FINGER RING

One of the most splendid medieval finds to come up through the process of the Treasure Act is undoubtedly a gold and diamond ring found in Manley, Cheshire in 2002. Another ring found with coins at Thame in Oxfordshire in 1940 is similar enough in its detail to suggest a date in the late fourteenth or early fifteenth century. The design of the Manley ring is complex with decorative elements which undoubtedly had greater significance for the original owner than is apparent to us today. It is inscribed on the top "sans fin" and on the bottom "loiauté" meaning 'unceasing loyalty'. At the back of the hoop is a central, openwork band with three letters 'E' juxtaposed with three stars. The inscription is sufficiently chivalric in sentiment to have been passed between men and the allure of this very high-status jewel has led to some tentative historic associations.

The repetition of three letters 'E' with three stars convinced the finder that the ring was associated with Edward III. He felt that the black diamond signified the Black Prince and that the ring passed between father and son. However there is no supporting evidence for a royal association either through heraldry (which is absent from the design), a known use of the motto 'sans fin loiauté' by Edward III or any documented allusion to Edward signifying his royal status by the use of stars. A more recent speculative line of argument associates the ring with Edward III and his Flemish supporter Jacob van Artevelde on the assumption that the two open work letters on the shoulders of the ring, 'V' and 'A', stand for 'van' and 'Artevelde', but there is no substantive reason why this should be the case. A more convincing use of initial letters is their well documented place in courtship.

The crowned heart placed beneath the diamond amplifies the notion that this might be a romantic love ring. A ring at the British Museum almost identical in construction with open-work shoulders containing individual letters spelling 'AMOURS' suggests that the Manley ring belongs to a wider repertoire of love jewellery produced by the same goldsmith.