archaeological and textual records - eCommons@Cornell - Cornell ...

Mason cites Deloche (1929), who calls the rings “energetic affirmations” of belief
(Mason 2010:8). Louis XIV resumed persecution of French Protestants when he took
power in the seventeenth century. At a time when religion equaled politics, wearing
religious imagery could publically proclaim one’s loyalty to the crown, thus
preventing their own brutal end (Mason 2010:8). On the more benign side, rings were
often purchased by pilgrims visiting religious sites as souvenirs (Mason 2010:9). Yet
the rest of the article calls our attention to the more secular, yet personal aspects of the
rings: tokens of affection or engagement (bagues de foi and bagues de roulier),
membership in a professional guild, or family initials (signet rings, or bagues de
chevaliers) (Mason 2010:10-11). The last compelling category of ring meaning that
may have resonance with this study involves the use of rings as “vernacular
medicine.” Mason cites Jonas (2000), who comments on the power ascribed to Sacred
Heart imagery in eighteenth century France. Notably, Mason ascribes the LHeart ring
type in the “bagues de foi” category, even though previous scholars (Wood 1974) have
linked it to Ignatius of Loyola and Sacred Heart devotion. Still, even if scholars differ
on the details, Mason reminds us: “Rings had multiple functions, sometimes several at
a time, and only the wearers could be sure of the intended meanings, a cautionary tale
of emics in action” (Mason 2010:13). Likewise, a “simple tie to priests and missions is
no longer possible. Because of their many possible roots, and many possible
meanings, understanding the plaque designs has become more complicated, and the
chronological ties more elusive” (Mason 2010:13).
Curiously enough, no one as of yet seems to have asked or speculated on what
the Native view of the rings may have been. The Iroquoian affinity for certain shapes,
83