Jewish wedding ring (Erfurt)

The Jewish wedding ring is considered to be the most important of over 600 individual pieces in the so-called Jewish treasure of Erfurt . It is exhibited in the Museum Alte Synagoge Erfurt and is the logo of this museum in stylized form .

It is a gold ring with a temple on top, 4.7 cm high in total. It is dated to the early 14th century.

This ring was not worn in everyday life, but only placed on the bride's finger at the wedding ceremony. The Halacha as it is made of pure gold without inserting gemstones. Such a ring was probably not owned by a single family, but belonged to the Jewish community , so that it could be used at all weddings in the synagogue .

On the underside of the broad circlet, two interlaced hands can be seen as a symbol of marital fidelity.

The top of the ring is adorned with a finely crafted temple on a hexagonal base with Gothic arcades , which is held by two griffins or “stylized dragons with wings spread at the sides, a jagged ridge and pointed ears, [...] with a head and forelegs” . The six smooth roof surfaces bear the Hebrew letters מזלטוב, d. H. Masal tov , literally: "Good fate", figuratively: "Good luck!" As a traditional congratulation at Ashkenazi weddings. In the temple there is a small golden ball that makes a soft sound when you move the ring.

The temple is a typical motif on Jewish wedding rings ; it symbolizes the Jerusalem temple .

The following comparable rings are known:

• Golden ring with enamel inlays from the Colmar treasure
• Silver ring from the jewelry find in Weißenfels
• Golden ring from the treasury of the Munich Residence , around 1500: inscription on the ringמזל טוב, Tower in the shape of a Gothic turret

literature

• Historisches Museum der Pfalz Speyer (Hrsg.): Europe's Jews in the Middle Ages. Ostfildern 2004, DNB 973616881 (exhibition catalog, on the occasion of the exhibition "Europe's Jews in the Middle Ages" in the Historisches Museum der Pfalz Speyer from November 19, 2004 to March 20, 2005, in the German Historical Museum Berlin from April 23 to August 28, 2005) .
• Maria Stürzebecher: The goldsmith's work in the Erfurt treasure trove. In: Sven Ostritz, Karin Sczech, Maria Stürzebecher u. a .: The medieval Jewish culture in Erfurt. Volume 1: The Treasure Find. Archeology - art history - settlement history. Edited by the Thuringian State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology , Weimar, by Sven Ostritz. Beier & Beran, Langenweißbach 2010, ISBN 978-3-941171-20-6 , pp. 214–265, here: p. 220.

Web links

• museum-digital Thuringia, Old Synagogue Erfurt: Jewish wedding ring (with picture)
• Jewish wedding ring. In: museen.thueringen.de (with illustration)
• Description of the motif on a postage stamp (issue date February 11, 2010): Jewish wedding ring Erfurt (with picture)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ On interlocking hands, see also Mazewa # Ikonographie .
2. ↑ Jewish wedding ring. In: museen.thueringen.de, accessed on January 6, 2018 (with illustration).

Coordinates: 50 ° 58 ′ 43.1 ″  N , 11 ° 1 ′ 45.4 ″  E