SOME INTERESTING RINGS OF HISTORY 163
In
a Frankish sepulchre at Laubenheim, near Ringen, Hessen-Darmstadt, was
found a gold ring on the bezel of which is engraved the head of a
woman, turned to the right, around which are the letters of the Gothic
name Hunila. A princess of this name was married, about 280 a.D., to
Quintus Bonosius, one of the Thirty Tyrants who established themselves
in the Roman Empire during the short and troubled reign of Probus
(280-281). While the ring we describe cannot be assigned to such an
early period, but probably belongs to the end of the sixth or the
beginning of the seventh century of our era, the intrinsic value and
the workmanship, superior for the place and time, render it likely that
this Hunila, also, was of royal race and station. In the sepulchre
which yielded this ring there was a chain of amber and amethyst beads.2
The
Persian poet-philosopher, Saadi, relates in his Gulistan, or " Garden
of Roses," a story illustrating how a happy chance may do more to help
the attainment of a temporary success than special ability or
training. A Persian sovereign, passionately devoted to archery,
determined to make a crucial test of the skill of his most famous
archers, and to stimulate their efforts by the bestowal of a rich
prize. To this end he caused a ring set with an immensely valuable
precious stone to be suspended above the dome of Azad on the mosque
near Shiraz, and proclaimed to all men that this ring would be given to
the one who succeeded in shooting an arrow through its hoop. Despite
the apparent impossibility of the task, several hundred of the Shah's
archers strove to fulfil the conditions of the trial, but in vain.
2 M. Deloche, " Étude historique et archéologique sur les anneaux sigillaires et autres des premiers siècles du moyen âge," Paris, 1900, pp. 90-92, figure.
