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this Page to a Friend.The Post Ring dates back to the 14th century, but really came into its own, as a wedding ring, in the 17th century. The concept survived well into the Victorian era and has come into its own again today. The word posy means a copy of verses presented with a bouquet. It has come to mean the verses (little poems and love messages) without the flowers, as in the "posy of a ring," or the flowers without the verses, as in "pretty as a posy." Some resources suggested that the word posy, comes from French word for poetry.
The children's verse "Ring around the rosy /A Pocket full of posy /Ashes, ashes /We all fall down" refers to "Black Plague" epidemic in Europe. The origin of "a pocket full of posy" may refer to the collection of herbs which was thought might protect its bearer from contracting the deadly disease. The posy might also refer to a collection of magical charms or folk verses which were written on small pieces of paper and worn close to the body to ward off evil in the same manner as were the herbs. Posy in its more modern sense, as a small arranged bouquet, did not take precedence over posy as poetry, as the common connotation for the word, until the nineteenth century.
The earliest English definition for "posy" (also spelled poesy and poisie) appears in the late seventeenth century, as of a short motto, originally a line or verse of poetry, and usually in patterned language, inscribed on a knife, within a ring, as a heraldic motto. So, the word posy actually refers to a material-related form of language. A posy had literal weight and metallic tangibility which may have been thought to heighten the power of the inscribed words for the bearer. Tradition prescribed that words touching the skin have more power, especially when worn on the third finger, when the power goes straight to the heart.
The posy ring originally was a friendship ring that symbolized an emotional tie between two lovers. What "made" the ring a Posy Ring was not so much its style as its engraving. The posy was always on the flat inner side of the ring. Inscriptions during the Middle Ages, were very flowery, although some were sometimes terse and epigrammatic. Here just a few examples of more romantic inscriptions:
Some took the form of jingles, like the following:
"Desire,
Like fire,
Doth still aspire."
The resurgence of the Posy Ring in modern times, gives couples an alternative with historical and traditional value, instead of a diamond engagement ring. Like many other trends which resurface, this is another example of "everything old is new again."