# Posie ring

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Gold finger ring with a short inscription

Part of the Ashmolean collection

**Posie rings** (sometimes spelled **posy**, **posey** or **poesy rings**) are gold [finger rings](/source/Finger_ring) with a short inscription on their surface. They were popular during the 15th through the 17th centuries in both England and France as lovers' gifts. The language used in many early posy rings was Norman French, with French, Latin and English used in later times. The quotations were often from contemporary courtship stories or [chapbooks](/source/Chapbook) and usually inscribed on the inner surface of the ring.[1] The rings were also given to show regard or as a gift.[2]

The [Ashmolean Museum](/source/Ashmolean_Museum) in [Oxford](/source/Oxford), [England](/source/England), has a vast collection. The [Victoria and Albert Museum](/source/Victoria_and_Albert_Museum) in London also has a decently sized collection bequeathed by [Joan Evans](/source/Joan_Evans_(art_historian)). She compiled a list of more than 3000 posies for her book *English Posies and Posy Rings*.

A gold posie ring found in Yorkshire

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-bm_1-0)** ["British Museum: Gold 'posy' ring"](https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/pe_mla/g/gold_posy_ring.aspx). British Museum. Retrieved 23 January 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Posy Ring Inscriptions – Wartski"](https://wartski.com/posy-ring-messages/).

## Further reading

- Evans, Joan (1931). [*English posies and posy rings: a catalogue with an introduction by Joan Evans*](https://books.google.com/books?id=MTiBAAAAMAAJ). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. p. 114.. Reprinted by [Wartski](/source/Wartski), London, 2012.

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Posie rings](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Posie_rings).

- [Posie rings in the Ashmolean](https://www.flickr.com/photos/stuartyeates/54893120)

- [Posie ring messages, Wartski, London](https://web.archive.org/web/20080611125813/http://www.wartski.com/Posy%20ring%20messages.htm)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Posie ring](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posie_ring) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posie_ring?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.