{{Short description|Jewelry item}} [[File:European - Ring with Clasped Right Hands - Walters 571636.jpg|thumb|right|Renaissance-era fede ring ({{circa|1500–1650}}) at the Walters Art Museum]]
A '''fede ring''' is a ring in which two hands clasp, as in friendship, love or betrothal. The design was used in Ancient Rome and possibly earlier, becoming prominent from the 12th century onward.<ref name=Bury29>{{cite book |last=Bury |first=Shirley |date=1985 |title=Sentimental Jewellery |publisher=Her Majesty's Stationery Office |page=29 |isbn=0112904173 }}</ref> The word ''fede'' is from the Italian phrase {{lang|it|mani in fede}} ({{lit|hands [clasped] in faith}}).<ref>Rose, M. B. (1988). ''Essays on sexuality, influence, and performance''. Evanston, Ill, Northwestern University Press, and the Newberry Library Center for Renaissance Studies.</ref><ref>Ramsey, L. G. G. (1955) ''The concise encyclopedia of antiques, Volume 1'', Hawthorn Books</ref><ref>Weinstein, R. (2004). ''Marriage rituals Italian style: A historical anthropological perspective on early modern Italian Jews''. Leiden, Brill</ref>
== History == The fede ring, having originated in Rome, did not get its name until its Middle Ages reappearance where it mirrored the tradition of handfasting and signified matrimony. In other instances, the ring had been given as a symbol of unending faithfulness or platonic love. Fede rings would also be designed with two bands that the couple could wear up to the day of marriage [where they would unite the bands into one whole ring].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Siegel |first=Pamela |date=February 13, 2026 |title=Fede Ring |url=https://www.worthpoint.com/dictionary/p/jewelry/rings/fede-ring |url-status=live |access-date=February 13, 2026 |website=WorthPoint}}</ref>
==See also== *Claddagh ring *Puzzle ring *Gimmal ring
==References== {{Reflist}}
Category:Rings (jewellery) Category:Wedding objects
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