"The first introduction of rings themselves on this occasion (of making serjeants) is as doubtful as that of mottoes. They are taken notice of by Fortescue in the time of Hen. VI., and in the several regulations for general calls in Hen. VIII. and Queen Elizabeth's time. The antiquity of them, therefore, though not to be strictly ascertained, yet being thus far indisputable, makes Sir H. Spelman's account rather extraordinary (see _Gloss._ tit. _Serv. ad Legem_); but whatever is the antiquity of these rings, that of mottoes seems to fall short of them at least a century. That in the 19 & 20 Eliz. (1576-77) may perhaps be the first; because, till that time, they are nowhere mentioned. "When Dugdale speaks (p. 136.) of the posies 'that were usual,' he must be understood to speak of the usage of his own time." The motto which Serj. Wynne notices as of the earliest occurrence in 19 & 20 Eliz., was _Lex regis præsidium_. The earliest of subsequent date appear to be as follow: 13 Car. II. _Adest Carolus Magnus._ 2 Jac. II. _Deus, rex, lex_, (at the call of Christopher Milton, the poet's brother, John Powell, and others). 3 Jac. II. _Rege lege._ 1 Wm. & Mary. _Veniendo restituit rem._ 12 Wm. _Imperium et libertas._ 2 Anne. _Deo et regina._ 5 Anne. _Moribus, armis, legibus._ 9 Anne. _Unit et imperat._ 1 Geo. _Plus quam speravimus._ 10 Geo. _Salvâ libertate potens._ 20 & 21 Geo. II. _Mens bona, fama, fides._ Serjeant Wynne brings his list of the Serjeants called down to the year 1765, and gives in most cases the mottoes, which were not confined, it would seem, to individuals, but adopted by the whole call. He remarks, that in late years they have been strictly classical in their phrase and often elegant in their application,--whether in expressing the just idea of regal liberty--in a wish for the preservation of the family--or in a happy allusion to some public event, and, at the same time, a kind of prophetic declaration of its success. At p. 117. will be found an account of the expense and weight of the rings, which, upon the occasion referred to, were 1,409 in number, and the expense 773_l._ I will not occupy further space, but refer your correspondents to the work of Serjeant Wynne. G. The custom of Serjeants-at-law presenting rings on their creation was used in (and probably before) the reign of Henry VI. (See _Fortescue De Laudibus Legum Angliæ_, cap. 50,; and see instances and particulars in the reigns at Henry VIII., Edward VI., Philip and Mary, and Elizabeth in Dugdale's _Origines Juridiciales_, 2nd edit., pp. 116. 118. 122. 123. 124. 130.) Mottoes were used as early as 1606, but I am not prepared to say they originated at that period, though I do not observe any mention of them in Dugdale's accounts of the ceremonies at the creation of Serjeants of an earlier date. The following mottoes may interest some of your readers: Sir Edward Coke, 1606. _Lex est tutissima cassis._