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as far as today’s scholars can deduce, fulfill the role of courtesan, she was not of noble birth, nor
was she cloistered among the religious. 39 As LaMay writes:
She was an independent woman who apparently came from modest
means and chose to earn her own living. We know that women
should not have been able to do that then, for they were property of
either their father, brother, or husband, or existentially of a
convent.” 40
Casulana, it seems, had a widespread influence as a teacher, singer, and composer. 41 As LaMay
succinctly summarizes, “At the very least, we can know that Madalena was highly unusual in her
quest for a self-identifying voice, and that she must have experienced life quite differently not
only from other women, but also from other women performers.” 42
39 Ibid.
40 Thomasin LaMay, “Madalena Casulana: My Body Knows Unheard Of Songs,” in Gender,
Sexuality, and Early Music, ed. Todd M. Borgerding (New York: Routledge, 2002), 43.
41 Anthony Newcomb, “Courtesans, Muses, or Musicians? Professional Women Musicians in
Sixteenth-Century Italy,” in Women Making Music: The Western Art Tradition, 1150-1950, ed.
Jane Bowers and Judith Tick (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1986), 107.
42 Thomasin LaMay, “Madalena Casulana: My Body Knows Unheard Of Songs,” in Gender,
Sexuality, and Early Music, ed. Todd M. Borgerding (New York: Routledge, 2002), 43.
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