Vena Amoris
''Vena amoris'' is a Latin name meaning, literally, "vein of love." It describes a special blood vein that was once believed to flow directly from the fourth finger of the left hand to the heart. This belief has been cited in Western cultures as one of the reasons the engagement ring and/or wedding ring was placed on the fourth finger, or " ring finger". This myth dates back to the Medieval Ages. While science now accepts that all blood veins flow to the heart, this was not understood at the time and would not be proven until the 17th century by the physician William Harvey. Origin of the phrase The earliest known occurrence of the phrase ''vena amoris'' was from Henry Swinburne, an English ecclesiastical lawyer whose work covering marriage, "A Treatise of Espousal or Matrimonial Contracts", was published posthumously in 1686. Swinburne identifies the ''vena amoris'' as a vein of blood passing to the heart, found in the fourth finger of the left hand. He states that a weddi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area around Rome, Italy. Through the expansion of the Roman Republic, it became the dominant language in the Italian Peninsula and subsequently throughout the Roman Empire. It has greatly influenced many languages, Latin influence in English, including English, having contributed List of Latin words with English derivatives, many words to the English lexicon, particularly after the Christianity in Anglo-Saxon England, Christianization of the Anglo-Saxons and the Norman Conquest. Latin Root (linguistics), roots appear frequently in the technical vocabulary used by fields such as theology, List of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names, the sciences, List of medical roots, suffixes and prefixes, medicine, and List of Latin legal terms ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ring Finger
The ring finger, third finger, fourth finger, leech finger, or annulary is the fourth digit of the human hand, located between the middle finger and the little finger. Sometimes the term ring finger only refers to the fourth digit of a left-hand, so named for its traditional association with wedding rings in many societies, although not all use this digit as the ring finger. Traditionally, a wedding ring was worn only by the bride or wife, but in recent times more men also wear a wedding ring. It is also the custom in some societies to wear an engagement ring on the ring finger. In anatomy, the ring finger is called ''digitus medicinalis'', ''the fourth digit'', ''digitus annularis'', ''digitus quartus'', or ''digitus IV''. In Latin, the word ''anulus'' means "ring", ''digitus'' means "digit", and ''quartus'' means "fourth". Etymology The origin of the selection of the fourth digit as the ring finger is not definitively known. According to László A. Magyar, the names of the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Human Heart
The heart is a muscular organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the tissue, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide to the lungs. In humans, the heart is approximately the size of a closed fist and is located between the lungs, in the middle compartment of the chest, called the mediastinum. In humans, the heart is divided into four chambers: upper left and right atria and lower left and right ventricles. Commonly, the right atrium and ventricle are referred together as the right heart and their left counterparts as the left heart. In a healthy heart, blood flows one way through the heart due to heart valves, which prevent backflow. The heart is enclosed in a protective sac, the pericardium, which also contains a small amount of fluid. The wall of the heart is made up of three layers: ep ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Engagement Ring
An engagement ring, also known as a betrothal ring, is a ring indicating that the person wearing it is engaged to be married, especially in Western cultures. A ring is presented as an engagement gift by a partner to their prospective spouse when they propose marriage to represent a formal agreement to future marriage. In most Western countries, engagement rings are usually worn only by women, and they are typically adorned with diamonds. In some countries, partners wear matching rings, and engagement rings may also be used as wedding rings. In the Anglosphere, the ring is customarily worn on the left hand ring finger, but customs vary across the world. Engagement rings have been common in Western countries since at least the time of the Roman Empire. They began to feature diamonds during the Renaissance, although most commoners could not afford diamond rings prior to the discovery of the South African diamond mines in the 19th century. In some Christian traditions, engag ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wedding Ring
A wedding ring or wedding band is a finger ring that indicates that its wearer is married. It is usually forged from metal, traditionally gold or another precious metal. Rings were used in ancient Rome during marriage. In western culture, a wedding ring is typically worn on the base of the left ring finger. The ring finger is widely claimed to be associated with the traditional belief known as ''vena amoris'' ("vein of love"). History The Western traditions of wedding rings can be traced to ancient Rome and Ancient Greece, Greece, and were first associated with the marital dowry and later with a promise of fidelity. The modern exchange of rings derived from the customs of Europe in the Middle Ages as part of Christendom. Historical styles Gimmel rings During the 16th and 17th centuries, European husbands bestowed a gimmel ring upon their wives. Similar to the puzzle ring, the gimmel ring consisted of two interlocking bands. The bride and groom both wore one of these ban ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and transitioned into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. The Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history: classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is itself subdivided into the Early, High, and Late Middle Ages. Population decline, counterurbanisation, the collapse of centralised authority, invasions, and mass migrations of tribes, which had begun in late antiquity, continued into the Early Middle Ages. The large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the 7th century, North Africa and the Middle East—once part of the Byzantine Empire� ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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William Harvey
