sabato 3 dicembre 2016

Gimmel Rings and the secret messages they hid - History of engagement and wedding rings.


A curious artist wrought 'em,
With joynts so close as not to be perceiv'd;
Yet are they both each other's counterpart.

John Dryden (1631- 1700), from Don Sebastian (1690)





La storia degli anelli come simbolo di amore ci porta lontano, anzi, lontanissimo nel tempo ...
Pensate che i primi a scambiarsi i così detti "anelli d'amore" furono gli antichi Egizi per i quali il cerchio, una linea senza fine, aveva un significato particolare in quanto rappresentava la vita eterna e l'amore ed alla sua apertura circolare veniva attribuito il valore di una sorta di porta aperta verso mondi sconosciuti;


Stampa dal dipinto originale ad acquerello dal titolo "In a Hole in the Ground", Lord of the Rings



ad essi veniva quindi attribuita una notevole rilevanza anche se erano spesso fatti con materiali semplici quali canne di bambù - ed in tal caso non potevano che essere a 'schiavetta' - o legno.


 Anello tardo egizio in legno intagliato.



Presso la cultura classica gli anelli furono utilizzati come sigilli e si narra che fu proprio un sigillo ad ispirare i primi anelli di fidanzamento conosciuti nell'antica Roma. Perciò, se alla cultura egizia si deve l'aver legato l'anello all'amore, a quella romana dobbiamo l'averlo trasformato in simbolo del matrimonio. Più comunemente, l'anello nuziale acquistò la definizione di "Fede" e raffigurava due mani che si stringono in segno di Amore o di accordo / dextrarum iunctio, fatto in oro o scolpito nelle pietre dure, quali il granato o l'onice.

Nell'esempio illustrato nella fotografia sottostante potete ammirare una fede fatta in oro massiccio proprio nel modello che vi ho testé descritto:


Fede del XVI° secolo



Gli anelli così detti a Fede, anche se forgiati in differenti stili, rimasero in voga in Europa per più di mille anni, per poi decadere e tornare prepotentemente attuali nel periodo basso medioevale, per l'esattezza con l'anno 1100 ca, per divenire sempre più elaborati nel tempo e raggiungere l'apice del loro splendore, dal punto di vista manifatturiero, nel XVI secolo in Germania, in Gran Bretagna ed in Irlanda ... sì, fu l'epoca rinascimentale a vedere i più preziosi anelli d'amore che mai furono creati prima di allora ! 

In Germania gli abili maestri orafi del 1500 crearono il GIMMEL o GIMMAL RING, dal latino 'GEMELLUS' che significa gemello e che già ci rende edotti sulla sua struttura: in questo caso due erano gli anelli che, uniti, formavano un unicum, due anelli complementari tra loro erano il dono che gli innamorati si scambiavano in occasione del fidanzamento promettendosi amore eterno ed il giorno del matrimonio, quando la promessa veniva benedetta ed il vincolo che li legava diveniva Sacro ed Indissolubile, gli anelli si univano ed il nuovo anello, composto delle due metà, veniva di solito portato dalla sposa.



Gimmel Ring, British Museum




Ma vi è qualcosa che ancora non vi ho detto che rende questi anelli particolarmente preziosi: osservate con attenzione l'immagine che segue che rappresenta un GIMMEL RING tedesco datato 1631 e conservato al Metropolitan Museum di New York:


una delle due parti in cui l'anello è suddiviso è ornata da un rubino, l'altra da un diamante. Quando l'anello combinato è diviso nelle sue due metà, si ottiene un anello con diamante con inciso "QUOD DEUS CONIUNXIT" e un anello con rubino con incise le parole "HOMO NON SEPARET.", ossia :"Ciò che Dio ha unito nessun uomo mai separi".

In epoca elisabettiana gli anelli gemelli in Inghilterra vennero nominati JOINT RING e di essi è fatta menzione in numerose opere letterarie di Shakespeare, incluso l'Othello, ed anche il poema di Robert Herrick - lirico inglese del XVII secolo appartenente alla scuola dei Poeti Cavalieri - dal titolo The Jimmall Ring or True-Love Knot (1648) basa la propria trama su di un Gimmal / Gimmel Ring.

