Bride, Court Lady, Oriental Princess, Virgin Mary, Jewess: The Many Faces of Queen Esther in Early Modern Florence

Abstract

AT THE BEGINNING OF A LONG SERMON on the virtues of the Virgin Mary, part of a cycle of sermons for Lent delivered in Siena at the Piazza del Campo in 1427, the Franciscan preacher Bernardino da Siena (1380–1444) appealed to his female listeners: “Do you remember what Esther did, who never strove to appear more beautiful than she was to KingAhasuerus? (Esther 2). She did not do as you women do: to you one cannot say with truth that you are honest ladies (madonne Oneste), but dishonest Ladies (madonne Disoneste).” Bernardino offered the image of Esther as an exemplum of modesty and chastity, a role model for young girls. The reference to Queen Esther was mentioned in the context of a discussion on the importance of female modesty when the preacher was warning his female listeners against the dangers of vanity. Associations between Queen Esther and the Virgin were evident, as the discussion about her was part of a sermon about the VirginMary and her virtues. Moreover, there was an emphasis on the former’s discretion, as she did not pretend to King Ahasuerus to be more beautiful than she was. Fifteenth-century Florence witnessed the emergence of Queen Esther as a popular subject in Renaissance culture. Preachers, authors, and artists invoked Esther and her story, offering multilayered interpretations of this biblical queen. In this article, I explore the increasing frequency of allusions to Esther in Florentine culture and propose