tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16981893.post2959243167063654631..comments2024-03-28T15:16:29.965-05:00Comments on Tudor Q and A: Question from TudorRose - Rings on the middle fingerLarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16630629272030282584noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16981893.post-28914635506076900462012-06-29T15:06:31.710-05:002012-06-29T15:06:31.710-05:00I found a comment in the book Elizabethan Silent L...I found a comment in the book <i>Elizabethan Silent Language</i>, by Mary E. Hazard:<br /><br />"Sixteenth-century custom assigned ring position according to the status of the wearer: the thumb for doctors, index finger for merchants, middle finger for fools, annular finger for students, and auricular finger for lovers; the fourth finger also had a special association for betrothal and marriage ..."<br /><br />Clearly some of the royal people in the portaits were not following this specialization of fingers-and-rings with strict attention. But the striking absence of the middle finger might indicate that they (or the artist) were anxious that they not be coded as a fool.Foosenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16981893.post-20313140360774915512008-11-25T21:10:00.000-06:002008-11-25T21:10:00.000-06:00Have you ever tried to horseback ride or draw a cr...Have you ever tried to horseback ride or draw a crossbow with a ring on your middle finger? Ouch. That’s a good way to get blisters. It's just not practical. <BR/><BR/>And I know this was already mentioned, but long fingers were a sign of beauty in the 16th century. Putting a ring on the middle finger is sort of like putting horizontal stripes on a fat girl. When I paint, I never put rings on the hands. It makes them look chunky. And I don’t mean to be crass when I say this but...hands were like butts in our society. For example, the Venetian ambassador said Catherine de Medici needed to wear a veil to be beautiful, but then he softened his insult with – at least she had nice hands. Can’t you just picture Howard Stern making a similar comment? (except substitute the hand reference for another body part) Oh and Elizabeth was very proud of her long white fingers too.Bearded Ladyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06182921236123895352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16981893.post-20673071653155491962008-11-25T11:50:00.000-06:002008-11-25T11:50:00.000-06:00It was me who was the original submitter. I had no...It was me who was the original submitter. I had noticed on a number of paintings of Tudor sitters that they rarely wore a ring on their middle finger and wondered why.Elizabeth M.https://www.blogger.com/profile/06330931223602544209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16981893.post-57612704164409713642008-11-24T16:56:00.000-06:002008-11-24T16:56:00.000-06:00I hadn't seen the original thread. I just read it ...I hadn't seen the original thread. I just read it and can only add that wedding rings do seem to have been a tradition of sorts before Elizabeth, as Mary I was quoted as saying something to the effect that she just wanted a plain gold hoop ring for her marriage to Philip of Spain as that is how maidens were married in previous eras.<BR/><BR/>I don't have the direct quote in my immediate grasp, but I believe the gist of it is accurate.<BR/><BR/>No word on what finger she wore it. I'd noticed that there seemed to be a lack of rings on middle fingers too, but never put much thought into why there weren't any.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com