Wakefield Museums and Castles

This is a posy ring. It was found alongside gold and silver coins in the Ackworth Hoard.

Posy rings were popular in Britain and France from the 1400s to the 1600s. They are rings, often made of gold, with an inscription on them. The inscriptions could be in English, French or Latin.

Earlier inscriptions on rings were usually religious. On posy rings they became romantic. They often featured quotes from courtship stories or poems.

The inscription was private as it was on the inside of the ring. It could not be seen while the ring was being worn. Posy rings were often gifts given to lovers.

The inscription on this ring reads, ‘When this you see remember me’.  This could have been used by friends or lovers who were parted.

It was a common phrase. It was also used on other objects that could be given as gifts such as samplers and pottery. The phrase was still used into the 1800s.

The ring itself is tiny, so it was almost certainly given to a woman. Perhaps she was the person who owned and buried the Ackworth Hoard?