Cy sensuit histoire de ceres qui sut lancienne et tres plantureuse deesse des bles et royne des siciliens · Centre for Early Modern Visual Culture

Title: Cy sensuit histoire de ceres qui sut lancienne et tres plantureuse deesse des bles et royne des siciliens
Subject: Important Women; Famous Women; Agriculture; Harvest; Goddesses; Roman Mythology; Discovery; Ceres
Period: 1400-1450;
Geographic: Ancient Italy; Italian Countryside
Description: The goddess of agriculture, Ceres, is depicted on the left side of the image wearing a crown and a blue dress. She is pointing towards the men on the right side of the image. Boccaccio explains that after discovering agriculture, Ceres had tamed oxen and trained them to yoke, and taught men how to do this. She also discovered planting seeds and then taught men how to harvest them once they matured. There is one person depicted plowing the fields with oxen, and another man wearing red who is husking grain with a flail. The man at the foreground of the image on the far-right side is depicted spreading seeds on the ground. Ceres also taught men how to turn flour into an edible fare. Ceres wears the crown and scepter to signify her importance linked to agriculture and harvest.
Image Creator: Master of Boethius (Illuminator)
Type: Text; Illumination
Identifier: mta:19814
Language: frm
Source Name: Des cleres et nobles femmes, De claris mulieribus in an anonymous French translation
Parent Collection: 1410 Paris; 1410 Paris
Image: mta_19814_OBJ.jpg
Collection: Early Modern Women
Subject: Important Women; Famous Women; Agriculture; Harvest; Goddesses; Roman Mythology; Discovery; Ceres

Media: mta_19814_OBJ.jpg