it
was in the hands of Mostiola, a cousin of Marcus Aurelius Claudius, and
a convert to Christianity. In the reign of Aurelian began what was
known as the eighth persecution of the Christians, and Mostiola was
obliged to flee from Rome. She sought refuge in Clusium, the ancient
capital of the Etruscans, the Chuisi of a later time, but she was
seized by the Roman authorities and died a martyr's death. In the
eighth century a church was erected at the spot where she was buried
and the ring was guarded therein as a precious relic.
About
the middle of the thirteenth century this ring was transferred, for
greater security, from' the Church of St. Mostiola, which lay outside
the city, to the cathedral, where it was seen, April 17, 1355, by
Emperor Charles IV, on his return from his coronation. In 1420, by
order of the bishop, the ring was taken to the Church of St. Francesco.
There was a belief that a mysterious virtue emanated from it which
acted miraculously upon the sight of those who gazed upon it. Learning
of this, Filippo Maria, Duke of Milan, who suffered from a disease of
the eye, requested, in 1445, that the ring might be brought to him.
Although Pope Eugene IV supported his request, the historian inclines
to the belief that nothing came of the matter, for the Duke became completely blind a year later.
Among
the Franciscan friars who had the care of the ring was a certain " Fra
Vinterio " (Winter), called " the German," from the land of his birth.
Possibly because he was a foreigner, he became an object of dislike,
and upon the occurrence of a robbery of some articles of value, his
fellow monks eagerly seized upon the occasion to fix the guilt upon the
unfortunate Winter. He was cast into prison and subjected to the
