Cy sensuit de armonie fille de gilon sicilien · Centre for Early Modern Visual Culture

Title: Cy sensuit de armonie fille de gilon sicilien
Subject: Noble Women; Devotion; Loyalty; Rebellion; Harmonia; Important Women; Famous Women
Period: 1400-1450;
Geographic: Syracuse; Sicily; Italy
Description: This illumination depicts a young servant girl, disguised as the noble Harmonia, lying on the ground after getting stabbed to death by the men who are standing above her. Boccaccio explains that there was a rebellion in Syracuse against nobility, and because Harmonia was the niece of the king, she was in danger. Harmonia’s nurse disguised a servant girl to look exactly like Harmonia so that when the rebels came, the real Harmonia would be safe. This illumination depicts the servant girl who died in Harmonia’s place. After seeing the bravery and selflessness of the servant girl, Harmonia willingly called out to the rebels and died in honour of the girl for dying in her place. Harmonia is depicted standing on the left side of the image getting stabbed in her chest by the same men who killed the servant.
Image Creator: Master of Boethius (Illuminator)
Type: Text; Illumination
Identifier: mta:20054
Language: frm
Source Name: Des cleres et nobles femmes, De claris mulieribus in an anonymous French translation
Parent Collection: 1410 Paris
Image: mta_20054_OBJ.jpg