200 THE MAGIC OP JEWELS AND CHARMS
on
the eve of a battle in which his forces were much inferior to those of
the enemy, he was filled with despair to find that he had left his
"victory stone" in his castle, miles away from where he had pitched his
tent. Overmastered by his desire to regain possession of his stone at
this critical time, Nidung offered a large sum of money and his
daughter's hand to anyone who would bring it to him before the battle
began. The distance was so great and the time so short that the task
seemed utterly impossible, and a young esquire, Velint by name, was the
only one willing to risk the enterprise. He was favored in his quest
by having a horse of wonderful strength and endurance, by whose help he
barely succeeded in making the long journey to the castle and returning
in time. King Nidung, wearing his invincible stone, was the victor in
the battle, and he did not fail to carry out his rather rash promise.84
Amulets of fossil coral are freely used in Italy, especially in the province of Aquila, and are called "witch-stones" (pietre stregonie). These
are similar to one type of the "asterias" worn as amulets in ancient
and medieval times. Many of the Italian amulets are incised or engraved
with Christian subjects, one figured by Bellucci bearing the head of
Christ on the obverse, and Christ on the cross on the reverse side; on
others appears the image of the Virgin Mary.85
Crystalline quartz will sometimes show a star either at base or apex, if cut en cabochon. This
is due to the presence of acicular crystals of rutile or to air spaces.
Those specimens from Albany, Maine and other places present this
phenomenon, and Starolite and Astrolite or "star stone" has been
suggested as an appropriate name for this variety.
** Peringskiold, " Wilkina Saga eller historia om Konung Diedrich of Bern," Stockholmis, 1715, pp. 57, 58.
" Bellucci, " Il feticismo in Italia," Perugia, 1907, pp. 100-104.
