Editing True lover's knot

{{Short description|Type of knot}}
{{About|the knot|the species of European moth|True lover's knot (moth)}}
{{Redirect|Love knot|the Japanese manga|Love/Knot}}
{{Infobox knot
| name= True lover's knot
| image= True lovers knots.jpg
| caption=Some knots often referred to as true lover's knots. the left one is also known as Dutch bend, the middle one is also known as [[Matthew Walker knot]], the right one as [[Fisherman's knot]].
| names= True Love Knot, love-knot, Fisherman's knot, Middleman's knot,<ref name="sr">{{citation|author=Scouting Resources|title=A-Z of Knots: S-T|access-date=2009-06-14|url=http://www.scoutingresources.org.uk/knots/knots_st.html#t}}</ref>  Shamrock knot<ref name="sr"/>
| type= bend
| type2=loop
| strength=
| origin=
| related= [[Fisherman's knot]], [[Matthew Walker's knot]], [[Dutch bend]]
| releasing=
| uses= symbolism, connecting two (or more, for Dutch bend) lines, lanyards, decorative
| caveat=
| abok_number= #798, #1038, '''#1143''', #1414, #2418, #2301, #2394, '''#2420''', #2421, #2423, #2424, #2425, #2425, #2426
| instructions= 
}}

[[File:True lovers knots (loose).png|thumb|left|Three knots often referred to as "true lover's knot", tied into a single line forming a loop. 1: also known as a Dutch bend; 2: also known as [[Matthew Walker knot]]; 3: also known as [[fisherman's knot]]/loop.]]
The term '''true lover's knot''', also called '''true love knot''' or simply '''love-knot''' amongst others, is used for many distinct [[knot]]s. The association of knots with the [[symbol]]ism of [[love]], [[friendship]] and [[affection]] dates back to [[Classical Antiquity|antiquity]] (although the term itself is attested from the late 1300s).<ref>{{cite web
| title = Love-knot (n.)
| url = https://www.etymonline.com/word/love-knot#etymonline_v_52028
| website = [[Online Etymology Dictionary]]
| author = Douglas Harper
| date = 2024
| access-date = 2024-09-01
}}</ref> Because of this, no single knot can be labeled the true "true love knot".<ref name="hsok-ch18">{{Citation| last=van de Griend| first=P.| year=1996| contribution=On the True Love Knot| editor-last=Turner| editor-first=J.C.| editor2-last=van de Griend| editor2-first=P.| title=History and Science of Knots| series=K&E Series on Knots and Everything| location=Singapore| publisher=World Scientific Publishing| volume=11| pages=397–417| isbn=981-02-2469-9}}</ref>

In practical terms, these knots are generally shown as two interlocked [[overhand knot]]s made in two parallel [[rope]]s or cords. The variations are in the ways in which the overhand knots interweave and in the final arrangement of the knot or knots.<ref name="ashley386" />

The true lovers' knot is a motif in several British folk songs, including "[[Barbara Allen (song)|Barbara Allen]]", "[[Lord Thomas and Fair Annet]]", "[[Lord Lovel]]", and "[[Fair Margaret and Sweet William]]". The knot, made of a rose growing from one lover's grave and a brier from the other's, is described at the end of the ballad.<ref name="coffin_0">{{cite book|author=Coffin, Tristram P.|url=https://archive.org/details/britishtradition007732mbp|title=The British Traditional Ballad in North America|publisher=The American Folklore Society|year=1950|location=Philadelphia|pages=76–9, 87–90}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite web|title=Versions and Variants of the Tunes of "Barbara Allen"|website=[[Library of Congress]] |url=https://www.loc.gov/folklife/LP/BarbaraAllenAFS_L54_sm.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.loc.gov/folklife/LP/BarbaraAllenAFS_L54_sm.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live}}</ref> It symbolises their fidelity in love even after death.<ref name="Wurzbach">{{cite book|author=Würzbach, Natascha|title=Motif Index of the Child Corpus: The English and Scottish Popular Ballad|author2=Simone M. Salz|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|others=Gayna Walls (trans.)|year=1995|isbn=3-11-014290-2|location=Berlin and New York|pages=25, 57}}</ref>

Modern Western knotting literature has the name for these related knots deriving from stories or legends in which the knots symbolize the connection between a [[Intimate relationship|couple]] in love. Many examples feature [[sailor]]s separated from their beloveds. [[Clifford Ashley|Ashley]] notes that it was once a common style in sailors' wedding rings, where gold wire was wrought to incorporate the "true lovers" knot, creating a ring containing two [[torus|tori]], inseparable, yet flexible and able to move about each other.<ref name="ashley386">{{citation |last=Ashley |first=Clifford W. |title=The Ashley Book of Knots |year= 1944 |publisher=Doubleday |location=New York |pages=386–388 }}</ref>

{{Multiple image|perrow=2|width=150
|image1=True Lover's knot-0.jpg |caption1=Matthew Walker knot as true lover's knot (#2421) before tightening.
|image2=True_Lover's_knot-2.jpg |caption2=Matthew Walker knot tightened.
}}

==Examples in literature==
*"A Love Knot"; a short story about [[Bengali Hindus]] featuring a goldsmithed love knot.<ref>{{cite book|last=Theroux|first=Paul|title=The Collected Stories|date=1997|publisher=Penguin Group|pages=164–176}}</ref>
* A “love-knotte” is mentioned in the prologue to the [[The Canterbury Tales|Canterbury Tales.]]
* In [[Sir Gawain and the Green Knight]] (line 612), Gawain's neck-support is embroidered with "trueloves"
* In [[The Highwayman (poem)|The Highwayman]], a poem by Alfred Noyes, Bess is “plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.”

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==See also==
[[File:Shakespeare's signet ring, photo.jpg|thumb|True lover's knot engraved on the purported [[Shakespeare's signet ring]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Burgess |first1=Joseph Tom |title=Knots, ties and splices; a handbook for seafarers, travellers, and all who use cordage; with historical, heraldic, and practical notes |date=1884 |publisher=London, George Routledge |page=12 |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924014519940/page/n23/mode/2up?q=%22Shakespeare+knot%22}}</ref>]]
*[[List of bend knots]]
*[[List of knots]]

==References==
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{{Knots}}

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