There have been several articles online about the discovery of this very elegant ring, and attempts to work out or create its ‘backstory’. That may be a bit fanciful or a case of wishful thinking, but it can be seen as an attempt to fill in a narrative the human mind is inevitably, maybe irresistably, drawn.
The ring is made of two entwined gold bands with a pointed diamond and on the inside the medieval French inscription “ieo vos tien foi tenes le moy”, which can be translated “as I hold your faith, hold mine”
The ring was discovered near Thorncombe which since 1844 has been part of Dorset but before that, and when the ring was lost, was a detached part of Devon.
The Mail Online account of the ring, its discovery and the attempt to reconstruct its history is about as good an account as I have seen online and is well illustrated. It can be seen at Metal detectorist mistook £38,000 medieval ring for sweet wrapper
Amongst the other reports about the ring are articles on the BBC News website at Detectorist's medieval ring sells for £38k and from the Bournemouth Daily Echo Gold ring found in Dorset by metal detectorist sells for £38k
The ring is of very fine quality, a delicate and balanced creation, and would still be very fashionable today. It is yet again a reminder of the skills in design and craftsmanship of past centuries.
It is also noteworthy as being a chance find for which it is possible to assign a probable owner in the fourteenth century, and indeed a married couple who survive in records. Sir Thomas Brook as an MP on as many as thirteen occasions will grace the pages of the relevant volumes of the History of Parliament Trust. Assuming that it is from their marriage and given that he married the wealthy widow Joan in 1388 we also have a specific date for when it was made.
I hope this fine piece goes to a public collection where others can see and appreciate it as a link to the stylish and very human world of the knightly landed classes of the reign of King Richard II.
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