Posy ring

A gold posy ring of D-shaped section; the exterior plain, the interior inscribed in black letter 'tut le Wothir' [?All yours] with a Maltese cross. There are no maker's marks. French was routinely spoken and used by the upper classes in medieval and early modern England. Posies (simple rhymes) or mottoes were applied to rings from the early medieval to nineteenth centuries. They were often exchanged as love tokens but could also affirm religious devotion or social allegiance. Many of the posies, commonly inscribed inside the hoop, conveyed a wealth of meaning that required sophisticated decoding and understanding. The posie 'all yours' is unusual. This ring is listed in Dame Joan Evan's 'English Posies and Posy Rings: A Catalogue, with an Introduction', Oxford, 1931, p 14.