#queen isabella i

[royalty-nobility]

Queen Isabella I of Spain, Queen of Castille (1451-1504)

Artist: Spanish School, 15th century

Date: c. 1470-1520

Medium: Oil on panel

Collection: The Royal Collection, United Kingdom

Description

Isabella I was hereditary Queen of Castile in her own right and her marriage in 1469 to her cousin, Ferdinand II of Aragon united their kingdoms and transformed Spain into a major European power, paving the way for unification under their grandson, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. During their joint reign, Ferdinand and Isabella expanded their territories, financing Christopher Columbus in his 1492 voyage, which resulted in discovery of the Americas. For their fervent defense of the Catholic faith, they were proclaimed 'The Catholic Kings' by Pope Alexander VI.

This portrait shows Isabella I in three-quarters against a blue background, wearing a lavishly embroidered cloth of gold dress, white skull-cap and double-strand gold necklace with a ruby and pearl pendent. The jewel is possibly the 'un rubi balax grande e quartro perlos en el puestas grandes' described in an inventory of 1453. She holds a closed book in both hands, with the thumb of her right hand marking a page. The holding of a book, commonly a religious text, was used to represent the piety of a sitter during this period and was particularly associated with portraits of women.

[wonder-worker]

A central element of the myth of [Eleanor of Aquitaine] is that of her exceptionalism. Historians and Eleanor biographers have tended to take literally Richard of Devizes’s conventional panegyric of her as ‘an incomparable woman’. She is assumed to be a woman out of her time. […] Amazement at Eleanor’s power and independence is born from a presentism that assumes generally that the Middle Ages were a backward age, and specifically that medieval women were all downtrodden and marginalized. Eleanor’s career can, from such a perspective, only be explained by assuming that she was an exception who rose by sheer force of personality above the restrictions placed upon twelfth-century women.

— Michael R. Evans, Inventing Eleanor: The Medieval and Post-Medieval Image of Eleanor of Aquitaine

"...The idea of Eleanor’s exceptionalism rests on an assumption that women of her age were powerless. On the contrary, in Western Europe before the twelfth century there were ‘no really effective barriers to the capacity of women to exercise power; they appear as military leaders, judges, castellans, controllers of property’. […] In an important article published in 1992, Jane Martindale sought to locate Eleanor in context, stripping away much of the conjecture that had grown up around her, and returning to primary sources, including her charters. Martindale also demonstrated how Eleanor was not out of the ordinary for a twelfth-century queen either in the extent of her power or in the criticisms levelled against her.

If we look at Eleanor’s predecessors as Anglo-Norman queens of England, we find many examples of women wielding political power. Matilda of Flanders (wife of William the Conqueror) acted as regent in Normandy during his frequent absences in England following the Conquest, and [the first wife of Henry I, Matilda of Scotland, played some role in governing England during her husband's absences], while during the civil war of Stephen’s reign Matilda of Boulogne led the fight for a time on behalf of her royal husband, who had been captured by the forces of the empress. And if we wish to seek a rebel woman, we need look no further than Juliana, illegitimate daughter of Henry I, who attempted to assassinate him with a crossbow, or Adèle of Champagne, the third wife of Louis VII, who ‘[a]t the moment when Henry II held Eleanor of Aquitaine in jail for her revolt … led a revolt with her brothers against her son, Philip II'.

Eleanor is, therefore, less the exception than the rule – albeit an extreme example of that rule. This can be illustrated by comparing her with a twelfth century woman who has attracted less literary and historical attention. Adela of Blois died in 1137, the year of Eleanor’s marriage to Louis VII. […] The chronicle and charter evidence reveals Adela to have ‘legitimately exercised the powers of comital lordship’ in the domains of Blois-Champagne, both in consort with her husband and alone during his absence on crusade and after his death. […] There was, however, nothing atypical about the nature of Adela’s power. In the words of her biographer Kimberley LoPrete, ‘while the extent of Adela’s powers and the political impact of her actions were exceptional for a woman of her day (and indeed for most men), the sources of her powers and the activities she engaged in were not fundamentally different from those of other women of lordly rank’. These words could equally apply to Eleanor; the extent of her power, as heiress to the richest lordship in France, wife of two kings and mother of two or three more, was remarkable, but the nature of her power was not exceptional. Other noble or royal women governed, arranged marriages and alliances, and were patrons of the church. Eleanor represents one end of a continuum, not an isolated outlier."

[diioonysus]

dresses in art

[manhwameltingpot]

"if evil why hot" should only be applicable to female fictional manhwa characters. Males don't deserve it.

[pruneunfair]

Why is Isabella different from most other villainesses

I usually say the same thing about Isabella whenever I make a I am the queen in this life related post but is that all Isabella is? Wasted potential? What about what makes her special

It's that shes so unapologetically evil for no reason.

