Description

Identification note: updated meaning from Malcolm Jones: ie* de*/ cine*/ *loia*/ *le*/ *am*/ our* = "ie decine loiale amour" [I am a sign of/signify loyal love"] -- The verb in question meaning 'signify. be a sign of' is entered in the Anglo Norman Dictionary [available free online, btw] at "designer" -- I take the -c- to be the common orthographic variant of 's', and am not bothered by the absence/omission of the usual medial -g- in the form on the legend. Sent to Curator on 17th August 2016.

Summary: late medieval, 15th century, gold iconographic finger-ring, found by metal detectorists in 2011, in the parish of Malmesbury St Paul Without. The inscription on the hoop of the ring reads: 'le desire lui a le amour', meaning 'desire belongs to love'. The figure depicted on the bezel of the ring is probably Saint Catherine. She is seated holding a sword on her right and a shield or wheel to her left. Saint Catherine was a Christian saint who was martyred in the early 4th century AD at the hands of the pagan Roman emperor Maxentius.