Editing Claddagh ring (section)

==Description==
The Claddagh ring belongs to a group of European finger rings called [[fede ring]]s.<ref name="Scarisbrick">Scarisbrick and Henig, Finger Rings, Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 2003</ref><ref name="Delamer">{{cite journal |author=Delamer |first=Ida |year=1996 |title=The Claddagh Ring |journal=Irish Arts Review |volume=12 |pages=181–187 |jstor=20492901}}</ref> The name derives from the Italian phrase ''{{lang|it|mani in fede}}'' ("hands [joined] in faith" or "hands [joined] in loyalty"). This group dates to [[Ancient Rome]], where the gesture of clasping hands meant pledging vows. Cut or cast in [[bezel (jewellery)|bezel]]s, they were used as [[Engagement ring|engagement]] and [[wedding ring]]s in medieval and Renaissance Europe to signify "plighted troth".<ref name="Jones"/><ref name="Scarisbrick"/><ref>[[John Aubrey|Aubrey, John]], ''Miscellanies'', London, 1696: "I have seen some Rings made for sweet-hearts, with a Heart enamelled held between two right hands."</ref>

In recent years, it has been embellished with interlace designs and combined with other Celtic and Irish symbols, corresponding with its popularity as an emblem of Irish identity.<ref name="Stephen Walker">Stephen Walker (2013) ''The Modern History of Celtic Jewellery: 1840-1980'', Walker Metalsmiths {{ISBN|9780615805290}}.</ref>