Women, Art and Architectural Patronage in Renaissance Mantua

Hickson, Sally Anne

doi:10.4324/9781315546650

Cited by 2 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…Gonzaga family, squashing the devil in the shape of a hybrid monster (see cover image). 134 Court prophetess to the Gonzaga during her lifetime, Osanna's cult was assiduously promoted by members of this family throughout the sixteenth century. 135 Although they did not succeed in securing her full canonization, in 1594 the Congregation of Rites conceded the request to have Andreasi's body publicly displayed on her annual feast day.…”

Section: Church Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Hazards of Conversion: Nuns, Jews, and Demons in Late Renaissance Italy

Herzig¹

2016

Church Hist

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Female monasticism and the conversion of the Jews were both major concerns for the ecclesiastical establishment, as well as for Italian ruling elites, after the Council of Trent (1545–1563). Hence, the monachization of baptized Jewish girls acquired a unique symbolic significance. Moreover, during this period cases of demonic possession were on the rise, and so were witchcraft accusations. This article explores a case from late sixteenth-century Mantua in which Jewish conversion, female monachization, demonic possession and witch-hunting all came into play in a violent drama. Drawing on unpublished documents as well as on chronicles and hagiographies, the article elucidates the mental toll that conversion and monachization took on the Jewess Luina, who later became known as Sister Margherita. It delineates her life, which culminated with her diagnosis as a demoniac, and analyzes the significance that this etiology held for the energumen—whose affliction was attributed to her ongoing contacts with Jews—and for Mantua's Jews. The article argues that the anxiety provoked by suspicions that a formerly Jewish nun reverted to Judaism was so profound, that it led to the burning at the stake of Judith Franchetta, the only Jew ever to be executed as a witch in the Italian peninsula.

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Section: Church Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Hazards of Conversion: Nuns, Jews, and Demons in Late Renaissance Italy

Herzig¹

2016

Church Hist

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“…Margherita was the oldest of her parents' children, and as her mother only bore daughters Margherita's future and marriage would hold heavy implications for her sisters and their family. As the last princess of a long Byzantine royal lineage, she would have brought exceptional prestige to any non-noble family she married into (Hickson, 2012;Betussi, 1545). In 1531, Margherita Paleologo married into the Gonzaga ducal family upon her marriage to Federico Gonzaga II, the 5 th Marchese and subsequent 1 st Duke of Mantua (1500-1540).…”

Section: Margherita Paleologomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In 1531, Margherita Paleologo married into the Gonzaga ducal family upon her marriage to Federico Gonzaga II, the 5 th Marchese and subsequent 1 st Duke of Mantua (1500-1540). Upon her marriage she would have entered the newly established ducal court in Mantua at the age of 21 (Hickson, 2012).…”

Section: Margherita Paleologomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sadly, Federico II died in 1540, and as her eldest son was not old enough to rule Margherita became co-regent with Cardinal Ercole Gonzaga (1505-1563) and Ferrante Gonzaga (1507-1557), her brothers-in-law. Margherita provided her husband with a daughter, Isabella, and three male heirs prior to his death, Francesco, Guglielmo, and Ludovico, and was pregnant with a fourth, Federico, when Federico II died (Hickson, 2012). Throughout her life, and especially during her regency period, Margherita was noted as a very virtuous and devout woman.…”

Section: Margherita Paleologomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Giuseppe Betussi's (1545) iteration of Boccaccio's Donne Illustri he explains Margherita was a devout widow and apt political ruler. Ruling throughout the Catholic Reformation and having previously been wed to Federico II in order to ensure he fathered legitimate heirs, Margherita brought stability and a vast patronage to the arts to Mantua (Hickson, 2012). Margherita would go onto die in 1566 having combined her families Monferrato territories with those of Mantua under the Gonzaga dukedom (Clayton & Whitaker, 2007;Hickson, 2012).…”

Section: Margherita Paleologomentioning

confidence: 99%

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Influential women and dress in Renaissance Italy: Power and identity in portraiture

Stanciel

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Mattye (Nana) for always pushing me and showing an interest in my research. Thank you to my cousins, Crystal, Ashley, Stephanie, and Rachel, for setting the stage and letting me know that I was more than capable of this journey. Finally, I want to acknowledge my Granny and Pop both for always motivating me to do well in my studies and pushing me to be the best I could be and supporting my journey into the museum and historical research fields.I want to extend a big thank you to my thesis committee and my major professor Dr.Kelly L. Reddy-Best for not only her willingness to work on this historical research with me, but her tenacity in keeping me on track and ensuring I completed this research. I also would like to acknowledge Agatha Huenpenbecker Burnett Assistantship (AHB) mentor and colleague Dr.Gordon for all the valuable lessons she has taught me. But I would like to extend a big thanks to my friends and AHB colleagues, Joshua Simon and Kyra Streck, because I do not think I would have been able to make it through my time at Iowa State without you.

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Women, Art and Architectural Patronage in Renaissance Mantua

Cited by 2 publications

References 0 publications

The Hazards of Conversion: Nuns, Jews, and Demons in Late Renaissance Italy

The Hazards of Conversion: Nuns, Jews, and Demons in Late Renaissance Italy

Influential women and dress in Renaissance Italy: Power and identity in portraiture

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