Many people believe that poison rings were invented by assassins and jealous spouses. It's also wrongly believed that their only function was a rather fashionable way to slip poison into the drinks of their intended victims.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
During the Renaissance, European aristocracy gave poison rings, also known as locket or box rings, as tokens of affection to store mementos of loved ones.
Who Made The First Silver Poison Ring?
Silver poison rings along with lockets and other vessel jewellery originated in India and the Far East.
As the art of metalworking advanced such jewellery was a natural replacement for the bags and pouches worn in ancient times to secure special and valuable objects.
Examples of poison rings can be found throughout Asia, Russia, the Mediterranean and Middle East.
How Did Poison Rings Become A European Tradition?
Historians believe that poison rings found their way to Western Europe during the early Middle Ages as part of the Holy Relic trade.
These much sought after bits of bone, teeth or hair, were believed to be actual parts of Christian Saints or Martyrs and so were thought to grant the owner a special connection with God as well as protection from illness and bad luck.
Although the majority of the Holy Relics were hoarded in chapels and churches throughout Europe many lesser relics were embedded in wax and set inside locket rings, making them perfect for everyday wear.
A Way to Mourn the Dead?
During the Renaissance poison rings became popular among the European aristocracy. Like lockets they were given as love tokens and used to store images of loved ones, locks of hair and other cherished keepsakes. Until the advent of photography such images were hand painted miniatures and only affordable by the extremely wealthy.
Perhaps the most morbid use of poison rings arose during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Jewellers started making coffin shaped locket rings complete with skeletons and images of Death.
Called funeral rings, they were given to mourners as a memento of the departed.
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