Della stessa epoca è la creazione irlandese detta CLADDAGH RING, in cui le parti di cui si compone l'anello sono tre, due esterne che recano come fregio una mano, quella centrale un cuore 



spesso con una corona sopra: unito l'anello le due mani sembrano custodire il cuore dal male in nome dell'Amore.



Sempre al XVII secolo appartengono i POSY RINGS - posy o posie costituisce il verso di una poesia - che furono di gran moda già un paio di secoli prima soprattutto nelle isole britanniche: si tratta di anelli a Fede che recavano una scritta dapprincipio all'esterno, poi, divenendo le citazioni sempre più personali e private, fu richiesta ai maestri orafi l'abilità di incidere la scritta all'interno dell'anello e fu così che con la fusione di due monete d'oro si ottenevano due anelli d'amore in cui i meno abbienti si accontentavano di far scrivere semplicemente frasi quali "Amami e non lasciarmi mai più" o "Due corpi, un solo cuore." - "Love me and leave me not" o "Two bodies, one heart."

   
  POSY RING “PROVIDENCE DIVINE HATH MADE THEE MINE”, XVII° secolo, inglese,             Met Museum of Art



Tornando ai GIMMEL RINGS, prima che venisse introdotta la Marriage Act del 1753 in Inghilterra ed in Galles, il matrimonio non richiedeva una cerimonia formale per essere valido, era sufficiente il mutuo consenso ed erano necessari taluni segni e simboli che tale consenso dovevano dimostrare. Ebbene, con i suoi doppi componenti, ognuno appartenente ad un membro della coppia, il GIMMEL RING era il modo perfetto per comunicare ed esprimere che entrambe le parti condividevano legalmente una vita insieme.

In epoche più recenti tali anelli si sono evoluti per divenire o un anello unico recante come decoro la medesima simbologia di cui si faceva portatore quello composto, come ci mostra l'esempio di questa fotografia in cui possiamo vedere un anello di fidanzamento di epoca Regency, 


o, rimanendo composti ed uniti da un perno, anelli più stilizzati, a semplice 'schiavetta', come erano anticamente i più semplici anelli egizi risalenti a ben 5000 anni or sono !


  GIMMEL RING di epoca vittoriana (1897)




GIMMEL RING di epoca edoardiana (1917)





E, rimanendo sempre nell'epoca edoardiana, mi piace citare una delle più belle frasi di Hugo von Hofmannsthal (1874 - 1929), scrittore, drammaturgo e librettista austriaco, per chiudere romanticamente questo mio scritto dedicato, in ultima istanza, al nobile sentimento dell'Amore che non conosce limiti alla propria forza:


Una piuma può tornire una pietra se la muove la mano dell’amore.


ed ancor prima, in piena epoca vittoriana, scriveva Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), considerato fondatore del Romanticismo francese:


Ho incontrato per strada un uomo molto povero ed innamorato,
 portava un vecchio cappello ed un cappotto strappato. L’acqua gli entrava nelle scarpe e le stelle nell’animo.


Augurando a ciascuno di voi di aver sempre a propria guida questo sentimento, maestro e padre di tutti gli altri che al bene afferiscono, vi giunga gradito il mio più sentito ringraziamento,

a presto  💕












A curious artist wrought 'em,
With joynts so close as not to be perceiv'd;
Yet are they both each other's counterpart.

John Dryden (1631- 1700), from Don Sebastian (1690)






- picture 1 - Gold engagement ring, or fede ring, made in southern Germany in the last quarter of the XVIth century


- picture 2


The story of rings as a symbol of love takes us back in time quite a lot ...
Think that the first to exchange the so-called "love rings" were the ancient Egyptians for whom the circle, as an endless line, had a special significance as it represented eternal life and love and at its circular opening was attributed the value of something as an open door to unknown worlds;



- picture 3 - Print from the original watercolor "In A Hole in the Ground," Lord of the Rings



It was then attributed to them a considerable importance even though they were often made with simple materials such as bamboo canes - and in this case they were but 'slave rings' - or wood.



