Bronze Age Gold from Wales

Gawen Goodman of Ruthin is shown aged fifty-six, wearing a memorial ring. The skull is a reminder of our own mortality. The inscriptions include the Christian reflections 'Deum timere' (Fear God) and 'Iesus est amor meus' (Jesus is my love). He is portrayed as a devout, respectable man, but the poet Thomas Prys wrote of him, 'If he once gets at the wines of a town, he'll not come home without tripping: well I know how he can drink his share; If there's sack to be had, he'll not put up with gruel. A generous and godly man is Gawain-when in his cups."