Beronice royne de capadoce · Centre for Early Modern Visual Culture

Title: Beronice royne de capadoce
Subject: Revenge; Important Women; Famous Women; Important Queens; Caeneus; Mithridates; Berenice
Period: 1450-1500;
Geographic: Modern day Turkey; Cappadocia
Description: This illumination depicts Berenice, the queen of Cappadocia, wearing armour and holding an axe as she looks down at the person she just killed. Boccaccio explains that Berenice’s brother, Mithridates, had her sons killed. Caeneus, a servant to Mithridates, is the person who carried out the murder of Berenice’s sons. To avenge her sons, Berenice murders Caeneus. Boccaccio explains that Berenice ran over Caeneus’ body while driving a chariot, however, this illumination does not depict the chariot.
Image Creator: Robinet Testard (Illuminator)
Type: Text; Illumination
Identifier: mta:18081
Language: frm
Source Name: Boccace, Des cleres et nobles femmes, traduction française anonyme [Boccaccio, The cleric and noble women, anonymous French translation]
Parent Collection: Boccace, Des cleres et nobles femmes, traduction française anonyme. Illuminations by Robinet Testard (1488-1496)
Image: mta_18081_OBJ.jpg