Finger ring

This ring is engraved inside and out with flowers and leaves, interspersed with an inscription in French. '+ TANT QUE MURAI +VOUZ CEROIRE', which can be translated as 'Until I die I will be yours' or 'As I grow older, I will encircle you'. The sentiments suggest that the ring may have served as a marriage ring and the museum intend to include it in their 2009-10 exhibition entitled 'A Romantic ProposalÂ’. It was originally enamelled although all the enamel has now gone. It is likely to be English, as at this date the English nobility spoke French. It adds to the museum's medieval collections which mainly derive from excavations within Staffordshire.