An arm ring, also known as an armlet or an armband, is a band of metal, usually a precious metal, worn as jewelry or an ornament around the biceps of the upper arm. The arm ring is similar to a bracelet or bangle, though it must be shaped and sized to fit snugly to the upper arm.
Often, when the word "ring" occurs in Bronze-Age and Iron-Age heroic literature it refers to an arm ring, rather than a finger ring.Within the context of the Scandinavian Bronze Age, archeological digs of graves suggest that arm rings were most commonly worn by men. Arm rings have also been found in Britain and Ireland, with artifacts dating from the Bronze Age till the Viking Age. Archeological discoveries of Bronze Age arm rings in Denmark suggest they were common Votive offerings during that period, found purposefully deposited in bodies of water or buried near large stones, hills, or barrows. It is believed that arm rings may have been bestowed as gifts by powerful lords to secure or maintain bonds of fealty or Vassalages, with evidence of this practice found in Scandinavian sagas and the Old English epic poem Beowulf. A distinctively decorated set of Danish arm rings within the National Museum of Denmark collection had acquired the name of "oath rings" during the 19th century by archeologists directly connecting those rings to such a practice detailed in the sagas, but they were later dated to the Bronze Age where there was less historical evidence for the giving of arm rings as part of oath making. Arm rings may have also been a method of storing silver during the Viking Age, a context wherein coins were less common. When silver was needed for use, a section of the arm ring would have been cut off, leading to the term hack silver.
