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2:35 pm
December 17, 2009
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Hope I have posted this in the right place.
I have read quite a few Tudor books recently and I always like to first go to the central section where the pictures are. I have noticed that on many Tudor portraits of women they are adorned with jewels and wear a lot of rings except on their middle fingers. Does anyone know if there was a particular reason for this and if it is significant in any way? Seems strange that they wear them on other fingers but not that one. Maybe it was fashionable?
SarahD
11:59 am
February 24, 2010
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Hi SarahD. Welcome to the site.
I was unable to find anything which said they couldn't wear rings on the middle finger. I found a statement that they were allowed to wear 3 rings on a hand. (It was a statement with no explanation.) Whether this was some kind of rule, I'm not sure. I also found that the Pope stated that Bishops should wear their official ring on their middle finger. In Tudor times it was thought the third finger had a vein that went to the heart. Thus this finger became the wedding ring finger. Another place I found, said that painters wanted it that way for aesthetic reasons. Then there was a blurb that said the middle finger represented the Holy Ghost and therefore was to be ringless. That is about all I could find except for palmistry. Each finger is named for the gods and an explanation was given for what jewel should be worn on what finger. Then there was this:
Wearing a ring consistently on the middle finger is usually a sign of mental instability. Sorry people, it's in the psychology books….
In some cases they proclaim a person's sexual preference. Not a sign of mental instability in that case. These are usually worn on the left hand.
Pinky rings are a sign of wanting to be superior. Also in the psychology books…
Obviously left third finger means attachment.
Third finger on the right hand is usually a significant ring from a grandmother, mother, or really close close friend.
Sometimes it is an old engagement ring that a Woman finds too pretty to leave in a drawer.
Thumb rings are free spirits. Independence is the idea behind those.
All from psychology books people, so don't yell at me too much!
12:41 am
December 17, 2009
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Thanks for that Sharon. Really interesting!
SarahD
8:24 pm
January 9, 2010
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I've always wondered about ring fingers too! I love the full length portrait of Catherine Parr and all her fingers are positively dripping with jewels except the middle fingers, which I always found really curious. I read somewhere (can't remember where though) that neither men or women wore rings on the middle finger as that finger was considered dirty and that's why er, flipping someone that finger today is considered such an insult!
