Semiramire femme messane · Centre for Early Modern Visual Culture

Title: Semiramire femme messane
Subject: Elagabalus; Important Women; Famous Women; Prostitution; Soaemias
Period: 1450-1500;
Geographic: Italy; Emesa; Syria; Ancient Rome
Description: This illumination depicts Soaemias, a woman from Emesa and the mother of Emperor Elagabalus. Despite being a prostitute who was known to have slept with many men, Soaemias was risen to a much higher respect by being the emperor’s mother and she was called Augusta. She was treated like royalty, which is shocking treatment for a woman who was prostitute.
Image Creator: Robinet Testard (Illuminator)
Type: Text; Illumination
Identifier: mta:25504
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_25504_OBJ.jpg