BRUNISSEN - THE BROWN QUEEN
In Norman French medieval tales, Brunissen, a brown-skinned, blond queen, symbolizes the
captivity and co-opting of women and their power. In the tales, she and her companions
are confined to a locked garden. There they continually cry and lament, their only comfort
are the birds (cuckoos) who are able to visit them. The tales mention Brunissen's dress,
with silken bodice of high and elegant design, her peacock-feathered headdress, and her
flowers which she carries. Around her there is always fragrance. The cause of her laments
are her solitude, she is an orphan, and the loss of her liberty. Jean Markale, in Women of
the Celts, where these tales are found, draws the parallel between Brunessen's plight, and
that of any married woman, who both looses her family and her liberty.
The painting shows Brunissen in her medieval walled garden, surrounded by her birds and
companions. Flowers and apple trees are abundant She is in tears but she is still powerful.
Her golden hair, strongly contrasting with her brown face, indicates that she is the Sun
Queen. As the tale tells us, “She illuminates all the night.”