In an earlier post, I took you on an exploration of the romantic history of the engagement ring. With such an intriguing past and blended foundation, I knew there had to be an equally interesting story attached to the history of the wedding ring. After doing some research, I discovered that this history is both rich and vast.
The concept of the wedding ring is said to have originated along the fertile flood plains of the Nile River in North Africa. Plants that grew alongside the riverbanks provided the material for the first wedding rings. The circle shape was viewed by ancient cultures as a symbol of eternity as it had no beginning and no end.
It is such associations that led to the use of the ring to symbolize love and marriage as the individuals involved hoped their love would match the characteristics of the circle, capturing eternity and never ending. The promise of love and commitment should have no end and in many cultures, the circle ring was the symbol of this promise.
Interestingly, this is not the only history associated with the wedding ring. I discovered another theory that suggests the ring’s shape has more to do with religion than a symbol. Some historians argue that the wedding ring actually represents two halves of a united whole. When the circle is complete, the primitive man has completed his religion. This belief is not widespread and appears to have only been dominant for a short time, but is part of the history none-the-less.
The wearing of the wedding ring on the fourth finger was not put in place at the very beginning of the wedding ring’s use. Earlier cultures used rings around the extremities to exercise superstitious beliefs about keeping the spirit in place. This attempt at protecting or prolonging the life of a new bride did not have quite the romantic appeal that wedding bands today hold for the betrothed.
Egyptians and Romans later introduced the use of the fourth finger as they believed a vein ran from the fourth finger to the heart. As a result, this finger was the only logical location for a ring that would symbolize something so precious as marriage. By the time science disproved this theory, the fourth finger was already a well-worn tradition.
Interestingly, there are elements that exist within the traditional wedding vows that relate to ancient practices that have less to do with love and more to do with laws and rituals. Is it said that ancient Romans did not use the fourth finger to demonstrate love, but rather possession. The ring symbolized ownership and the woman rarely had a say in the decision to become owned by the man. Once captured and ringed, the woman was married to the man, forced to always obey.
A tradition in the Far and Middle East that was put in place to ensure a woman was faithful was the use of puzzle rings. These collapsible rings would fall apart if the woman removed the ring. The “puzzle” could be put back together, but only by those who knew the correct arrangement of the pieces of the puzzle and the husband rarely divulged such information to the wife.
Puritans often believed that jewellery was frivolous and therefore wedding rings were an extravagance that was not necessary. Instead, young couples exchanged “wedding thimbles”. As the Puritans often viewed thimbles as a practical gift, such an exchange was considered to be acceptable. For some young brides, however, a ring was still desired and once the wedding was complete, she would cut off the bottom of the thimble to create a ring.
As time passed and more modern times emerged, the modern ring began to take shape. Always a circle, the wedding ring has been made of leather, aluminum, stone and metal. Interestingly, even as the human approach to love and marriage was evolving, wedding rings were largely something worn only by a woman until World War II.
It was during the war that men in the military were in fashion if they wore their wedding bands to remember wives waiting for them back home. This practice increased during the Korean War and is still growing today as more men throughout the world readily demonstrate their commitment to another.
Today, we see wedding bands made up of mainly gold or platinum, although some wish to express their individuality with a tattoo or the use of titanium. Whatever your interest, you cannot dispute the wide-reaching and interesting history associated with the wedding ring.
