7/1/24 Report - Spanish Colonial Jesuit Rings. Hypothesized Design Drift. Catapult Shot.

 

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.

Workers have discovered eight medieval catapult shots outside the walls of a castle in Britain that are leftover weapons from a siege of royals against rebels.

The eight "perfectly preserved" stone spheres date to the 13th century and would have been fired from catapults during the siege of Kenilworth Castle, which was part of a civil war that took place in England in 1266, according to a statement from English Heritage, a charity organization that oversees historic sites in England...

Here is the link for more about that.

8 stone catapult shots t.to King Henry III discovered at besieged British castle (msn.com)

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As you know, it can be difficult to identify and date rings found on the Treasure Coast beaches.  Some could be colonial even if not 1715, but can be difficult to distinguish many rings from 19th and 20th century rings.  

Here are some shown in Kathleen Deagan's book on Spanish Colonial coins.

16th Century Spanish Colonial Rings from Katleen Deagan's book on Spanish Colonial Artifacts.

Those 16th rings are not that different from many 20th century rings.  I've talked about some rings that have changed very little, if any, over the centuries.  The Claddagh ring is an excellent example.  Claddagh rings have been used virtually unchanged for centuries.

Here is a post showing one such ring as well as others.

The Treasure Beaches Report Direct From Florida's Treasure Coast.: 5/19/16 Report - 1715 Fleet Silver Ring Shown in Deagan Book. Found Claddagh Ring. Danger of Cracked Rings.

I found an interesting study on what are sometimes called Jesuit rings.  The study attempted to date rings from hypothesized gradual changes in design.  The study failed to find a relationship between the design and date of the rings. I think there are probably too many factors that affect the design.  There are probably differences in skill or workmanship, geographic or cultural differences as well other differences that might obscure any small change in design that evolved over time.

Iconographic (Jesuit) Rings in European/Native Exchange

• Carol I. Mason, K. Ehrhardt
• Published 3 June 2009
• Art
• French Colonial History

Iconographic rings (Jesuit rings) have been found during archaeological excavations in the territory that the French called Novelle France. It has been speculated that these rings date the sites, first by using their patterns in a "drift" pattern. This model did not succeed, and attention must be paid to other metallurgical attributes as well as the patterns.

 Here is the table showing the hypothesized changes in design or "drift."  On the upper is the proposed original design and the arrows show the changes that were hypothesized to occur over time.

Even if the changes in design do not correlate predictably with time, the table provides a nice catalog of designs.

Here is the link, but you can't read the article unless you have a subscription.

(99+) Iconographic (Jesuit) Rings in European/Native Exchange | Kathy Ehrhardt - Academia.edu

Here are a couple paragraphs from another article on Jesuit rings.

Jesuit rings are an intriguing artifact type recovered from historical archaeological sites in the eastern half of the United States, where French fur traders, missionaries, and explorers had contact with Native Americans in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. These finger rings are usually made of brass and have a single-piece band with a flat, geometric plaque containing cast or engraved designs, symbols, or letters. The exact origin of these rings is unknown; they are referred to as "Jesuit" because of the religious motifs that are found on many of the rings, but secular designs are also common.

The wide variety of motifs found on these rings is thought to be a result of stylistic drift from three prototypes: the L-heart, Double-M, and IHS designs. The L-heart design contains a large L on the left side (thought to represent Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit order) and a heart on the right side. The Double-M design bears an inverted M superimposed over an upright M; these are believed to stand for the Latin words Mater Misericordia, or "Mother of Mercy." The IHS design is assumed to stand for Isus Hominis Salvator, which means "Jesus Savior of Mankind."...

And here are a few examples from the article.

And here is he link for more about that.

The Jesuit Rings from Missouri | Museum of Anthropology - Museum of Anthropology

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net