The Shirt of Nessus
More malignant in character was the Shirt of Nessus as the source of misfortune from which there was no escape. According to tradition, Nessus the Centaur, while conveying Dejanira across a river, was shot by Hercules for his rudeness. The dying Centaur bequeathed his tunic to Dejanira, assuring her that to whomsoever she gave it, they would love her exclusively. Believing this, she presented it to Hercules, who on wearing it was subjected to such torture that, being unable to remove the garment, he immolated himself on a funeral pyre.
Similarly malignant was the poison-cloak sent as a present to Arthur by Queen Morgan la Fay.