- picture 4 - Late Egyptian ring made by carved wood.



In the classical culture rings were used as seals and it is said that it was just a seal that inspired the first engagement ring known in the ancient Rome. Therefore, if the Egyptian culture had the merit of having tied love to a ring, Romans had that of having turned it into the symbol of marriage. Most commonly, the wedding ring earned the definition of "Fede" (Faith) and depicted two clasped hands as a sign of love or agreement / dextrarum iunctio, made of in gold or carved in semiprecious stones such as garnet or onyx.

In the example shown in the photo below you can see a Fede made of solid gold in the model that I have just described to you:



- picture 5 - Fede ring of the XVIth century



The so-called Fede rings, even if forged in different styles were in vogue in Europe for over a thousand years and then fell into disuse to come back strongly prevailing during the low-medieval period, to be exact with the year 1100, to become more and more elaborate over time and reach the pinnacle of their glory, from a manufacturing point of view, in the XVIth century in Germany, Great Britain and Ireland ... yes, it was the Renaissance period which saw the most precious love rings that were never created before !

In Germany, skilled goldsmiths created, in 1500, the GIMMEL or GIMMAL RING, from the Latin 'Gemellus' which means twin, word which makes us aware about its structure: in this case, the rings were two, joined, to form a unique ring, two complementary rings, one for each member of the couple was the gift that lovers exchanged on the occasion of their engagement promising each other eternal love and on the wedding day, when the promise was blessed and the bond linking them became Sacred and Indissoluble, the rings were united and the new ring, compound of the two halves, was usually put on the bride's finger



- picture 6 - Gimmel Ring, British Museum



But there is something that I still haven't told you that makes these rings so very precious: look carefully the following picture which represents a German GIMMEL RING dated 1631 kept at the Metropolitan Museum in New York:



- picture 7



one of the two parts into which the ring is divided is adorned with a ruby, the other with a diamond. When the ring is divided into its halves, you get a diamond ring engraved with the words "QUOD DEUS CONIUNXIT" and a ruby ring engraved with the words "NO HOMO SEPARET.", Namely: "What God has joined no man never separate."

During the Elizabethan times the twin rings in England were named JOINT RING and they're mentioned in many literary works of Shakespeare, including Othello, and even the poem by Robert Herrick - English lyric poet belonging to the school of the Knights Poets - entitled the Ring Jimmall or True-Love Knot (1648) bases its plot on a Gimmal / Gimmel Ring.

From the same period is the Irish creation known as CLADDAGH RING, in which the parts that make up the ring are three, three interlocking hoops, the two external bearing a hand as a frieze, that in the middle a heart



- picture 8



often with a crown above: when worn, the two clasped hands seem to guard the heart from the evil in the name of Love.



- picture 9



Also to the XVIIth century belong the POSY RINGS - posy or posie is the line from a poem - which were all the rage already a few centuries before, especially in the British Isles: they were Fede rings that bore an inscription on the outside at first, then, becoming the quotations increasingly personal and private, it was required to master goldsmiths the ability to engrave the inscription inside the ring, and so it was that merging two gold coins they were obtained two love rings where the poor were content to simply write sentences such as "Love me and leave me not" or "Two bodies, one heart."



- picture 10 - POSY RING "DIVINE PROVIDENCE HATH MADE THEE MINE", XVIIth c., English, Met Museum of Art



Returning to GIMMEL RINGS, before it was introduced the Marriage Act of 1753 in England and Wales, marriage didn't require a formal ceremony to be valid, it was enough a mutual consent and were required certain signs and symbols that such consent had to demonstrate. Well, with its twin components, each belonging to a member of the couple, the GIMMEL RING was the perfect way to communicate and express that both parties legally shared a life together.

In recenter times these rings have evolved to become or a single ring bearing the same decoration and therefore the same symbolic meaning of the older ones which were composed, as we may see from the example of this photograph where there is a Regency era engagement ring,



- picture 11



or, remained composed and united by a pin: they were more stylized rings, simple 'slave rings' as the simplest Egyptians rings dating back to almost 5000 years ago!



