RING {in Mati'imony'). Originally the gift of the ring was made at the time of espousal, and not at the solemnization of marriage. Calroer (Ritual. Eccles.') traces the origin of the marriage ring to the 10th cen- tury. He supposes it to have been introduced in imi- tation of the ring worn by bishops, and to have been regarded as a kind of phylactery, or charm. According to Korae, the delivery of the ring by the husband to the wife indicated that she was admitted into his confi- dence. Another explanation is that the ring symbol- izes eternity and constancj' ; and it has been alleged that the left hand was chosen to denote the wife's sub- jection to her husband, and the third finger because it thereby pressed a vein which was supposed to commu- nicate directly with the heart (Kiddle, Christ. Antiq. vii, 1 ; Chambers's Eticyclo]). s. v.). See Ring (in Espousals').
KING, TnK Decade, a modern substitute for the ros- ary during the existence of the penal laws, being more easily concealed. It has on it ten knobs, on each of w'hich, as it passed under the fingers, an Ave was said, and on the eleventh, which is distinguished by a cross, a Paternoster. — Walcott, Sacred Archceol. s. v.
RING, Fisherman's, is that worn by the pope as the descendant of Peter, ^vith an engraving of Peter casting his net.
Ring, IMelchiok, a prominent Anabaptist leader in the landgravate of Hesse in the period of the Reforma- tion, was at first a school-teacher and chaplain at Hers- feld. Having become a zealous disciple of Thomas IMiinzer (q. v.), he appeared in Sweden in 1524 in com- pany with I\I. Hoffmann and Knippcnlolling (q. v.), and by the fanaticism of liis sermons excited a riot in Stock- holm against images, which he justified as being the work of tlie Spirit of God. Towards the close of 1524 he returned to Germany in order to participate as a leader in the Peasants' War; and, after the bloody catas- trophe at ]''tankenhausen, he fied to Switzerland, where he found a fruitful soil and a cordial reception. A mur- der committed by one of his adherents, professedly in obedience to the inspiration of God, obliged Ring, in 1527, to fiee to the neighborhood of his early home. He now became a peripatetic preacher, made the teach- ing of Luther the subject of bitter attack, characterized the evangelical preacliers as the expotniders of a cor- rupt and dead faith, and by such means secured a large following. Disputations held with him failed to con- vince, and a threat of expatriation failed to alarm him. He eventually fied to East Friesland, which had be- come a rallying-place for Anabaptists generally, and while tiiere employed every method to inspire his fol-
RINGGLI
33
RIPHATH
lowers with a fanatical contempt for Scripture and the Lord's supper. It was difficult to restrain the fanatical tendencies thus implanted in the populace; but the Lu- therans finally secured a preponderating influence, and King was compelled to flee once more. He labored in his characteristic method in Hesse and Saxony and met with some success, but was repeatedly imprisoned. He would seem to have died in connection with the Mini- ster revolt. The teaching of King may be briefly stated as follows. Original sin involves no condemna- tion for persons of immature mind, etc. The curse in Gen. iii imposes spiritual death only, consequently death does not come to children on account of sin. Infant baptism is blasphemous, and cannot be justilied on scriptural grounds. Christ is not God according to his nature, and does not derive human nature from Mary. He died and suffered, not for purposes of redemption and forgiveness of sins, but simply as an example and type; and they who would profit by his work must fol- low him with like works and sufferings. Christ's body and blood are not present in the sacrament. Man has the ability by nature to prepare himself to believe and come to the Spirit of God. See Krohn, Gesch. d.fanat. M. enthus. Wiedertdufer, etc. (Leips. 1758) ; Mittheilung- en aus d. prot. Sektengesch. in /lessen, in Niedner's Zeitschr.f. d. hist. Theolofjie, 1858, p. 541-553, and 1860, p. 272 sq. — Herzog, Reul-Eiicyklop. s, v.
Ringgli, GoTTHARD, an excellent Swiss artist, was born at Zurich, Jan. 27, 1575. Of his early life, educa- tion, and progress we are not inft)rmed. He was chosen by the magistracy of Berne to decorate with paintings of large size the senate-house and minster of that me- tropolis, and had the freedom of the city conferred on him. For the public library of Zurich he painted the arms of the state and its dependencies, supported by Keligion and Liberty. Death lies at the feet of Ke- ligion, but to the usual allegorical implements in her hands he added a bridle, to distinguish her from Fanat- icism and Superstition. One of the most remarkable of his easel pictures, in the house of Werdm idler, is Joh Listening to his Wifes Invectives. Perhaps his most valuable remains are designs, generally drawn with a pen and washed with India- ink. Among these are Our Saviour's Burial: — Susannah with the Elders: — Faith Sheltered from Persecution. He died in 1635. — Chalmers, Biog. Diet. s. v.
Ringoraldt, Bartholomew, a German hymnolo- gist, born at Frankfort-on-the-Oder in 1530, was preach- er at Langenberg, in Neumark ; but his principal fame was achieved as a writer of spiritual hj^mns, some of which are still in common use (e. g. Es ist gewisslich an, der Zeit). His writings other than hymns are nearly all lost from sight. He believed that the end of the world was near, and had even calculated its date to fall in the year 1684; and his first book, 7/te lantere Wahr- heit (1585), expresses his yearning for the eternal world and warns against the condemnation of hell ; while his second book, Christliche Warnung des treuen Eckert (Frankfort-on-the-Oder, 1588), serves as a guide to the mysteries of heaven and hell, which places Eckert trav- erses in a trance. See Koch, Gesch. d. deutsch. Kirchen- liedes, 2d ed. i, lo6 sq. ; Langbecker, />«« deutsch-evang. Kirchenlied (1830), p. 201 sq. ; Vtirkel, Ehrengeddchtniss evang. Glauhenshelden u. Sanger (1830). ii, 98; Wende- bourg, B. RingoruldCs geistl. Lieder, etc. — Herzog, Real- Encykhp. s. v.