Annotations
Camilla lunges at the vanguard of the enemy riders and thrusts her lance in the chest of an unarmored mounted opponent.
Camilla stürzt sich an der Spitze ihrer Reiterinnen auf die Feinde und stößt einem ungepanzerten berittenen Gegner die Lanze in die Brust. (Suerbaum)
Engraving from a German children’s picture-book version of the Aeneid by G. J. Lang and G. C. Eimmart, “A tapestry of Roman virtues as seen in Vergil’s Aeneas and his brave deeds, rendered in sparkling engravings, as illustrations of the remarkable deeds of antiquity, for the common benefit of noble youth,” (Peplus virtutum Romanarum in Aenea Virgiliano eiusque rebus fortiter gestis, ad maiorem antiquitatis et rerum lucem, communi iuventutis sacratae bono, aere renitens) (Nuremburg: J.L. Buggel, 1688), pl. 45.
Camilla takes up almost the entire second half of Book XI. This engraving corresponds to XI 648ff, Camilla’s entrance into the action of the fighting. She carries Diana’s golden quiver, described at 652, and wears a purple cloak (714-715), wielding a javelin in this scene. Behind her are two more of the “Italides,” or daughters of Italy, as they are called at 657. To her left is probably Tarpeia, who is described by Virgil as carrying a bronze axe (656), which can be seen attached to her waist, although here she wields a studded mace. Camilla is in the act of stabbing an opponent, possible Eunaeus, who is described at 666-667 as having an “exposed chest.” (Lucy McInerney)