Purity, Paints and Poison Powders

Christine de Pizan presenting her book to queen Isabeau of Bavaria
Illuminated miniature from The Book of the Queen (various works by Christine de Pizan), BL Harley 4431.

Female Beauty Practices and Social Power in Late Medieval Italy and France

‘Good looks’ can go a long way for social climbers in modern society. However, using beauty as a tool of social mobility was a skill employed long before the arrival of Instagram influencers. In this episode of Murmuring Medievalists, Hannah Feodorov, and Nicholas van Oosterom explore the wily writings of late medieval women such as Isabella d’Este, Anne of France, and Laura Cereta. With music, sound effects, and dramatic readings, the works of these female writers are brought to life as we explore their views and beliefs regarding the intertwined themes of beauty and power.

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Bibliography:

  • Feodorov, Hannah. “Shaping How Others See Us: Utilising Beauty Practices for Social Influence and Public Imaging in the 15th Century.” Masters Thesis, Utrecht University. 2023.
  • Adams, Tracy. “Anne de France and Gift-Giving: The Exercise of Female Power.” In Women and Power at the French Court, 1483-1563, edited by Susan Broomhall, 65–83. Amsterdam University Press, 2018.
  • Bayer, Andrea. Art and Love in Renaissance Italy. Vol. 61. New York, USA: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2008.
  • Brizio, Elena. Idealizing Women in the Italian Renaissance. Toronto, Ontario: Centre for Renaissance and Reformation Studies, 2022.
  • Brooke, Christopher. The Medieval Idea of Marriage. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1989.
  • Broomhall, Susan. Women and Power at the French Court, 1483-1563 (Gendering the Late Medieval and Early Modern World). Amsterdam, NL: Amsterdam University Press (Bibliovault), 2018.
  • Ciappelli, Giovanni, and Patricia Lee Rubin. Art, Memory, and Family in Renaissance Florence. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
  • Cockram, Sarah D P. Isabella d’Este and Francesco Gonzaga: Power Sharing at the Italian Renaissance Court. Routledge, 2013.
  • Compton, Rebekah. Venus and the Arts of Love in Renaissance Florence. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2021.
  • D’Avray, David. Medieval Marriage: Symbolism and Society. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2005.
  • D’Elia, Anthony F. “Marriage, Sexual Pleasure, and Learned Brides in the Wedding Orations of Fifteenth-Century Italy.” Renaissance Quarterly 55, no. 2 (2002): 379–433.
  • David-Chapy, Aubrée.“The Political, Symbolic, and Courtly Power of Anne de France and Louise de Savoie: From the Genesis to the Glory of Female Regency.” In Women and Power at the French Court, 1483-1563. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2018.
  • Klapisch-Zuber, Christiane. Women, Family, and Ritual in Renaissance Italy. Translated by
  • Lydia G Cochrane. 17th ed. 1985. Reprint, Chicago Etc.: University Of Chicago Press, 1987.
  • Mirabella, Bella. Ornamentalism: The Art of Renaissance Accessories. Ann Arbor: The University Of Michigan Press, 2016.
  • Meizkowski, Gretchen. “Old Age and Medieval Misogyny: The Old Woman.” In Old Age in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, 299–319. Walter de Gruyter, 2007.
  • Metzler, Irina. A Social History of Disability in the Middle Ages. Routledge, 2013.
  • Minois, Georges. History of Old Age: From Antiquity to the Renaissance. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2013.
  • Mirabella, M. Bella. “Feminist Self-Fashioning: Christine de Pizan and the Treasure of the City of Ladies.” European Journal of Women’s Studies 6, no. 1 (1999): 9–20.
  • Rubin, Patricia Lee. “Art and the Imagery of Memory.” In Art, Memory, and Family in Renaissance Florence, edited by Giovanni Ciappelli and Patricia Lee Rubin, 67–86. Cambridge, UK; New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
  • Rubinstein, Nicolai. “Family, Memory, and History.” In Art, Memory, and Family in Renaissance Florence, edited by Giovanni Ciappelli and Patricia Lee Rubin, 39–48. Cambridge, UK; New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
  • Toreno, Elisabetta. Netherlandish and Italian Female Portraiture in the Fifteenth Century. Visual and Material Culture, 2022.

Translations of the Primary sources:

  • Castiglione, Baldassarre. The Courtier. Translated by George Bull. 1528. Reprint, London, UK: Penguin Books, 1976.
  • Cereta, Laura. Collected Letters of a Renaissance Feminist. Translated by Diana Maury Robin. Chicago, USA: University of Chicago Press, 1997.
  • D’Este, Isabella. Selected Letters. Edited and translated by Deanna Shemek. Toronto, Ontario, CA: Iter Press , 2017.
  • Pizan, Christine de. The Book of the City of Ladies. Edited and translated by Rosalind Brown-Grant. 1405. Reprint, London, UK: Penguin Books, 1999.
  • Jansen, Sharon L. Anne of France: Lessons for My Daughter (Library of Medieval Women). Cambridge, UK: DS Brewer, 2012.

Credits

Producers/Hosts: Hannah Feodorov, Nicholas van Oosterom

Writer/Editor: Hannah Feodorov

Assistant Editor: Nicole Schildknegt

Artwork: Hannah Feodorov, Nicholas van Oosterom

Intro Music: Pond5

Incidental Music: Animal Saint

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