To a 21st century mind, the idea of using jewelry as the first line of defense against evil, to do evil, and to facilitate peace at the same time is nothing short of incredible.

Thankfully, we can satisfy our curiosity by simply learning their history.

The poison rings have a long history, mostly influenced by their usage from the past civilizations up till this present day.So, a discussion of the history must begin with an explanation of the poison rings.

The Poison Rings Explained

A poison ring or pillbox ring has been described as a type of ring with a container under the bezel or inside the bezel, which could be used to hold poison or other substances. They usually have a large stone bezel set into the band of the ring. But they can come with all sorts of different ornamentation. The larger the stone, the more concealed the secret compartment below is. This is why the dispersal of poison liquid or powder often goes undetected.

What’s more, a small catch and hinge allow the stone to swing open and release the deadly agent into the victim’s food or beverage. It is recorded that if they didn’t hold poison, these rings commonly concealed pomanders—small tablets of fragrance to conceal the atrocious smells of streets and rank canals. The secret compartments could also be used to hold relics, bits of bone, fragments of flesh, or even locks of hair. This practice was an antecedent to 19th-century mourning jewelry.

But the poison ring isn’t the only ancient ring. Some rings have been used throughout history to carry perfume, locks of hair, devotional relics, messages, and other keepsakes. Some artists would paint tiny portraits of loved ones, to be kept in a “locket ring,” and was popular during the Renaissance.

By the 17th century, jewelers were creating locket rings in the mold of caskets, which served as relics for mourners. These were called “funeral rings,” and rings with compartments were also called “box” rings or “socket” rings.

Interestingly, poison rings also served benign purposes. For instance, during the Middle Ages, they were used to conceal relics of saints, like strands of their hair, teeth, and bone, which were believed to protect the wearer from various disasters and diseases. Similarly, during the Renaissance, the aristocracy used them to hold cologne, curls of hair, and paintings of loved ones.

At this point, it should be significantly clear what poison rings are. So, what’s their history?

Origin of Poison Rings

In discussing the history of the poison rings, we’ll consider some examples of its usage over the past centuries.

In October 2001, Marcy Waldie wrote about poison rings in an article titled “A Ring to Die For: Poison Rings Hold Centuries of Secrets,” and published in Antiques & Collecting Magazine. According to Marcy, the poison ring originated in the ancient days of the Far East and India. The wearing of vessel rings was so useful that it spread to other parts of Asia, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean before reaching Western Europe in the Middle Ages, by which time the rings were already part of the “holy relic trade.”

It was recorded that Romans sometimes used poison rings to commit suicide when a painful death was unavoidable. For instance, the historian Pliny, the Elder (23-79 CE), narrates how a Roman government official escaped torture by biting his poison ring. Even the teenager, Emperor Heliogabalus (203 CE – 222 CE), feared his cruelty and corruption and always wore a poison ring. It was reported that he was assassinated before he could ingest its contents.

The poison rings become popular in Europe in the 17th century. These were days when the poison ring was used either to drop poison into an enemy’s food or drink or to facilitate the suicide of the wearer to prevent capture or torture. This is why in Italy to this day, pouring someone a drink while holding the bottle with the back of the hand facing downward, to let something drop from a ring bezel, is called versare alla traditor(“traitor’s way pouring”) and still deemed offensive.

Similarly, Italian Renaissance femme fatale Lucrezia Borgia is thought to have used poison rings to slay her enemies elegantly. However, this has never been proven. Even as far back as 183 B.C., the Carthaginian soldier Hannibal, history records, committed suicide by consuming poison from a ring after sending home spoils of other rings taken from Roman soldiers’ corpses. History also records that it was much later that mathematician, politician, and philosopher Marquis de Condorcet died by his bejeweled hand to beat the guillotine. This was after his arrest in 1794.

It has also been reported that a poison ring may have also played a part in bringing an end to an aristocratic feud between two powerful families in the Middle Ages. Now, in the 21st century, archeologists in Bulgaria discovered a bronze ring with a secret compartment. It is speculated that poison in the ring may have been used by Dobrotitsa (1347-1386), the ruler of Despotate of Dobrudja, against a powerful family in the Kaliakra fortress.

