Cy sensuit histoire de pathesilee roine des amazones · Centre for Early Modern Visual Culture

Title: Cy sensuit histoire de pathesilee roine des amazones
Subject: Important Women; Famous Women; Important Queens; Hector; Amazons; The Trojan War; Penthesilea
Period: 1400-1450;
Geographic: Asia Minor; Ancient Greece; Troy
Description: This illumination depicts Penthesilea, the queen of the Amazons, riding a horse while holding a bow and a shield. She has companions riding on horses behind her, which are other Amazon women. Penthesilea, as Boccaccio describes, was a great warrior. She wanted to secure a strong heir for the Amazons, so she sought out Hector of Troy to provide her with an heir. She fought in a battle against the Greeks to prove herself worthy of bearing Hectors child. She died in battle trying to impress Hector.
Image Creator: Master of Boethius (Illuminator)
Type: Text; Illumination
Identifier: mta:19865
Language: frm
Source Name: Des cleres et nobles femmes, De claris mulieribus in an anonymous French translation
Parent Collection: 1410 Paris
Image: mta_19865_OBJ.jpg