Claddagh Ring
Encyclopedia
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
ring given as a token of friendship, love and/or as a wedding ring
Wedding ring
A wedding ring or wedding band is a metal ring indicating the wearer is married. Depending on the local culture, it is worn on the base of the right or the left ring finger. The custom of wearing such a ring has spread widely beyond its origin in Europe...
. The design and customs associated with it originated in the Irish fishing village of Claddagh
Claddagh
Claddagh is an area close to the centre of Galway city, where the Corrib River meets Galway Bay. It was formerly a fishing village, just outside the old city walls. It is just across the river from the Spanish Arch, which was the location of regular fish markets where the locals supplied the city...
, located just outside the city of Galway
Galway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...
. The ring was first produced in the 17th century during the reign of William and Mary
William and Mary
The phrase William and Mary usually refers to the coregency over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, of King William III & II and Queen Mary II...
, though elements of the design date to the late Roman period.
Symbolism
The Claddagh's distinctive design features two hands clasping a heartHeart (symbol)
The heart has long been used as a symbol to refer to the spiritual, emotional, moral, and in the past, also intellectual core of a human being...
, and usually surmounted by a crown
Crown (headgear)
A crown is the traditional symbolic form of headgear worn by a monarch or by a deity, for whom the crown traditionally represents power, legitimacy, immortality, righteousness, victory, triumph, resurrection, honour and glory of life after death. In art, the crown may be shown being offered to...
. The elements of this symbol are often said to correspond to the qualities of love
Love
Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
(the heart), friendship
Friendship
Friendship is a form of interpersonal relationship generally considered to be closer than association, although there is a range of degrees of intimacy in both friendships and associations. Friendship and association are often thought of as spanning across the same continuum...
(the hands), and loyalty
Loyalty
Loyalty is faithfulness or a devotion to a person, country, group, or cause There are many aspects to...
(the crown). A "Fenian
Fenian
The Fenians , both the Fenian Brotherhood and Irish Republican Brotherhood , were fraternal organisations dedicated to the establishment of an independent Irish Republic in the 19th and early 20th century. The name "Fenians" was first applied by John O'Mahony to the members of the Irish republican...
" Claddagh ring, without a crown, was later designed in Dublin. Claddagh rings, with or without the crown (most commonly with a crown), have come to denote pride in Irish heritage, while continuing to be symbols of love and marriage.
Claddagh rings may be used as friendship or relationship rings depending on the intention of wearer and, in the case of a gift, of the giver. There are three traditionally accepted ways of wearing the ring which may signal someone's relationship status:
- When worn on the right ring finger with the heart pointing to the fingertip, the wearer is free of any attachment.
- On the same finger but the other way round, with the heart pointing away from the fingertip, it suggests someone is romantically involved.
- When the ring is on the left hand wedding ring finger, it means the person is married or engaged.
There are other traditions involving the hand and the finger upon which the Claddagh is worn but these are difficult to reference. Folklore about the ring is relatively recent with no "slow growth from antiquity" and "very little native Irish writing about the ring" according to Sean McMahon.
Origins
The Claddagh ring belongs to a group of European finger rings called "fede rings". The name "fede" comes from the Italian phrase ("hands [joined] in faith" or "hands [joined] in loyalty"). These rings date from Roman times, when the gesture of clasped hands was a symbol of pledging vows, and they were used as love and marriage rings in medieval and Renaissance Europe.Fede rings are cast in the form of two clasped hands, symbolizing faith, trust, or “plighted troth".
Engagement
An engagement or betrothal is a promise to marry, and also the period of time between proposal and marriage which may be lengthy or trivial. During this period, a couple is said to be betrothed, affianced, engaged to be married, or simply engaged...
Nowadays, the Claddagh ring is seen as a distinctively Irish variation on the fede ring, while the hands, heart, and crown motif was used in England in the early 18th century. It is generally accepted that the ring is directly descended from the fede ring.
Galway
Galway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...
has produced Claddagh rings continuously since at least 1700, but the name "Claddagh ring" was not used before the 1840s.
An early written description of this kind of ring was published in 1843, along with an illustration. Ireland, its Scenery, Character etc. by Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Carter Hall
Samuel Carter Hall
Samuel Carter Hall was an Irish-born Victorian journalist who is best known for his editorship of The Art Journal and for his much-satirised personality.-Early years:Hall was born at the Geneva Barracks in Waterford...
has a section about the Claddagh fishing community and their wedding rings. In a footnote, the Halls mention a "strong analogy" with older gimmal ring
Gimmal ring
A gimmal ring, or gimmel ring, is a ring with two or three hoops or links that fit together to form one complete ring. The name gimmal comes from Latin gemellus, twin, via Old French....
s, despite the "rudeness of their [the Galway rings'] construction".
There are very similar descriptions in later 19th century books and journals. The Victorian antiquarian
Antiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient objects of art or science, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts...
Sir William Jones gives Chambers' Book of Days as the source for Claddagh information in his book Finger-Ring Lore. Chambers uses the Halls' account "almost verbatim".
Jones explains:
In 1996, the Halls' information was examined by Ida Delamer, an expert on antique Irish silver. She is skeptical about the Halls' account, and implies it has been romanticised. Reasons for her doubts include:
- The authors were misled by folklorist Thomas Crofton CrokerThomas Crofton CrokerThomas Crofton Croker was an Irish antiquary, born at Cork. For some years, he held a position in the Admiralty, where his distant relative, John Wilson Croker, was his superior....
. - "...with a few exceptions, all extant... Claddagh rings made prior to 1840 are [men's] rings"
Delamer refers to a 1906 account by William Dillon, Dillon, from a family of Galway jewellers in business since c. 1750, says that the "Claddagh" ring was worn in the Aran Isles, Connemara
Connemara
Connemara is a district in the west of Ireland consisting of a broad peninsula between Killary Harbour and Kilkieran Bay in the west of County Galway.-Overview:...
, and beyond.
The Claddagh ring was a more or less marginal custom in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Knowledge of it spread within the British Isles during the Victorian period, and this is when its name became established. Galway jewellers began to market it beyond the local area in the 19th century, and presented a ring to Queen Victoria in 1849. Dublin goldsmith
Goldsmith
A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Since ancient times the techniques of a goldsmith have evolved very little in order to produce items of jewelry of quality standards. In modern times actual goldsmiths are rare...
s started to make it too, and more "widespread recognition" came in the 20th century.
American mineralogist and ring buff George Frederick Kunz
George Frederick Kunz
George Frederick Kunz was an American mineralogist and mineral collector.- Overview :Kunz was born in New York City, USA, and began an interest in minerals at a very young age. By his teens, he had amassed a collection of over four thousand items, which he sold for four hundred dollars to the...
does not mention the Claddagh ring in his book, but he shows a photo captioned with its correct name; Kunz merely addresses the importance of gold wedding rings in Ireland. It is unclear exactly how and when the ring's popularity spread to the US. Interestingly enough, McCarthy neither mentions the ring nor illustrates an example of it, even though he cites/credits Jones and Kunz among others.
Legends
There are many legends about the origins of the ring, particularly those connected with the Joyce Family of Galway. Richard Joyce was a silversmithSilversmith
A silversmith is a craftsperson who makes objects from silver or gold. The terms 'silversmith' and 'goldsmith' are not synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product varies greatly as does the scale of objects created.Silversmithing is the...
working around 1700. His initials are on one of the earliest surviving Claddagh rings with a maker's mark, but there are three others also made around that time, with the mark of goldsmith Thomas Meade. Suggestions that Joyce originated the design are "extremely unlikely" according to Delamer. Some elements found in the legends appeared in a footnote about Joyce family traditions in James Hardiman
James Hardiman
James Hardiman , also known as Séamus Ó hArgadáin, was a librarian at Queen's College, Galway. The university library now bears his name...
's History of Galway (1820).
Modern usage
Claddagh rings are worn by many, though slightly more commonly by those of Irish heritage. It is worn in the main as a cultural symbol, and per tradition as an engagement/wedding ring. Claddagh rings have been used often as plot devices in movies and television.External links
- 18th century Claddagh ring - Victoria and Albert museumVictoria and Albert MuseumThe Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
- The story behind the Claddagh ring - RTÉRaidió Teilifís ÉireannRaidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...
news feature (click on "Watch the Show" under the image on the right)