Cy apres sensuit histoire de porcie de cathon utitence fille · Centre for Early Modern Visual Culture

Title: Cy apres sensuit histoire de porcie de cathon utitence fille
Subject: Important Women; Famous Women; Noble Women; Brutus; Julius Caesar; Conspiracies; Assassination; Portia
Period: 1400-1450;
Geographic: Italy; Ancient Rome
Description: This illumination depicts Portia, the daughter of Marcus Cato and the wife of Brutus, swallowing a hot piece of coal to kill herself. Brutus was one of the people involved in the conspiracy to assassinate Julius Caesar. When Brutus told Portia of the conspiracy, she took a barber’s knife and stabbed her foot with it. She does this to prepare herself in case she has to kill herself should the conspiracy not work out in Brutus’ favour. Brutus eventually dies, and all Portia had to kill herself with was hot coal which is why she is depicted swallowing this in the image.
Image Creator: Master of Boethius (Illuminator)
Type: Text; Illumination
Identifier: mta:20080
Language: frm
Source Name: Des cleres et nobles femmes, De claris mulieribus in an anonymous French translation
Parent Collection: 1410 Paris; 1410 Paris
Image: mta_20080_OBJ.jpg
Collection: Early Modern Women
Subject: Important Women; Famous Women; Noble Women; Brutus; Julius Caesar; Conspiracies; Assassination; Portia