Rodiani, Onorata (d. 1452)
Rodiani, Onorata (d. 1452)
Italian artist and military leader. Name variations: Honorata Rodiana. Died in 1452 in Cremona; never married; no children.
An Italian woman from the emergent bourgeois class, Onorata Rodiani was trained as a professional painter and began a successful career in that field, as did a surprising number of women from late medieval cities. However, Rodiani was forced to give up her painting when she murdered a man in self-defense; while working on commission at the palace of Gabrino Fondolo, she had been attacked by one of Fondolo's courtiers and stabbed him to death. Frightened for her life, she fled her home and eventually joined a troop of mercenary soldiers. She received a pardon from the city authorities, and returned to Cremona. It is reported that she died in battle leading a troop of soldiers in the defense of Cremona from its Venetian enemies.
Laura York , Riverside, California