Lot of manhwa authors don't respect their villainesses as characters, mostly just as basic punching bag of what's popular or traditional to give the other characters some flare with their differences but regardless almost every one of those villainesseses have a reason to be evil.

You got characters like, Cosette, Yvonne, and Rhyse who were all possessed by another person/demon

You got characters like Rashta, Sumin, Diane, and Soleia who all had a backstory that put them on their path.

And then theres that middle ground, where the villainess in question has either no backstory or a vague past and while annoying are just the dumb 1st boss to make way for more powerful antagonists.

However Isabella isn't even in that middle ground either, she has no sad backstory, in fact she had everything she could ever ask for, a mom who adored her, vast wealth, several suitors and is the "daughter" of a cardinal and while Ceasre was portrayed to be the big bad at first, it's more likely the story is being clear that he's not as evil as Isabella cause of his past. She has no reason to want to attack people other then her superiority complex in believing she's better then anyone.

Even Mielle from TVRTHG, one of the most cartoony and evil villianesses at least is shown to have a backstory behind her superiority complex via being nurtured by adults in her life like her maid. She even died with possible regrets.

Maybe it's different in the novel since I haven't read all of it but I think what makes Isabella so special regardless of her lost potential is how truly evil she is. There really isn't anyone else like her.

[lancastrianwasian]

No more Tudors, please—unless it’s Mary I or Edward VI. Let’s focus on the Trastámaras, especially Catherine of Aragon, and delve into the Habsburgs, like Margaret of Austria and her nieces: Eleanor, Isabella, Maria, and Catalina. And don’t forget Charles V and his brother Ferdinand! We need more content on the Trastámara and Habsburg dynasties, as well as Stuart topics that aren’t about Mary, Queen of Scots or Stuart England.

[roseadleyn]

actually i'm the queen in this life is horribly written., especially when it comes to isabella ( no seriously what the fuck was that with isa assaulting ari )

isabella is the eldest daughter of an awful man. she lives in a world where if she doesn't marry well she'll be sent off to a convent. her brother has already proven he gives no fucks abt her. (her killing arabella is the only thing i actually hate her for) isabella knows, lucrezia literally gave ippolito and the cardinal her whole life and was still given over to be murdered by them. it's insane to me how the white lotus trope is always used to villify girls who are just trying to make a way for themselves in a patriarchal society ( iris, rashta, isabella, diane, helena, etc )

like isabella in the first life was such a girlboss. she was cunning and clever. she played everyone like a fiddle and also, she was a widow being scorned by everyone around her because ariadne killed her husband. i'm not saying this to excuse her current actions but isabella's writing is just so bad? we could've had a morally grey character who occasionally helps ariadne — that advice isabella gave her in the beginning? that was very good advice — but also does heinous shit. but noo instead of a compelling female character we just got a whiny brat who wants ✨a prince✨ god i hate historical webtoons sometimes

[artthatgivesmefeelings]

Emilio Sala y Francés (Spanish, 1850-1910) Expulsión de los judíos de España (año de 1492), 1889 Museo Nacional del Prado

[laurellala-comics]

I did this over on instagram and thought it would be a good way to introduce myself on tumblr too! These are some characters I generally vibe with. For extra fun I did some ~analysis~

[cowchickenbeefpork]

trying to teach my homunculus not to blindly follow and believe dangerous societal norms while also trying to avoid making her only agree with me because she wants to make sure I don’t hate her

[bnbc]

No one calls you honey, when you're sitting on a throne

(we're working on it, tho)

[nevermoredragon-main]

Isabella is so pretty y'all please look at her. 😭

Anyone ever just watch tpn season 1 after season 2 and get really mad or upset? My true Roman Empire for real.

[wonder-worker]

Studies of Elizabeth Woodville […] have been hampered by the continuing fascination with her brother-in-law, Richard III. The Ricardian [and Yorkist] apologetic is now largely dependent upon the argument that the Woodville family posed such a threat to Richard of Gloucester, and the kingdom as a whole, that Gloucester had little option but to take the throne from his Woodville-dominated nephew. Although this argument has [irregularly] been contested, a reassessment of the queen's role in 1483 has not yet been attempted. Michael Bennett, in his 1987 account [...] still dismissed her as `an inveterate intriguer, capable in her vanity and fecklessness of some remarkable shifts and turns'. But more often she is scarcely mentioned in general histories of the period.

— J.L. Laynesmith, “English Queenship 1445-1503” (Thesis for the degree of DPhil in Medieval Studies, University of York, Centre for Medieval Studies, April 1999)

[diioonysus]

art + hair pieces

[juanatrastamara]

get to know me meme - historical edition

[pruneunfair]

when you were more competent as a villain being a classic black magic witch then the "revolutionary" angelic white lotuses.

Honestly could've done this with a lot of different villainesses too.