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It is 4th
Century, and we are in the southern part of large island called Brittania. A
British Roman citizen by the name of Silvianus has lost something. Whether he
was out all-night drinking spruce beer or wine, or just visiting friends,
Silvianus has lost his prized gold ring. And Silvianus thinks he knows who took
it, a guy by the name of Senicianus. You would think that it is time for the
constable, or whatever law enforcement they had in the Roman Fort which would become
Gloucestershire. Instead, Silvianus went to a higher power, the gods. He
brought a curse down on the thief, and the curse and the ring itself would become
part of the history of the region and perhaps the inspiration for one of the
most famous rings in literature.
Nobody knows when
the ring was found, most believe that it was found around 1785, by a farmer
that was plowing a field near Silchester, which is in Hampshire. Since
archaeology was in its infancy during the 18th century, much is not known about
its discovery or whether it was the only item found there. Archeologists know
that area was settled by the Romans about 45 AD and nearby was a large
archeological discovery of an Iron Age roman fort known as Calleva Atrebatum.
The ring, made of solid gold, and inscribed with the words, “SENICIANE VIVAS
IIN DE”, but it is believed by many that this is a misspelled Latin phrase and
should have been "VIVAS IN DEO”, which means “Seniciane Live in God”,
although there have been other translations about what the inscription means.
When the ring was
stolen from Silvianus, he went to the roman temple for the Celtic god Nondens
and had a curse tablet made. This small tablet was made of lead and was
inscribed:
To the god Nodens. Silvianus has lost a ring; he hereby
gives half of it (i.e. half of its value) to Nodens. Among those who are called
Senicianius, do not allow health until he brings it to the temple of Nodens
Again, since the
archeology at the time was sketchy at best, no one knows how or when the curse
tablet and the ring made its way to its current residence, The Vyne, which is a
16th Century country estate which is in Hampshire. In 1888, the
owner of The Vyne, Chaloner W. Chute published a history of the estate
including a small portion on the ring and the curse tablet.
In 1929, Sir Mortimer Wheeler, an English
archeologist, was working on the site where the temple of Nodens was located,
and he made a connection with the ring and the curse to the site. Wheeler was
unfamiliar with the etymology of the name Nodens, so he called in for help from
a professor from Oxford University. This professor, whose main specialty was
Anglo-Saxon and middle English language, was J.R.R. Tolkein. It is believed
that during Wheeler’s discussion about the temple the ring was also discussed.
It was in 1937 when
Tolkien released The Hobbit, and a major fulcrum in the story is the One
Ring, which is made by the Dark Lord Sauron. The Ring will then resurface in
1954 when Tolkien released The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two
Towers. Is the Ring of Silvianus the
main inspiration for the One Ring in Tolkien’s mythical literature? Perhaps.
Even though we have no written evidence of this, there are many scholars who
believe that these conversations with Wheeler may have been the final
inspiration that Tolkien needed to complete his literary world known as
Middle-Earth. I have been a huge fan of Tolkien since I was a boy, and I read
The Hobbit in elementary school. The mythical land that he created was inspired
from earlier fantasy work, as well as Christianity, and his own experiences in
World War One. And, perhaps, at its pinnacle is an old Roman ring…and a curse.