1000 Year Old Superb Crusades Period Bronze Status Ring of A Norman Knight of The 1st Crusades. Depicting Christ Bearing His Crucifix for The Crucifixion. In Excellent Condition with Fine Original Age Patination

a higher ranked crusader knight, such as a knights templar would wear a pectoral crucifix and one of higher status knight, such as a bishop {crusader knights were often warrior monks of all status and ranks} would also wear a symbolic Christian ring. William the Conqueror's half brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux and Earl of Kent, a warrior bishop, was perhaps the most feared and hated man in England during the late 1060 and throughout the 1070s, with a black and brutal reputation as his half-brother's enforcer.
Odo was a close advisor and half-brother of King William the Conqueror, playing an important role before, during and after the Norman Conquest of 1066, even being famously present at Hastings itself.

A hoop shaped ring in bronze the engraved section is hexagonal with an engraved Christ bearing his cross, the shoulders of the hoop that adjoin the top are the heads of beasts. The First Crusade, initiated in 1096, was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, led by the Latin Church to reclaim the Holy Land from Islamic rule.
Used in the early Crusades Period by higher ranked Knights, such as the Knights of Malta Knights Hospitaller, the Knights of Jerusalem the Knights Templar, the Knights of St John.
The new Norman rulers were culturally and ethnically distinct from the old French aristocracy, most of whom traced their lineage to the Franks of the Carolingian dynasty from the days of Charlemagne in the 9th century. Most Norman knights remained poor and land-hungry, and by the time of the expedition and invasion of England in 1066, Normandy had been exporting fighting horsemen for more than a generation. Many Normans of Italy, France and England eventually served as avid Crusaders soldiers under the Italo-Norman prince Bohemund I of Antioch and the Anglo-Norman king Richard the Lion-Heart, one of the more famous and illustrious Kings of England.

The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon also known as the Knights Templar, or simply the Templars, was a Catholic military order founded in 1118, and were headquartered on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem through 1128 when they went to meet with Pope Honorius II. They were recognised in 1139 by the papal bull Omne datum optimum of Pope Innocent II. The order was active until 1312, when it was perpetually suppressed by Pope Clement V by the bull Vox in excelso.

The Templars became a favoured charity throughout Christendom, and grew rapidly in membership and power. Templar knights, in their distinctive white mantles with a red cross, were amongst the most skilled fighting units of the Crusades. They were prominent in Christian finance, non-combatant members of the order, who made up as much as 90% of their members,managed a large economic infrastructure throughout Christendom.They developed innovative financial techniques that were an early form of banking, building its own network of nearly 1,000 commanderies and fortifications across Europe and the Holy Land,

The Templars were closely tied to the Crusades; With its clear mission and ample resources, the order grew rapidly. Templars were often the advance shock troops in key battles of the Crusades, as the heavily armoured knights on their warhorses would set out to charge at the enemy, ahead of the main army bodies, in an attempt to break opposition lines. One of their most famous victories was in 1177 during the Battle of Montgisard, where some 500 Templar knights helped several thousand infantry to defeat Saladin's army of more than 26,000 soldiers, When the Holy Land was lost, support for the order faded. Rumours about the Templars' secret initiation ceremony created distrust, and King Philip IV of France, while being deeply in debt to the order, took advantage of this distrust to destroy them to erase his debt. On Friday the 13th of October 1307, he had many of the order's members in France arrested, tortured into giving false confessions, and burned them at the stake.

Pope Clement V disbanded the order in 1312 under pressure from King Philip. The abrupt reduction in power of a significant group in European society gave rise to speculation, legend, myth, and legacy through the ages

The first crusade was launched after a request for aid from the Byzantine Emperor, it was a response to the expansion of Islam and the difficulties faced by Christian pilgrims in the Holy Land.
Pope Urban II called for the First Crusade in 1095 at the Council of Clermont, encouraging Western Christians to aid the Byzantine Empire and liberate Jerusalem.
Crusaders were motivated by a variety of factors, including religious salvation, opportunities for renown, economic gains, and fulfilling feudal obligations.
The First Crusade was led by Frankish and Norman nobility, including Raymond of Saint-Gilles, Godfrey of Bouillon, and Bohemond of Taranto, among
Crusaders captured Nicaea in 1097 and Antioch in 1098, ultimately besieging and conquering Jerusalem in July 1099.
The First Crusade established four Crusader states in the region: the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the County of Tripoli, the Principality of Antioch, and the County of Edessa. Around 60,000 soldiers and at least half again of non-combatants were involved in the First Crusade which set off on their quest in 1095. After campaigns in Asia Minor and the Middle East, great cities such as Nicaea and Antioch were recaptured, and then the real objective, Jerusalem itself. Many more crusades would follow, the objectives would widen, as would the field of conflict, so that even Constantinople would come under attack in subsequent campaigns.
While initially successful, the Crusader states faced ongoing challenges from Muslims who sought to reclaim the Holy Land. The First Crusade was considered a pilgrimage for many, and most crusaders returned home after Jerusalem's capture, leaving the newly established states vulnerable.

Picture in the gallery of the warrior Bishop Odo at the battle of Hastings bearing his bishop's mace/club HIC ODO EPISCOPUS BACULUM TENENS CONFORTAT PUEROS ("Here Bishop Odo, holding a club, gives strength to the boys")
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Approx one inch across UK size R

Code: 25800