circular face is a large letter H,
surrounded by branches.

[Illustration: Fig. 133.]

[Illustration: Fig. 134.]

The custom of placing initial letters on rings is a very old one, and
they are sometimes surmounted by crowns or coronets; hence they have
frequently been mistakenly appropriated to royalty. Fig. 133 is a ring
of this kind, with a crowned I upon it; hence it was once called "King
John's ring." It is most probably the initial of the Saviour's name as
King of the Jews, in the same way that the crowned M may indicate the
Virgin Mary as "Queen of Heaven," a favourite popish designation. Such
rings may have been worn from religious feeling, or from the
superstitious belief in the efficacy of holy names as preservatives from
evil. The baseness of the metal of which they are often made, and their
consequent small value, precludes the possibility of their having
belonged to royalty. The same remark will apply to a ring also engraved
in the Journal of the Archaeological Institute, and now in the possession
of the Rev. Walter Sneyd. It is there described as of mixed yellow metal
gilt; on either side of the hoop there is a crown (Fig. 134), of the
form commonly seen on coins of the twelfth century, and on the signet
are the words, ROGERIVS REX, chased in high relief. In the form of the
character they correspond closely with legends upon coins of Roger,
second Duke of Apulia, of that name, crowned King of Sicily A.D. 1129;
he died A.D. 1152. This ring has every appearance of genuine character,
but it is difficult to explain for what purpose it was fabricated, the
inscription not being inverted, and the letters in relief ill suited for
producing an impression. It seems very improbable that King Roger should
have worn a ring of base metal; and the conjecture may deserve
consideration, that it was a signet not intended for the purpose of
sealing, but entrusted in lieu of credentials to some envoy. The popular
literature of the Middle Ages abundantly proves this custom to have been
in general use. The tale of Ipomydon, in Weber's "Ancient Metrical
Romances," notes the gift of a ring to the hero from his mother, which
is to be used as a token of recognition to his illegitimate brother, and
which is brought secretly to his notice by being dropped into his
drinking horn. In the "Romance of Florence and Blancheflor," a ring
serves the purpose of letters of introduction when the hero is on his
travels, and ensures him hospit