In Germany, a loving couple start on the principle of reciprocity and exchange rings. This is not done at the time of the marriage ceremony, but previously when the formal betrothment takes place, which is generally made the occasion of a family festival. The ring thus used is not called a wedding ring, but _Trau_ ring, which means _ring of betrothal_. A particular ring does not form part of the ceremony of marriage. Royalty, however, appears to go beyond the common custom of the country, even in a marriage. At the late marriage of the Emperor of Austria, the Prince Archbishop of Vienna, who performed the ceremony, took rings from a golden cup and presented them to the august couple, who, reciprocally, placed them on each other’s finger; and, while either held the hand of the other, they received the episcopal benediction. In the early Christian Church a ring of troth, the _annulus pronubus_, was given by the man to the woman as a token and proof of her betrothment. Pope Nicholas, A. D. 860, in the account which he gives of the ceremonies used in the Roman Church, says: “In the espousals, the man first presents the woman whom he betroths with the arræ or espousal gifts; and among these, he puts a ring on her finger.”[328] This ring, which may be traced back to the time of Tertullian, appears to have come into the Christian Church from Roman usage; although the Oriental ring of betrothment may have been the origin of both. According to the ritual of the Greek Church, the priest first placed the rings on the fingers of the parties, who afterwards exchanged them. In the life of St. Leobard, who is said to have flourished about the year 580, written by Gregory of Tours, he appears to have given a ring, a kiss and a pair of shoes to his affianced. The ring and shoes were a symbol of securing the lady’s hands and feet in the trammels of conjugal obedience; but the ring, of itself, was sufficient to confirm the contract.[329] It would seem that, on the ceremony of betrothal, the ring was placed on the third finger of the right hand; and it may be a question, whether the beautiful picture by Raffaelle, called _Lo Sposalizio_, should not be considered as an illustration of espousal or betrothing and not a marriage of the Virgin. Mary and Joseph stand opposite to each other in the centre; the high priest, between them, is bringing their right hands towards each other; Joseph, with his right hand, (guided by the priest,) is placing the ring on the third finger of the right hand of the Virgin; beside Mary is a group of the virgins of the Temple; near Joseph are the suitors, who break their barren wands--that which Joseph holds in his hand has blossomed into a lily, which, according to the legend, was the sign that he was the chosen one.[330] The same circumstance, of placing the ring on the third finger of the right hand, is observable in Ghirlandais’s fresco of the “Espousals” in the church of the Santa Croce at Florence.