- picture 12 - GIMMEL RING belonging to the Victorian age (1897)

- picture 13 - GIMMEL RING dating back to the Edwardian era (1917)



And, always remaining in the Edwardian era, I like to quote one of the most beautiful phrases of Hugo von Hofmannsthal (1874 - 1929), Austrian writer, playwrighter and librettist, to close romantically this writing of mine, ultimately dedicated to the noble sentiment of Love that knows no limits to its Power:



A feather can throw a stone if to move it it is the hand of love.


and even before, in full Victorian era, Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), considered the founder of the French Romanticism, wrote:



I met on the street a man, very poor and in love. 
He wore an old hat and a torn coat. 
The water entered into his shoes and the stars into his soul.


Wishing each of you to have always this feeling as your own guide, for it is teacher and father of all others sentiments belonging to good, may you receive welcome my most heartfelt thanks,


see you soon 💕











56 commenti:

  1. How beautiful and so interesting. I had no idea that engagement rings dated back to the Egyptian era xx

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Cheryl
      thanks most sincerely for gracing my blog today both with your presence and with your so nice words, your interest blesses my heart !

      Hope your week is off to a good start,
      I'm sending my dearest love to you ಌ•❤•ಌ

      Elimina
  2. Dearest Dany, how utterly fascinating to learn the history of wedding and engagement rings! The rings in your pictures are so precious and beautiful!
    They are very like the Claddagh ring we have in Ireland!
    Thank you so much and wishing you a blessed December!

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Christine
      darling friend, your amusement is such a precious gift to me !

      Wishing you too a month of December as Beautiful as you,
      I'm sending blessing of joy on the new week just begun,
      with much, so much gratitude ♡ஐ♡

      Elimina
  3. Ma che bello, anzi... Bellissimo post Daniela.
    Un abbraccio e buona domenica
    Susanna

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Susanna
      carissima, felice, anzi felicissima di averti intrattenuta con diletto e gioia ti auguro una piacevole serata ed una settimana prodiga di serenità,
      con tutto il cuore ❥

      Elimina
  4. Ero assolutamente all'oscuro della storia degli anelli nuziali. Ancora una volta mi hai illuminata coinvolgendomi nel tuo bellissimo post
    Bacioni Alessandra

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Alessandra
      non immagini quale gioia mi donino le tue parole, dolcissima, romantica amica mia, grazie di cuore !

      E che questa settimana appena cominciata porti con sé tanta letizia per te e per i tuoi cari ♥∗✿*✿∗♥

      Elimina
  5. Dany,
    This was so very interesting! I guess I did not realize how far back in time the tradition went. The rings pictured are interesting too, the clasped hands with the stones is quite beautiful! Thank you to another wonderful lesson set to beautiful music. I always make sure my speakers are on when I visit!!!! :)
    sending love,
    Linda

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Linda
      dearest, lovely friend,
      to read you're always so interested, amused and pleased by everything here, well, means so so much to me, you bring me such a gladness enlightening this evening of mine, believe me !

      With the deepest gratitude ever
      I'm sending my dearest and warmest hugs,
      thinking of you with much love ஐ*ღ❀ღ*ஐ

      Elimina
  6. My dear and sweet friend, how I enjoyed this post! Such fascintaing history you have shared, dear Dany :)

    I hope you are well, lovely lady. Thinking of you and wishing you a blessed Sunday! Love and hugs!

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Stephanie
      my dearest, thank you for blessing my day with your visit, to welcome you always delights my heart !

      Wishing you a most wonderful Tuesday ever,
      I'm sending my dearest love to you,
      may the remainder of your week be as Lovely as you, sweetie ♡❤♡

      Elimina
  7. Simply lovely Dany... Have a peaceful day...

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Ros
      I wholeheartedly thank you, dear friend of mine, you put a smile on my face !

