Temple ring

Reconstruction ofSeverianheaddress with temple rings

This article is about the item of headwear. For rings used in Germanic pagan religious practice, seeRings in Germanic cultures.

Woman in medieval Viking dress using adrop spindleand wearing multiple temple rings

Atemple ringis an ornament that hangs from aheaddressor inbraidsof hair in the front area at the side of the head – i.e. near a person'sanatomical temple.Temple rings were part ofSlavic,Scandinavian and others' medieval women's dress. Most were made of base metals such as copper alloys or iron, though silver and even gold were occasionally used. These were known as temple rings because they were worn on the head, near the temples of a woman or a girl.

Slavic temple rings

Flag of Rybolovsk inRamensky District

Temple rings were characteristic decorations of Slavic women. Different tribes had their own designs and they were made out of various metals. The rings were attached to a string that became part of a headdress or they were woven directly into braids of hair. The earliest archeological evidence of temple rings was found in theCatacomb culture,Únětice cultureandKarasuk culture.Later they were also found in theChernoles culture.Temple rings were most popular between the 8th and 12th centuries, possibly influenced by theArabandByzantinecultures.

In later fashion styles, a temple ring was replaced by thekolthanging from aryasna.

Types of Slavic temple rings

	Type	Ethnic origin	Description	Region	Time period
	Seven rays	Ramensk,Radimichs,Severians		Kursk Oblast	8th–12th centuries
	Braceleted	Krivichs	Wire rings with a diameter of 5 to 10 cm, with the ends tied in a knot. Sometimes additional dandles orbangleswere added to the ring.	Vitebsk RegionMinsk RegionPskov Oblast,Kaluga Oblast,Nizhny Novgorod Oblast,Ryazan OblastSmolensk Oblast	5th–7th centuries
	Shield	Ilmen Slavs	bronze rings with the shape of alozengeeither hammered into the ring or attached.	Gatchinsky DistrictNovgorod Oblast.
	Seven blades	Vyatichi		Moscow Oblast
	Spiral	Severians		Kursk OblastPoltava Oblast
	Three beads	Dregovichs		Kyiv OblastChernihiv Oblast

External links

• Temple rings, and female headdress of the Eastern Slavs in Rus’