Jewish Wedding Ring

c. 1300-before 1348
This ring is part of the Colmar Treasure, a group of precious objects discovered inside the walls of a house in the Jewish quarter of Colmar in Alsace. Historians surmise that Italian goldsmiths made the ring.
Musée de Cluny

Connection to Website Themes

Spousal Power Dyanmics: A representation of the temple adorns this ring. Since the bride wears this ring only on the wedding day, this object indicates the importance of that one day in setting the expectation of the new couple to form a household of their own, with the symbolic model of the Temple as a guide.

Community Social Norms: The high cost of this ring, very possibly paid for by the family of the bride or groom, indicates the value placed on the act of marriage in medieval Jewish society.

Church and State: The representation of the Temple connects the marriage to the institutions of Judaism, which operated within the larger context of a society dominated by Christian institutions. Governing entities often left the legalities of a Jewish marriage to the self-selected leaders of the Jewish community in each polity. In some cases, though, Jewish authorities could seek assistance from Christian authorities when a marriage ran into trouble.¹

What is Love: The letters on the top of the ring spell out ‘Mazel Tov.’ The message of congratulations, with the connotation of wishing the couple good fortune, indicates that a marriage went far beyond a simple economic transation and that the families hoped the bride and groom would experience positive emotions as a result of living together.