Recreating Marcia of Boccaccio’s manuscript “The Lives of Famous Women”

A while ago, a friend in the SCA (Cecilia de Gatisbury) started a group to portray the women of Robinet Testard’s illuminations of Boccaccio’s manuscript “The Lives of Famous Women”. We all chose the person we wanted to recreate and a great project was born. You can follow along on the full project at the main blog: Famous Women Project .

I chose to recreate Marcia, Daughter of Varro, and an artist.

Boccaccio writes:

It has long been known that in Rome there was a woman named Marcia, daughter of Varro, who remained a virgin all her life. But I do not remember having found out which Varro it was or even when she lived.

I believe that this woman should be extolled all the more because she was legally independent and preserved her virginity in its full integrity of her own free will, not because of the coercion of a higher authority. As a matter of fact, I do not find that she was bound by holy orders to Vesta or subject to a vow made to Diana or entangled in another commitment – all reasons which curb and restrain women. I believe it was through purity of mind alone that she conquered the sting of the flesh, which occasionally overcomes even the most illustrious men, and she kept her body unblemished by any relations with men until her death.

I chose Marcia, mostly because I felt this was a dress and accessories that I could complete AND contained items (from hat to dress to apron) that I would wear again. Because hats and aprons are always in style. ;-)

I have since completed the apron and am in patterning mode for the hat at the moment. I have purchased and prepped the red and white linen needed for the project and am looking forward to the final result. Many thanks to Cecilia for having this idea and for bringing us all along for the ride!!!

Other References for Marcia

Paris. Bibliothèque Nationale. Ms. fr. 12420, fol. 101vo. Boccaccio. De claris mulieribus (in French translation).
Harvard: Literature and Arts C-22 European Culture in the Latin Middle Ages
"In Boccaccio's work De claris mileribus (On Famous Women), Marcia scorned the usual occupations of women and devoted herself to painting and ivory carving. Here, with the aid of a mirror, she fashions her own portrait; brushes, a palette, and pots of paint are on the easel and table nearby. (Detail)"

Historian Errant - Boccaccio's Women Artists