William Harvey (1 April 1578 – 3 June 1657) was an English physician who made influential contributions to anatomy and physiology. He was the first known physician to describe completely, and in detail, pulmonary and systemic circulation as well as the specific process of blood being pumped to the brain and the rest of the body by the heart (though earlier writers, such as Realdo Colombo, Michael Servetus, and Jacques Dubois, had provided precursors to some of his theories). Family William's father, Thomas Harvey, was a jurat of Folkestone where he served as mayor in 1600. Records and personal descriptions delineate him as an overall calm, diligent, and intelligent man whose sons “... revered, consulted and implicitly trusted in him...” (they) made their father the treasurer of their wealth when they acquired great estates...(He) kept, employed, and improved their gainings to their great advantage." Thomas Harvey's portrait can still be seen in the central panel ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Henry Swinburne (lawyer)
Henry Swinburne (1551–1624) was an English ecclesiastical lawyer and scholar. Initially working as a clerk at a Consistory Court he attended the University of Oxford from 1576 to 1580, graduating with a Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) degree, and was admitted to the bar at York to work as an ecclesiastical lawyer. As well as his work as a lawyer he held various administrative and judicial positions. He died in 1624. Swinburne is best known for his two legal treatises, particularly ''A briefe treatise of Testaments and last Wills'' which remained a standard work on family law for 200 years after his death. Swinburne was the first ecclesiastical law writer to write in English. Early life and education Swinburne was born in 1551 in the ward of Micklegate, York, to Thomas Swinburne and Alison Dalynson. After an education at Archbishop Holgate's School he became a clerk in the Consistory court in York. After becoming a notary public of the court he matriculated to the University of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Macrobius
Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, usually referred to as Macrobius (fl. AD 400), was a Roman provincial who lived during the early fifth century, during late antiquity, the period of time corresponding to the Later Roman Empire, and when Latin was as widespread as Greek among the elite. He is primarily known for his writings, which include the widely copied and read '' Commentarii in Somnium Scipionis'' ("Commentary on the Dream of Scipio") about '' Somnium Scipionis'', which was one of the most important sources for Neoplatonism in the Latin West during the Middle Ages; the ''Saturnalia'', a compendium of ancient Roman religious and antiquarian lore; and ''De differentiis et societatibus graeci latinique verbi'' ("On the Differences and Similarities of the Greek and Latin Verb"), which is now lost. He is the basis for the protagonist Manlius in Iain Pears' book '' The Dream of Scipio''. Name Macrobius's given name () is unrecorded as is his family name (). His recorded nam ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Isidore Of Seville
Isidore of Seville (; 4 April 636) was a Spania, Hispano-Roman scholar, theologian and Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seville, archbishop of Seville. He is widely regarded, in the words of the 19th-century historian Charles Forbes René de Montalembert, as "the last scholar of the ancient world". At a time of disintegration of classical culture, aristocratic violence, and widespread illiteracy, Isidore was involved in the conversion of the Arianism, Arian Visigothic kings to Chalcedonian Christianity, both assisting his brother Leander of Seville and continuing after Leander's death. He was influential in the inner circle of Sisebut, Visigothic king of Hispania. Like Leander, he played a prominent role in the Councils of Toledo and Seville. His fame after his death was based on his ''Etymologiae'', an etymology, etymological encyclopedia that assembled extracts of many books from classical antiquity that would otherwise have been lost. This work also helped to standardise the use ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Marriage
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and between them and their Affinity (law), in-laws. It is nearly a cultural universal, but the definition of marriage varies between cultures and religions, and over time. Typically, it is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually sexual, are acknowledged or sanctioned. In some cultures, marriage is recommended or considered to be Premarital sex, compulsory before pursuing sexual activity. A marriage ceremony is called a wedding, while a private marriage is sometimes called an elopement. Around the world, there has been a general trend towards ensuring Women's rights, equal rights for women and ending discrimination and harassment against couples who are Interethnic marriage, interethnic, Interracial marriage, interracial, In ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |