Celtic Wedding Bands

Celtic History, Tradition, and Symbolism in Celtic Wedding Bands

We've created this section to help you understand the beautiful symbolism, meaning, and history behind the work of art in our Celtic wedding bands.

Celtic wedding bands contain one of the strongest symbols of marriage in existence today, yet are derived from one of the most ancient cultures and traditions of the past, dating back from the 1^st Century BC.  To gain a better understanding of the meaning of Celtic band designs, we can consider a brief survey of Celtic history, religion, and art.

White Gold Celtic Wedding Band Ring

Celtic History

The Celtic peoples and culture dominated much of western and central Europe in the 1st millennium BC, by influencing outlying regions with their customs, language, and religionuntil their civilization clashed with that of Rome's. Although the Celtic peoples are much older, during the Middle Ages, the Celts eventually settled near the British Isles, where today, we often think of Celtic tradition, culture, and art.  In medieval times the Celtic tradition and languages existed in such places as Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, and even parts of France.

Celtic Heart Knot Wedding Band Ring

Celtic Religion

The Christian faith was already established in Britain by the 4th century AD, even among the Celtic peoples.  Yet the Saxons invaded Britain, thereby driving most of the Celtic peoples into Wales and other outlying areas. Today, Christian thought can be interpreted in the Celtic design, such as you see in Celtic wedding bands, influenced, partly by Christian missionaries and the Irish church who influenced the Celts during the migration out of mainland Britain.

Although Celtic myth and druid priests were clearly a part of the Celtic peoples originally, Christianity was a prominent influence in these designs, co-mingled with ancient Celtic culture.

The “Celtic trinity knot” is an obvious example of Celtic Christianity, whereby three interwoven strands symbolize the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of the Christian faith.  Other Christian symbols within the woven knots of the Celtic wedding rings are in the idea of eternity, as these patterns intertwine seemingly endlessly.  This is particularly befitting for a Celtic wedding band, since marriage, traditionally, is meant to last forever.

14K White Gold Celtic Knot Wedding Band

Celtic Symbolism

The Celtic peoples continued to work within their traditional, ancient designs, but, as Christianity grew in strength, the Celtic designs commingled ancient ideals with Christian symbols.

Among other symbols, for example, are the Claddagh ring, shown above, combined with the Irish "hound of Cuchulainn".  The Claddagh ring was designed in the 17th Century by a fisherman for his wife, in the fisherman's village of "Claddagh".  Normally, the hands on a Claddagh ring symbolize friendship, the heart symbolizes love, and the crown, fidelity.  But in the ring above, the hands are replaced by Celtic knots which end with the "hound of Cuchulainn" that stands for a great hero in Ireland, whose hound defended the people of Ireland.

Claddagh Celtic Wedding Ring

Although there may be several other meanings to the Celtic knot patterns contained within the Celtic knot-work, the above meanings are a fairly prominent interpretation in existence today and one that is rather enchanting when considering a wedding ring.
 

To see our full line of Celtic rings, please visit our main website, Wedding-Band-Ring.Com, where we offer a diverse collection of Celtic Wedding Bands and Rings.

 Considering purchasing a Celtic Ring? View our selection of Celtic Wedding Band Rings