17th Century Posy Ring "Love & Live Happy"
About a hoop of gold, a paltry ring
That she did give me whose posy was
For all the world like cutler's poetry
Upon a knife: 'Love me an leave me not'
- Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice (V, I)
A divine 17th century posy ring inscribed inside with the motto: "Love & live happy". The italicised script helps date it from around 1650 to 1700: "[Charles] Oman (1974: 40-1) states that Roman capitals were used for inscriptions from the mid-16th century, and were replaced by Italics by the second quarter of the 17th century."* A ring with the same inscription dated to 1689 is mentioned in Joan Evans's English Posies and Posy Rings (1931), and there are two others in the British Museum collections (Af. 1331 & 1330).
Posy rings, or "love rings", are perhaps the most personal rings of all, being often associated with love and marriage. They contain a secret message from giver to receiver, hidden within, designed to be worn against the skin making the message even more poignant. Most popular throughout the 16th to late 18th centuries, they were exchanged as love tokens, betrothal or wedding rings, and are the inspiration for modern wedding bands. The term posy is late Middle English, with roots in old French and ultimately ancient Greek. It means, simply, poem or poetic verse. As noted above, with Nerissa's angry lament in The Merchant of Venice (Gratiano had, after all, parted with the ring she gave him after swearing he would keep it until his death), Shakespeare was familiar with the use of posy rings. He also mentions them in Hamlet when the king, addressed by the Prologue before a play enacted at court, asks: "Is this the prologue or the posy of a ring?"
Whilst most posy rings promise constancy or invoke God, this one is more of a wish - a blessing - for the couple's happiness so long as they stay true to love.
Recorded under the Portable Antiquities Scheme, report available on request. Found by a UK metal detectorist in 2021.
*Source: British Museum
Era: Stuart, circa 1650-1700
Ring size: O or 7.25 US. Not resizable.
Width of band: 3mm
Weight: 2.4 grams
Marks: Slightly rubbed maker's mark, appears to be GP in a shield. Tests as 21/22ct gold.
Condition: Great antique condition; light wear/patina consistent with age.
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[Last updated: September 2026]
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