Brewer's: Olindo

The Mahometan king of Jerusalem, at the advice of his magician, stole an image of the Virgin, and set it up as a palladium in the chief mosque. The image was stolen during the night, and the king, unable to discover the perpetrator, ordered all his Christian subjects to be put to the sword. Sofronia, to prevent this wholesale massacre, accused herself of the deed, and was condemned to be burnt alive. Olindo, her lover, hearing of this, went to the king and took on himself the blame; whereupon both were condemned to death, but were saved by the intercession of Clorinda. (Jerusalem Delivered.)

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
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