Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index



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  • Title: Dedication page with Matilda of Canossa from the Vita Mathildis
  • Creator:
  • Description: Matilda, countess of Tuscany, sits enthroned with two smaller figures in attendance, her chaplain Donizo presents the book he has written about her and her sword-bearer stands on the other side. Matilda holds a flower and is dressed in rich robes. She wears a conical hat that may be associated with earlier Langobard rulers. Her attributes and presentation mark her as the legitimate wielder of political authority. The book that Donizo holds is the Vita Mathildis, a biography of the countess in verse written in 1115.
  • Source: Wikimedia Commons
  • Rights: Public Domain
  • Subject (See Also): Countesses Matilda, Countess of Tuscany Noble Women Politics Power Rulers
  • Geographic Area: Italy
  • Century: 12
  • Date: 1115
  • Related Work: Vita Mathildis, written by Donizo, Matilda's chaplain. See additional illumination from the manuscript in Feminae:http://inpress.lib.uiowa.edu/feminae/DetailsPage.aspx?Feminae_ID=31035
  • Current Location: Rome, Biblioteca apostolica Vaticana, Cod. Vat. Lat. 4922, fol. 7v
  • Original Location:
  • Artistic Type (Category): Digital Images; Manuscript Illuminations
  • Artistic Type (Material/Technique): Vellum (parchment); Paint
  • Donor: Laywoman; Matilda, Countess of Tuscany
  • Height/Width/Length(cm): //
  • Inscription: Mathildis Lucens precor hoc cape cara volumen (O illustrious Mathilda, I pray that you hold this volume dear.)
  • Related Resources: Christine B. Verzar, "Picturing Matilda of Canossa: Medieval Strategies of Representation." Representing History, 900-1300: Art, Music, History. Edited by Robert A. Maxwell. Pennsylvania State University Press, 2010. Pages 76-77.