The Spirit Ring
by Lois McMaster Bujold
Reviewed by Galen Strickland
Posted July 19, 2024
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The first fantasy novel from Lois McMaster Bujold, 1992's The Spirit Ring is different from later ones. It is set in our world, but with a few twists. Most of the action takes place in and around a fictional city-state in northern Italy, Montefoglia, but Venice, Milan, Rome, the Vatican, are also mentioned. The metalsmith/mage Prospero Beneforte is patterned after Benvenuto Cellini, including several things he created; the bronze statue of Perseus holding the head of Medusa, and a gold salt cellar, although Beneforte made his for a different purpose. It is set a few years earlier than Cellini's life, since Beneforte had previously been commissioned to create several things for Lorenzo de' Medici, who died before Cellini was born. Notice I identified Beneforte not just as a metalsmith, but also a mage. An appropriate subject, considering this was around the time of Paracelsus. In this slightly different world magic is licensed for both religious and secular purposes. Some priests, but not all, are also mages, but there are strict protocols on their actions, and secular mages are subject to frequent overview.
A salt cellar is normally just a vessel to hold salt, Cellini's designed for French King Francis I, although the intention was for it to also be seen as a work of art. Beneforte designed his for Duke Sandrino of Montefoglia, with an extra magical function, to ward against poisonings. At the same time, he was working on his statue of Perseus, to be installed in the castle for the wedding of the Duke's daughter to Lord Ferrante of Losimo. Beneforte had previously been imprisoned for a magical creation, a spirit ring, commissioned by de' Medeci, but he was absolved, or at least pardoned for that infraction. Lord Ferrante also employed a magician, who had created his own spirit ring, which channels its power from the spirit of a dead person denied burial. That part of the story derives from a folkloric tradition, the grateful dead (not the folk-rock band). Another change from history; Cellini did not have a daughter, but Beneforte does. Even though it went against tradition, Beneforte allowed Fiametta to assist in his shop and foundry. He may or may not have known she also read all his notes on magical spells. She designed and created her own spirit ring, with the likeness of a lion, using a love spell. It was to tell her of her own true love, whom she hoped would be Uri Ochs, a Swiss soldier in service to Duke Sandrino. Uri had been the model for Perseus, so she had seen him naked on several occasions, although Uri might not have been aware of it. Fiametta never got the chance to see if the ring fit Uri.
Lord Ferrante comes to Montefoglia, but before he is presented to his future bride, the Duke receives word from others, something damning against Ferrante. We don't know the specifics, but I assumed it had something to do with Vitelli, Ferrante's magician. Whether directed by his mage, or if he just couldn't control his temper, Ferrante draws his sword on the Duke. Fiametta witnesses the encounter, running away to warn her father. Ferrante's guards attack others. Fiametta sees Uri stabbed with a sword, but her father draws her away and out the castle gates before she could be sure of his fate. They are pursued by Losimon troops, but manage to launch a boat in the lake and sail north toward the monastery at St. Jerome. Chapters then alternate between Beneforte and Fiametta's flight, with Uri's brother Thur, a miner in the Swiss village of Bruinwald. Just prior to Ferrante's attack, Uri had sent a message to Thur, telling him of an apprenticeship with Beneforte. Thur meets Fiametta along the way, and they team up to go to St. Jerome, lucky to make it inside the monastery since it is also under siege by Ferrante's men. Abbott Monreale of St. Jerome is a mage, the one who had granted Beneforte his license. Together, he, Fiametta, and Thur, plot how to retake the castle at Montefoglia. Monreale is aware Fiametta knows a bit of magic, but forbids her to use any, since that is not the purview of women. She does anyway. To make a long story short, Fiametta saves the day, with the help of Thur, and that of his brother Uri. No details about what that entailed though.
A relatively short book, but full of both well-realized action sequences, and contemplateive moments. Fiametta faced more than one obstacle. Being a woman she was expected to be subservient to her father, and would be expected to be subserivent to her husband, if she ever had one. She was also subject to condescension from almost everyone, due to her skin color. Her mother, who died during a plague when Fiametta was eight, was Ethiopian. All she wanted was to be accepted for the intelligent person she was, capable of doing the work her father expected, and even beyond that, to be allowed to be a licensed mage herself. If not for the intervention of Abbott Monreale, she might have been brought before an Inquisition, might have been burned as a witch. As it is, she is granted a provisional license, but under very strict observation from the abbott. And with the help of Thur, who may or may not be her true love. Only time would tell. Recommended.
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