, handbags and belts are also evidence of “buying brides”, like the “selling marriage” in ancient Rome. Therefore, the gift of rings can be considered as a habit formed under the influence of ancient Rome.
In addition, according to the legend that Romulus, the founder of the Roman city, plundered many Sabine girls as Roman wives a long time ago, the phenomenon of “predatory marriage” already existed in the Germanic society, and the ring once again existed as a contract.
Around the 13th century, European knight culture was in vogue. At that time, the lyrical idea of knights offering noble love to women spread around the court, so the ring was widely valued. This chivalry spirit created the court culture, and under its influence, the “love vow ring” became a fashionable thing. At that time, knights would use the ring as a symbol of love as a prize for winning the competition. At that time, the ring played a key role as a symbol of love.
After the Middle Ages, Christianity institutionalized the church wedding, strictly managed and controlled the sexual life of the married couple, and even carried out the confirmation ceremony of cohabitation under the supervision of clergy. The custom of exchanging rings appeared in the Christian controlled wedding ceremony, but the original inventor of this custom is not well defined.
The earliest record of exchanging wedding rings appeared in 1027. Muir’s book “The Origin of the Roman Wedding Ring” mentioned that “there, the groom gave the gold ring to the bride, and the bride exchanged the iron ring”. According to the German knight legend, in the middle of the 11th century, the husband handed the ring on the sword tip to the bride and asked her to remain chaste. Some scholars have many doubts about the authenticity of this Germanic style of wedding etiquette, but in the 12th century, because there were also cases where the sword and the ring were sworn across the chest, the statement that the ring and the sword symbolized chastity and purity is obviously not absurd.
In Germany’s oldest legal document, the Saxony Code (1224 – 1225), there is an illustration describing the exchange of wedding rings. It can also be seen that from then on, the ring has become a symbol of the legal marriage between the two people.
The above picture is an engraving related to marriage printed in Nuremberg in 1470. The central part of the picture depicts a man’s gesture of giving a ring to his wedding partner. The left side of the picture is all kinds of furniture and appliances prepared by the man for marriage, and the right side is the woman’s. It can be seen that the men mainly prepare weapons, horses, harness and farm implements; The woman prepares mainly furniture, winding sticks, eggs, cheese, etc. These items are described in the Saxony Code. According to the laws and pictures at that time, the custom of giving wedding rings has been formed.
Since Christians believe that the wedding ceremony held in the church is more important than the engagement, the rule that no wedding ring can be held without a wedding ring gradually formed in the church. According to the British historical records, the woman who got the engagement ring put it on her right hand, took it off and put it on her left hand at the wedding ceremony, and the ring became a wedding ring.
When did the ring become a diamond?
The records of diamonds in ancient times are full of mystery, legend and romance. Because diamonds are rare and rare, people in ancient times thought that they were the fragments left by the falling stars, and others thought that they were the crystallization of the tears of the gods on the ground. The word “diamond” in English, “Diamante” in French, “Diamant” in German and “Almaz” in Russian are all derived from the ancient Greek word “adamas”, which means unconquerable.
In 13th century Europe, only royal nobles could wear diamonds, which was their privilege. Until Alice Suhui, the mistress of King Charles VII of France, was the first to break this tradition. She received a diamond from the king and brought it to the people. It is said that Europeans were inspired by jewels on their crowns and also set jewels on their wedding rings.
In the 15th century, the diamond wedding ring became the symbol of the eternal marriage vows. Flowers and butterflies represent the beautiful melody of life, showing the bright, light and harmonious meaning. European men and women think that butterfly is the symbol of “god”, so in Europe, such jewelry often has the shape of snake and butterfly combined. The 15th century is the milestone of diamond and love, because an event happened during this period, which made diamond ring become the necessary for marriage proposal.
The emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Maximilian I of Austria, was engaged to Mary, the only daughter of Charles, the Archduke of Burgundy, in 1477. It is said that the Archduke of Charles liked diamonds very much. Someone told Maximilian I that he required his daughter to wear a diamond ring on the day of engagement, and this diamond ring was the first engagement diamond ring in history.
Princess Mary’s diamond ring, with a diamond inlaid with an “M”, was exhibited in Vienna
The diamond rings of the 15th century are all inlaid with natural crystals of diamonds, that is, rough diamonds that have not been precisely cut. Therefore, they are not as shiny as today’s polished diamonds. It was not until the 16th century that the polishing and cutting of diamonds were gradually and widely used, and a novel double ring wedding ring was created. In 1525, Martin Luther and Gardrin Bona wore this ring when they married. The diamond’s profound meaning and exquisite appearance make it an indispensable keepsake in the royal engagement and wedding ceremony.
Duke Albert V of Bavaria in southern Germany owned a rose-shaped wedding ring inlaid with 16 fine diamonds, which is a proud achievement of 16th century jewelry technology.
In the 17th century, the style of the ring changed a lot, such as the shape of a burning heart, the arrow of Cupid, and the shape of a heart diamond in a small hand carved from gold.
Under the influence of France and Britain, diamonds in the Russian czar’s palace have also become symbols of power and wealth. It is said that when Peter the Great crowned the queen in 1724, the crown of the queen was inlaid with 2500 diamonds. The diamonds in the Russian treasure house are world-famous. The diamond crown and small crown of the Russian czar and queen have become world-class treasures.
From 1558 to 1603, Henry VIII of the United Kingdom was a diamond collector. The ring inlaid with diamond octahedral crystal stone was very popular. The top of the diamond octahedral crystal was very sharp and hard. It was also fashionable to carve love letters on the glass window with diamonds. Such diamond rings were once known as lettering rings. It is said that Elizabeth I also confided in Sir Walter with diamond rings on the glass.
In the 19th century, diamond mines were discovered in Africa. Diamonds that originally symbolized identity were loved by more and more young lovers. The famous Tiffany inlay method used six small white gold claws to clasp the diamonds, which greatly increased the glitter of the diamond facet. In the 20th century, people finally calculated the standard angle of diamond. Cut and polish a typical round drill into 58 facets, creating the best reflection effect ever.
In English-speaking countries, the habit of wearing a wedding ring on the ring finger of the left hand can be traced back to ancient Egypt, because they believe that the nerve of the ring finger goes directly to the heart, and love comes from the heart; But in Germany, France and other countries, rings are worn on the ring finger of their right hand, because they are sworn with their right hand.
It is also said that Christian believers believe that this is due to the Christian wedding ceremony. The priest who presided over the wedding held a ring and touched the bride’s left hand in order, saying “in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit”, and finally fell on the fourth finger of the left hand, thus forming this tradition.
In any case, the diamond ring is just a cold object. It can symbolize love, but it can never replace love.
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Post time: Feb-16-2023