[The Wife of Drigiagon has her Defiler Decapitated] · Centre for Early Modern Visual Culture

Title: [The Wife of Drigiagon has her Defiler Decapitated]
Subject: Vengeance; Rape; Important Women; Important Queens; Wife of Drigiagon
Period: 1450-1500;
Geographic: Asia Minor
Description: This illustration depicts the queen of the Galatians sitting on the ground on the left side of the image holding a decapitated head. This woman’s name is unknown; however, she is the wife of King Drigiagon. After being taken as a captive of Roman enemies, the Galatian woman was defiled by a Roman centurion. To seek her vengeance, once she was freed through ransom, she ordered her servant to decapitate the man who raped her. This image depicts her servant holding the sword just after severing the centurions head off. The centurion’s body is illustrated wearing a white outfit with blood pouring out of the wound. The Galatian woman is holding the head as she will use this to prove to her husband that she was defiled by this man. Boccaccio explains that she wrote on this woman to highlight her daring and courageous nature.
Image Creator: Anonymous (Illuminator)
Type: Text; Illumination
Identifier: mta:12023
Language: frm
Source Name: De la louenge et vertu des nobles et cleres dames [Of praise and virtue of the noble and clergy women]
Parent Collection: 1493 Paris; 1493 Paris
Image: mta_12023_OBJ.jpg
Collection: Early Modern Women
Subject: Vengeance; Rape; Important Women; Important Queens; Wife of Drigiagon