      May the remainder of your week be filled with many little things which to be glad for, sending you much, sincere love ⊰✽*♥*✽⊱

      Elimina
  8. Wonderful post, Dany. Thanks for sharing the very interesting history of engagement rings.
    I also always enjoy the music that accompanies your writings so very much. Oh, dear Mozart... touches my heart.
    Thanks again.
    Sending love and blessings,

    Jeanneke.

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Jeanneke
      it is I who have to thank you, wonderful friend, with your so beautiful words you truly make my day !

      Sending blessings of joy on the remainder of your week,
      with utmost gratitude •♥•♡•♥•

      Elimina
  9. Great post - your posts are always beautiful as well as informative.

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Carol
      I'm so grateful to you for your so beautiful words, darling friend !

      Hope you're having the best of weeks,
      I'm sending blessings on your coming days ༺♡❀♡༻

      Elimina
  10. Cara Daniela che bello conoscere la storia degli anelli!Che bello l'anello delle mani che si incrociano.Spesso agli sposi si fa una foto con le mani che si incrociano mettendo in mostra la fede nuziale.!Cara amica ti auguro un Dicembre di magia!Baci,Rosetta

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Rosetta
      che anche il tuo Dicembre sia magico di Gioia e di Pace, con tutta la serenità che meriti, dolce, carissima amica, grazie per le splendide parole con cui esprimi il tuo entusiasmo per questo mio post, significano davvero molto per me !

      Ti invio un forte abbraccio con cui ancora ti ringrazio e ti auguro una bellissima giornata ❥

      Elimina
  11. Such a fascinating post, Dany. I love the ring with the hands on top of each other surrounded by the pretty gems. Love the quote! Wishing you the most wonderful week, lovely lady!

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Kim
      your so beautiful words are too much to me, I'm feeling speechless and confused, my dearest, sweet friend ... on the other hand I'm so overjoyed by your amusement, that's sure !

      Wishing you too a most wonderful new week ever,
      I'm thinking of you with love and gratitude
      sending hugs across the many miles *♥*ஐ*♥*

      Elimina
  12. Dear sweet Dany, what a beautiful post. I think it's important to understand these traditions, and know that they did not start as a contest to see who could flaunt the largest gem on their finger! Some of those rings are just beautiful, and not because of their embellishments, but because of what they meant to their recipients. Wishing you a beautiful week ahead lovely lady. Mimi xxx

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Mimi
      that's where my love for History born, I love to deepen ancient traditions and costumes to understand the meaning of what we do and have today, I'm so grateful to you for understanding it, dearie ... especially a ring, as you so rightly say, is much more important for what it means than for how it looks ... it may be richly embellished and for this quite notable, but showing just the wealth of who wears it ... it may have no gems but a traditional, ancient meaning, that makes of this the most precious of them, for sure .. we don't stop our glance at the appearances, but we search the true meaning of things, that's much more important, isn't it ?

      Thanking you so, so much for the Beautiful person you are - and the more I know you, the more I do appreciate your Beauty - I'm sending blessings of joy on the remainder of your week, may it be filled with the joy you deserve, at least a little part of what you presented me as a gift today ಌ•❤•ಌ

      Elimina
  13. You always come up with the most interesting subjects for your posts, Dany. This was especially lovely and I enjoyed it.
    Amalia
    xo

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Amalia
      how glad I am for your amusement, dearest, special friend of mine, I heartily thank you !

      Hope you're enjoying a beautiful week,
      I'm sending hugs and ever much love on your days to come ✿⊱╮

      Elimina
  14. Oh Dany how did I not know about the glorious gimmel ring?!? They are completely enchanting. Thank you for sharing this. Blessings of the season to you and yours.

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Decor to Adore
      I thank you with such a gladness in my heart, with your so beautiful words you've filled it to overflowing, my lovely lady !

      Wishing all my best for the Holiday Season to you and your dears too, may it be filled with the deepest Joy and Peace ever, I'm thanking you again for gracing my blog today ❥

      Elimina
  15. Dear Dany, again you have added to my education with your beautiful blog. I have never heard of Gimmel rings! I am going to come back to this post on my next break and read it again so that the new knowledge will "stick" in my brain!

