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Article: A ring to die for: Poison rings hold centuries of secrets
- Article from:
- Antiques & Collecting Magazine
- Article date:
- October 1, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright Lightner Publishing Corporation Oct 2001. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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IMAGINE THE SCENE: A sumptuous royal feast hosted in the 16th century. There is much merriment, and the nobility promises a continuing alliance between the people of the two kingdoms represented -- until the guests start dropping dead.
While circulating among the invitees, the hostess surreptitiously emptied the contents of her vessel ring into the wine goblets of those men her father and brother wished to eliminate.
Murder? How could the woman once heralded as the head of Christendom, loving wife and devoted mother, patron of learning and the arts be accused of such a crime? Very easily. Indeed, Lucrezia Borgia (1480-1519), played an integral role in family politics, and so did her ...