Mythology Wednesday : Lovespoons
By AmberLynn
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104615)
United States
January 2, 2019 8:50am CST
Okay, so technically this isn't a part of mythology. Actually, there's no technically about it, it flat out isn't a myth.
Several places in the world have had this tradition, though I don't believe it's in practice anymore. The lovespoon was similar to a promise ring or to a little gift you'd give your beloved. The crafting of the lovespoon was also a way to show off your skills to your beloved's father or brother. Woodworking was a reliable and sustainable business in the time of the lovespoon.
Each lovespoon had carvings that signified different things. Caged Balls, for instance, signified the number of children the man desired to have. A lock signified security, a horseshoe luck.. so on and so forth.
A museum near Cardiff (In Wales) displays a lovespoon from 1667.
4 people like this
4 responses
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104615)
• United States
2 Jan 19
I would love to own one. I am sure there is someone that still crafts them. I might talk to my ex brother in law, he might be able to craft one for me.
1 person likes this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104615)
• United States
2 Jan 19
@LadyDuck That is cool. You never heard a story behind it?
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@LadyDuck (502189)
• Italy
2 Jan 19
@ScribbledAdNauseum I am pretty sure that one of my aunts had one.
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104615)
• United States
3 Jan 19
Ah, you're thinking of the.. oh what's it called. The Claddagh? I am talking about a spoon...
1 person likes this
It was stolen from you?
@Courage7 (19626)
• United States
3 Jan 19
@ScribbledAdNauseum Yes a spoon ring I had not the Claddagh
@snowy22315 (208751)
• United States
2 Jan 19
Well that's pretty interesting. I don't believe I have heard of a lovespoon before.
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104615)
• United States
2 Jan 19
I came across this a couple of years ago. I think it's pretty neat. People still sell them today but I am not sure if they are handcrafted anymore, and of course it's more for the culture / folky aspect of it.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (208751)
• United States
2 Jan 19
@ScribbledAdNauseum It sounds like something you might be able to find off the Blue Ridge Parkway. They do a lot of handcrafted type stuff down there.
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104615)
• United States
2 Jan 19
@snowy22315 This is true, though I know my own woodworker personally. I don't think he's ever done anything of that caliber, but I bet if I had some money and asked him to do it, he'd get it back to me in 6 or 7 months
1 person likes this
! I may have seen decorative spoons, but didn't realize there was a meaning behind them.@much2say (57760)
• Los Angeles, California
2 Jan 19
@ScribbledAdNauseum It'd be neat to have a collection of them! Although it'd be very cool to have one that was handcrafted specially for us.
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104615)
• United States
2 Jan 19
@much2say I agree. I would love to have one that was handcrafted with me in mind, and by someone who I was in a relationship with. I do not see myself ever marrying again, but getting a handcarved anything would be truly special.
1 person likes this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104615)
• United States
2 Jan 19
They are really cool, aren't they? So very sweet as well.
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