Today, with their dark and mysterious secret compartments, poison rings, are in fashion with the Goth set. What’s more, Boucheron’s contemporary secret ring is proof that the poison ring is still in vogue in high-end jewelry.

Inspired by the history of the poison rings, Diana Scarisbrick in her book Rings: Jewelry of Power, Love, and Loyalty, writes that, “for centuries, rings, conveniently ready for use on the finger, have been adapted for functions other than the sealing of documents with signets. They might be attached to perfume flaçons, spy-glasses, and handkerchiefs; they might measure time, safeguard property, and conceal poison.”

Conclusion

It has been suggested that fact and fiction are intertwined in the history of the poison ring. Nevertheless, it affords us not only an estimation of how vital the poison ring was throughout human history but also the wonders of this ancient jewelry.

A Minnesota court decided that an assistant minister who was expelled by his employing church after the worshippers voted to remove his position for financial reasons couldn’t prosecute the church for violation of the contract or insult. An appointed priest was employed as an assistant minister by a neighboring church in 1990, and it was rejected in 1992 after the worshippers voted to remove his position.

The church asserted that this act was taken for the financial reasons. The expelled minister sued his cathedral and synod by hiring a wrongful termination attorney, asserting that he was terminated in vengeance for reporting certain information about the senior pastor of the church. He guaranteed that the church and synod were obligated on the accompanying grounds:

• interference with the contract
• defamation
• wrongful discharge
• violation of the state “whistleblower statute”
• neglectful hiring and retention

The expelled pastor’s contract claims depended on his “letter of call” and provisions of the church constitution concerning termination methods. A trial court expelled the lawsuit, and the rejected pastor appealed. A state offers court maintained the dismissal of the case.

Court Began the Opinion
The court started its feeling by seeing that the main amendment precludes civil courts from settling disputes, including churches if a motion of the conflicts can’t be made without open inquiry by civil courts into the polity and religious law. The court acknowledged that it could resolve a church property question based on the neutral principles of law; however, it presumed that this contest didn’t include church property. It dismissed the previous pastor’s case that a pastor’s breach of contract guarantee that doesn’t trap the court in matters of church policy would not be outside the court’s authority. The court concluded that the previous pastor’s breach of contract guarantee depends on the letter of call and the church constitution. The resolution of these issues would require this court to interpret ecclesiastical documents with respect to discharge, discipline, and lawful expenditure of church funds and hence would be inappropriate under the first amendment.

Employment Issue, Wrongful Termination Attorney and Court of Session
In case that the employment issue goes to the Court of Session by hiring a wrongful termination attorney, it is probably going to take at least a year. Assuming, in any case, it is ultimately decided that the tribunal can hear the case, employment rights for priests will be built up regardless of whether the minister loses his own application for unfair dismissal. The civil case mirrors a developing sense among certain priests and common people that outer inspection of the church affairs is fundamental.

Considerations to Hire Attorney at Law
In evaluating your case, your attorney at law will think about your financial losses. In the case of wrongful termination, the damages that a terminated worker might recover incorporate lost benefits, lost compensation, possible emotional suffering damages, and potential corrective harms. Moreover, in the event that you win against your manager, you might be entitled to the attorney’s fees.

Do You Need a Wrongful Termination Attorney? Find One Near You
In the event that you accept you have been wrongfully terminated, it’s essential to counsel with an attorney at law. The legal procedure can be extremely challenging and your attorney at law can give you expert counsel. In the event that you trust you were discriminated against dependent on a protected status, you will need to adapt more by meeting with a Wrongful Termination Attorney in your area today.

Founded in 1199 by the Catholic Church, the Knights Templar were a group of warrior bankers whose primary aim was to safeguard the pilgrims on their way to visit to visit the holy land of Jerusalem. Created with a noble intention, the group soon starting breaching their initial laws and threatening the rule of Philip IV in France till they were eventually dissolved. There have been innumerable interpretations and theories that came into the forefront concerning the Knights Templar and the mysticism surrounding them still intrigues people.

