Love ring with French inscriptions and sapphire, Late Medieval, 15th century. Gold with cabochon sapphire, engraved. © The Trustees of British Museum (AF.1077)

The inside of this broad hoop is engraved with a lady, amidst flowers and foliage, holding a squirrel (a symbol of inconstancy) on a leash, while the outside is covered with a black-letter inscription. This reads: UNE FAME NOMINATIVE A FAIT DE MOY SON DATIFF PAR LA PAROLE GENITIVE EN DEPIT DE LACCUSSATIF ('a nominative report is given to me, the dative, by the genitive word, in spite of the accusative'). The inside is engraved: + M (ON) AMOUR EST INFINITI (V)E DE VEU ESTRE SON RELATIFF ('my love is an infinitive which wants to be in the relative'). The verse with its play on grammar recalls fifteenth century French poetry, particularly that of Charles, Duke of Orleans (1391-1465).

Text from Ward, Cherry et al, 'The Ring from Antiquity to the Twentieth Century,' London 1981, pl.198.