Costatia ronoru impatrice et Sicilie · Centre for Early Modern Visual Culture

Title: Costatia ronoru impatrice et Sicilie
Subject: Famous Women; Constance; Important Queens; Prophecies; Important Women
Period: 1450-1500;
Geographic: Italy; Ancient Rome; Sicily
Description: The left side of this engraving depicts Constance, the daughter of King William of Sicily, marrying Henry, the emperor of Rome. Constance was forced to be a nun at a young age due to a prophecy which foretold Constance would somehow cause the destruction of Sicily. Her father, William, put her in a convent to prevent the prophecy from happening. At an older age, Constance was married to Emperor Henry and bore a son at the age of 55. Constance is depicted on the right side of the engraving lying in a bed after giving birth to her son, Frederick. Frederick is depicted getting baptized in the background of the image in a large bowl. The baby grows up to be the one to fulfill the prophecy that King William was fearful of.
Image Creator: Anonymous (Engraver)
Type: Text; Woodcut Engraving
Identifier: mta:18237
Language: lat
Source Name: Iohannis Bocacij in librum de claris mulieribus
Parent Collection: 1487 Leuven
Image: mta_18237_OBJ.png