Overview

The essays in this volume focus on rings as small objects that have touched upon people, places, and events; rings have also featured in scholastic debates and form our modern museum collections. Contributors collectively argue that a closer look at these diminutive artifacts—both precious and mundane—alongside an assessment of their place within the visual, archaeological, and written record, and in museum contexts tells us more nuanced stories about how and why these small and sensory items were crafted and created connections between people and institutions. Their focus on the social aspects of medieval finger rings unites the contributions of nine scholars with backgrounds in art history, history, archaeology, museum studies, and collecting. Together their essays cover material roughly ranging from 1100 to 1500 in Iberia, France, England, Germany, Rus, and Byzantium.

Full Product Details

Author:   Jitske Jasperse (Ramón y Cajal Researcher, The Spanish National Research Council, Madrid)
Publisher:   Arc Humanities Press
Imprint:   Arc Humanities Press
Edition:   New edition
ISBN:  

9781802700947

ISBN 10:   1802700943
Pages:   270
Publication Date:   30 June 2025
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

List of Illustrations Preface Introduction. ""Some Reflections on the Social Lives of Rings,"" by Jitske Jasperse Chapter 1. ""Haptic Histories: The Social Life of Rings in French Late Medieval Inventories and Testaments,"" by Mariah Proctor-Tiffany Chapter 2. ""Archaeological Evidence of Later Medieval and Early Modern Finger-Rings in Britain: Rings, Experiences, and Emotions,"" by Eleanor R. Standley Chapter 3. ""Changing Hands: On the Uses, Meaning, and Circulation of Rings Amongst the Iberian Nobility from the Eleventh to the Thirteenth Century,"" by Inés Calderón Medina Chapter 4. ""A Sign of Women’s Power: Signet Rings in Medieval Rus,"" by Christian Raffensperger Chapter 5. ""The Social Use of Rings Among the Muslims of al-Andalus,"" by Ana Labarta Chapter 6. ""As a Seal or a Sign: Bishops’ Rings and their Metaphors,"" by Juliette Calvarin Chapter 7. ""Authenticating the Rings of the 'Nine Holy Bishops': Santo Estevo de Ribas de Sil, from Modern to Medieval Contexts,"" by Therese Martin Chapter 8. “'Certainly a Very Fine Object': Mildred and Robert Woods Bliss, Collectors of Jewellery and Wealth in the Twentieth Century,"" by Elizabeth McCord Epilogue. ""Inside the Vitrine: Rings in Museums Today,"" by Sandra Hindman

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Author Information

Jitske Jasperse is Ramón y Cajal Researcher at the Spanish National Research Council, Madrid. She has written two books, including Medieval Women, Material Culture, and Power (2020) and edited a special issue of Das Mittelalter. Her articles have appeared widely.

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