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Jean
      Dear Precious friend, your words of admiration leave me speechless ... I don't deserve such praises ... but I have to admit that I'm so overjoyed by reading your enthusiasm and amusement, for sure, and I'm so grateful to you, you know, your words mean so, so much to me !

      Hope you had a beautiful week,
      I'm sending blessings of joy on your coming days,
      may your weekend be as Beautiful as you, dearie ⊰♥⊱✥⊰♥⊱

      Elimina
  16. wow they have rings going back quite far and interesting the items they used to make them. The ones that intertwine together are so pretty and unique, I have never seen anything like them before. It is weird to think of people not having a wedding ceremony to unite them together since it is such a big thing now. Thanks for sharing another interesting post, and hope your week is off to a most wonderful start!!

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Conniecrafter
      I'm always so delighted by welcoming you here, darling friend !
      I also love the rings with the clapsing hands, their meaning is definitely much more deep then that of the Fede rings we use to wear today, once German and English speaking people were much more aware of the symbols of everything they did and had compared to us today, that's one of the reasons I love studying about the past, and the more I learn, the more I love to deepen and understand.

      Thanks most sincerely for your faithfulness, you're so important to me - both as a friend and as a blog-reader - and so very dear, you've such a sweet, delicate heart !

      ღ Sending hugs and ever much love to you ღ

      Elimina
  17. Such beautiful images and fascinating story.

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Petra
      you're so heartily welcome, thank you !

      Sending blessings on the end of your week,
      dear friend of mine,
      CHEERS ♡ஐ♡

      Elimina
  18. Dear Daniela,

    So lovely to read your interesting post on the engagement and wedding rings. Thanks for sharing this and always love to come and visit you and learn something new.
    Hope you are having a lovely week
    hugs
    Carolyn

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Carolyn
      adorable friend, I'm so grateful to you, your so nice words make my day !

      I'm thinking of you and sending wishes for a peaceful and beauty-filled weekend, I heartily thank you ❀≼♥≽❀

      Elimina
  19. Absolutely beautiful. I love all the ones with the hands clapsed together. Thanks so much for sharing! HOPE you have a wonderful day!

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Debbie
      IT IS A WONDERFUL DAY whenever you come and meet me here, darling friend !

      So very enthusiastic and glad for your words expressing sincere amusement and appreciation, I'm sending blessings on your day, today, and on your Sunday ahead, in spite of the many miles separating us, sweetie ♡❤♡

      Elimina
  20. Arrivo da te e resto incantata...imparo sempre e con immenso piacere!!! Grazie per i tuoi mirabili post un abbraccio colmo di affetto Lory

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Lory
      dolcissima amica dal cuore d'oro, sono sempre talmente lieta di accoglierti qui, porti il sole della gioia con te !

      Contraccambio di tutto cuore il tuo meraviglioso abbraccio, e che ti scaldi in questo weekend d'avvento che ti vedrà per certo impegnata con i tuoi fantastici mercatini ♥∗✿✽✿∗♥

      Elimina
  21. What a perfectly beautiful post! Just love the rings with adjoining hands! What a fascinating history and what wonderful research you did!- - This would make a wonderful book! You just don't see jewelry like this today - sigh :)
    All the best
    Christina

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Christina
      my lovely friend, you've put in such high spirits, your words of praise left me agape with wonder, gladness ... gratitude !

      Wishing you all my very best for weekend coming,
      thinking of you with so much love, precious friend of mine ~ ಌ❀ಌ

      Elimina
  22. Grazie cara amica...è una storia bellissima che avvolge l'anima in un vortice di emozioni.
    Lo scambio degli anelli nuziali è uno dei momenti più belli e significativi del matrimonio,corona di dolcezza e poesia l'unione di due cuori.....
    Con immenso affetto e simpatia ti auguro una buona festa dell'Immacolata.
    Un abbraccio da Luci@

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Luci@
      leggere le tue parole è sempre talmente commovente, carissima, i tuoi commenti toccano il cuore ... grazie per essere così speciale !

