De Nicostrata: llamada carmenta · Centre for Early Modern Visual Culture

Title: De Nicostrata: llamada carmenta
Period: 1450-1500;
Geographic: Italian Peninsula; Italy; Pallantium
Description: This engraving depicts Nicostrata, a woman who was a famous prophetess during her time, holding a scroll of parchment. We know that this is Nicostrata as the creator engraved her name horizontally adjecent to her body. Nicostrata had gone with her son, Evander, to Italy and he founded the city of Pallantium. Boccaccio explains that once Nicostrata realized that the inhabitants of this city were not well educated or literate, she decided to give them their own language with their own letters and symbols. This was the Latin language. Nicostrata taught the new letters and language to the people of Pallantium, which is what the engraving depicts. There are people sitting on the ground who are listening intently to the prophetess, as she is holding the parchment and pointing at the letters.
Image Creator: Anonymous (Engraver)
Type: Text; Woodcut Engraving
Identifier: mta:14678
Language: spa
Source Name: De Las Mujeres Ilustres [On Famous Women]
Parent Collection: 1494 Mujeres Ilustres; 1494 Mujeres Ilustres
Image: mta_14678_OBJ.png
Collection: Early Modern Women
Subject: Famous Women; Prophets; Nicostrata; Latin Language; Roman Mythology; Important Women