One such theory about the Knights Templar that have created the greatest buzz is their role in popularizing cannabis as early as the 12th century. Author Chris Bennett remarked that their cultural exchanges mostly included the transportation of cannabis to the Islamic group known by the name “Hashishins”. However, the cannabis were not directly bartered, they were infused with wine and had a coder for the tradition which meant the herb sellers. The culture was soon propagated through the whole of Islamic lands after coming face-to-face with the Persian Zoroastrians. According to Bennett, the cannabis was used by the Knights essentially to escape their reality and step into the world of hallucination, where they could get a “glimpse of paradise”. Unlike the common beliefs associated with marijuana, the use of cannabis did not invoke in them the desire to wage war and kill the innocent or make them go insane. Furthermore, they had definite restrictions while using the cannabis; they kept a safe distance from the substance when they had to go out for missions and did not meddle the effects of cannabis with their political and religious intentions. After this analysis one could safely claim that the knights were officially the first group to introduce cannabis in Europe and were hands down the greatest dealers of weed.

If anything at all, the Knights Templar had witnessed some innumerable cannabis benefits; besides, the above-mentioned culture is known to have been popularized by their exchange of cannabis with the Hasishins. Nonetheless, as time passed, the exchange of weed and knowledge did not stop at the bright side of it; if we go by the sayings of Bennett, it would be clear that the cavaliers had brought to Europe the most dangerous of all narcotic weeds, the cannabis Indica, whose influence is so strong that it can turn men into merciless animals drawing them to commit murders and all forms of illegal activities within a few minutes of its consumption.

Today, after having gone through a series of researches, marijuana is being finally brought out of the negative light and held out as a natural element whose several aspects are being attached to the cannabis benefits. Some of the most common cannabis benefits which when rightly capitalized on can bear brilliant results are its anti-inflammatory properties, ability to relieve chronic pain resulting from selling and terminal diseases and its unparalleled role in pacifying hyper-stress and anxiety, thus creating a balance of emotions.

Introduction

Marijuana use has a long history that predates the modern day “stoners”. Several illustrious figures of the past who had made startling contributions to various arts and cultures and sciences, had been habitual cannabis users in their lives. Whether they promoted the growing of weed or just smoked a few puffs, the list of these illustrious figures has an important green connection. From ancient civilizations, to queens, to presidents, to emperors, to knights; all had acknowledged the benefits from cannabis use.

Formidable historical figures who were habitual cannabis users

Benefits from cannabis have been obtained by many throughout history. Weed has definitely been known to get the creative faculties flowing and the names mentioned below are no exception. Many personalities figure in this list; however the list is not exhaustive due to paucity of sources.

William Shakespeare: This 16th century playwright, and rightfully claimed as the greatest dramatists of all times, is immortal in our minds due to his masterpieces like Macbeth, Othello, Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar. Classics of Shakespeare till today are performed and adapted at theatres around the world. Researchers have found evidence of cannabis on clay pipes on his property and this combined with the fact that he had once written about the “noted weed” in one of his sonnets established his fettish for weed quite clearly.

Queen Victoria: The longest reigning British Queen who lived and ruled in the Victorian era of 19th century England, secretly availed of the benefits from cannabis in the form of marijuana for dealing with her menstrual cramps.

James Monroe: This brave and knight-like figure who was the fifth President of the US was a regular smoker of hashish and he continued to do so till the rest of his life.

Hua Tuo: When it came to cannabis products, not just knights and emperors, but even scholars were smoking it. Hua Tuo was a respected Chinese scholar and doctor who lived during the Han dynasty period. The anesthesia concocted by him was known as Mafeisan which was made by mixing cannabis powder with wine.

Ottomon Sultan Abdülaziz I: He was the 32nd Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, ruling from 1861 to 1876. He was a huge consumer of hookah and was known to exhibit a plethora of cannabis products at the World’s Fair.

John F Kennedy: He was the President of the US in the early 1960s and was a highly approved one. It is maintained in accounts that he resorted to consuming marijuana to cope with his severe back pain as well as recreationally.

Louisa May Alcott: She was a 19th century American author best known for her delightful novel ‘Little Women’. Although no account clearly states of her consuming cannabis, it is artfully revealed in her short stories by lauding the enticing effects of hashish, a cannabis product.

Carl Sagan: An American astronomer and cosmologist, who shared his stories about his insights after smoking marijuana and for the rest of his life had remained an ardent advocate for marijuana legalization.