      Nella speranza che anche tu abbia trascorso una serena giornata di festa ti auguro altrettanta letizia per questo fine settimana, con tutto l'affetto e l'ammirazione che ho per te •♥•♥•

      Elimina
  23. Daniela, questo tuo post è un inno al sentimento; non conoscevo la storia delle fedi nuziali o di promessa/fidanzamento, oggi, per lo piu', abbiamo perso anche questi preziosi simboli. Un vero peccato.
    Hai la capacita' preziosa di spiegare con garbo e competenza e mi fai tornare a tempi lontani, persi nel tempo.
    Buona Immacolata, a presto.
    Anna Maria

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Anna Maria
      grazie di cuore per il complimento che mi rivolgi ... non so se merito tante lodi !

      Quanto al significato e alla simbologia racchiusa negli anelli protagonisti di questo mio post, devo ammettere, anche se con un filo di malinconia, che sono molti i significati che ci siamo lasciati alle spalle ... hai ragione, è un vero peccato, perché un semplice gesto diventa unico e speciale se lo si carica di sentimento e di amore.

      Ringraziandoti ancora per le splendide parole, ti auguro una dolcissima serata ed una domenica prodiga di gioia ❥

      Elimina
  24. Lovely Dany, your posts are always SO interesting, and you are most diligent about providing such incredible history lessons, along with the pictures! I did not know the Egyptians were the first to use rings as a symbol of marriage! I suppose I must have a Gimmel ring as my wedding ring fits together in two pieces, so that is quite an interesting piece of history to know! Thank you again for all the work you do on the history of customs that we now know little about! Always such a delight to visit with you my friend, wishing you a blessed and wonderful week!

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ SpicingUpIdaho
      it is I who thank you, darling, wonderful Marilyn, you mean so much to me and your words always fill my heart with joy and bless it to overflowing, I wholeheartedly thank you !

      So you have a Gimmel ring as a Fede .. well, to know its History is probably quite interesting to you for real !

      Sending all my love to you across the Ocean, sweet lady, may it reach you with all the sincerity and fondness I'm feeling when I'm writing my comment and thinking of you ༺♡❀♡༻

      Elimina
  25. One of my favorite bloggers. You share so much in detail for us. Wonderful piece of history. We are celebrating Christmas here and wish you the best whatever you are enjoying.

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ LV
      my Dearest, YOU are one of my favorite bloggers, you always put me in such high spirits when I come and visit you, you're such an adorable, cheerful girl !

      Wishing you too all my best for your Christmas Day, may this wonderful time of the year bring you Joy, Love, Hope and Blessings ☆ஐ☆

      Elimina
  26. I always wondered who the first to exchange rings were -- and now I know -- the Egyptians. Another fascinating post! I always learn such a lot in my visits -- thank you!

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Jeanie
      it is I who have to thank you, Sweetie, and I'm doing it wholeheartedly for everything you always bring here, you're like a ray of sun !

      Hope you're having a beautiful week so far,
      I'm sending blessings of joy on your coming days and on your Christmas, of course,
      may it be as special as you, Dearie ⊰✽*♥*✽⊱

      Elimina
  27. Happy Pink Saturday, Daniela. Thank you for always making Pink Saturday special.♣

    I love this feature about engagement rings. Romantic and beautiful. And, the music is so pretty.

    This post is being featured on my Pink Saturday post this week as "the one that caught my eye". Thank you for sharing.

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Beverly
      wonderful friend of mine, these words of yours left me speechless ... I felt so surprised, touched and overjoyed when I read it, my heart was filled with joy to overflowing, thank you !

      With utmost gratitude I'm sending blessings on your Christmas,
      may it be the Merriest and the Brightest ever ಌ•❤•ಌ

      Elimina
  28. You make history Fun! Thank you for all of your research!

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. Kathy
      I heartily thank you and welcome you with a smile and a big hug!
      Wishing you a most lovely day and week ⊰♥Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ♥⊱

      Elimina

I THANK YOU WHOLEHEARTEDLY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS AND WORDS, SO PRECIOUS TO ME.