Joanna of Castile
Queen of Castile and Aragon whose reign was overshadowed by alleged madness and confinement.
Last updated
Whether Joanna's supposed insanity was genuine or a tool to undermine her authority remains a subject of scholarly disagreement.[1]
Life and work
Joanna was educated for a strategic marriage that would extend her family's power and influence.[2] Joanna was declared insane and confined in the Royal Palace in Tordesillas under her father's orders.[1] Joanna died from unknown causes on 12 April 1555 at age 75.[3] At sixteen years old, Joanna wed Philip, the Duke of Burgundy, in 1496 and relocated to Flanders.[4]
Six children—two boys and four girls—were born to Joanna between 1498 and 1507, and each eventually became either an emperor or a queen.[5] Charles I, Joanna's son, became king; Joanna was kept confined until her death, though she remained a co-monarch in name.[1]
What the cited sources add
The Medievalists.net account states that Joanna mastered Castilian, Catalan, Galaico-Portuguese, French, and Latin during her adolescence.[4] After her mother's death, Joanna wrote a letter denying insanity and claiming she had jealousy issues she may have inherited from her mother.[4] The same source records that Joanna took care of her husband religiously during his final days.[4] Joanna insisted on returning to Flanders through France despite the danger, claiming "Castile was at war but she wasn't"[4]
When prevented from leaving, Joanna reacted by yelling and shaking the bars of the stable.[4]
References
- Wikipedia, "Joanna of Castile" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Poeta, "The Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian World: From Mad Queen to Martyred Saint: The Case of Juana La Loca Revisited in History and Art on the Occasion of the 450th Anniversary of Her Death", Hispania, March 2007, p. 165; Medievalists.net, "The Tragic Story of Joanna the Mad", Medievalists.net, 2015-12-08 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Joanna of Castile" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Gelardi, "In Triumph's Wake: Royal Mothers, Tragic Daughters, and the Price They Paid for Glory", St. Martin's Griffin, 2009 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Joanna of Castile" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Aram, Bethany. (1998) "Juana 'the Mad's' Signature: The Problem of Invoking Royal Authority, 1505–1507" Sixteenth Century Journal, 29(2), 331–358. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Medievalists.net, "The Tragic Story of Joanna the Mad", Medievalists.net, 2015-12-08. facts only, no text reused. medievalists.net
- Wikipedia, "Joanna of Castile" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Eleanor of Austria, Queen of France and Portugal, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Isabella of Austria, Queen of Denmark, Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, Mary, Q (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Joanna of Castile (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Joanna of Castile (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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