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Gualdrada was one of the daughters of Bellincion Berti, [1] being a descendent of the Ravignani family, a branch of the Adimari family.
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[edit] Biography
Giovanni Boccaccio's On Famous Women (De mulieribus claris) biography 103 tells her thirteenth century story. It so happens that one day there was a festival in a Florentine church called Saint John the Baptist. The Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV came to the city and by chance entered the church with a train of people to make the occasion more festive. From his high lofty seat he spotted Gualdrada among all the other beautiful women. He was impressed with her exceptional beauty that was over and above all the other ladies present. He admired her innocence in youth which was presented in the way she dressed and her personality. He asked of an elderly gentleman that was near him,
Who, pray tell, is that girl there facing us with the beautiful face that in my opinion surpasses all the others in dignity.
Little did the emperor know that he was asking her father this question. Bellincion, being a Florentine citizen of nobility, answered the emperor saying,
Your Majesty, whoever she may be, she will kiss you at my bidding if you desire.
Gualdrada overheared this and rose to her feet, blushing. She was embarrassed and wished that her father would not be so bold with his offers. She immediately replied,
Father, please stop. Speak no more. For by Heaven, unless force is used, absolutely no one except the man to whom you will give me in lawful and holy matrimony shall receive what you are offering so freely.
The Emperor was both stunned and impressed by this response from Gualdrada. Learning that he was speaking to her father, he praised her in an eloquent speech to everyone of her virtue. As he was leaving the festival he summoned to him one of his barons called Guido and promoted him to a count. He then presented to Gualdrada a large dowry consisting of Casentino and a part of the territory of Romagna. Gualdrada was then given to Guido in marriage.
[edit] Gualdrada's children
From the marriage of Gualdrada and Guido came two sons, Guglielmo and Ruggieri. It turned out Ruggieri was the father of Guidoguerra, who was a leader of a group of four hundred Florentines of the Guelf party. These were contributory to the victory in 1265 of Charles of Anjou at Benevento over Manfred of Sicily and in 1266 Charles became King of Sicily.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ mention made of Bellincion Berti in The Divine Comedy/Paradiso/Canto XV - Wikisource. Ubertino Donato was the son-in-law to Bellincion Berti - see notes in the Divine Comedy, by Alighieri Dante: Paradise Canto XVI.
[edit] References
Virginia Brown's translation of Giovanni Boccaccio’s Famous Women, pp. 219-221; Harvard University Press 2001; ISBN 0-674-01130-9
[Category:Medieval women]] [Category:Women of medieval Italy]] [Category:Virtue ethics]]
