We are excited to continue our online After Hours open houses this semester! Join the Special Collections Research Center on the second Tuesday of each month 4-5 pm for a virtual encounter with our collections. While all the events are online, we have offered an in-person option for the first session in the series. All are welcome to beam in and join us.
Our first event will take place next Tuesday 11 January from 4-5.30 pm EST and will feature a selection of Spanish Treasures at the University of Michigan Library. The Special Collections Research Center holds an extraordinary collection of early printed books published in Spain from the fifteenth century onward. Particularly significant are the holdings illustrating the Golden Age of Spanish literature in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, that is, the so-called “Siglo de Oro,“ which includes world-renowned writers like Garcilaso de la Vega, Miguel de Cervantes, and Francisco de Quevedo. Curator Pablo Alvarez will provide a tour of artifacts as witnesses of how literary masterpieces such as El Lazarillo de Tormes or Don Quixote were published and read centuries ago, as well as additional documents illustrating some of the political and religious anxieties of Spanish society at that time, including books produced by the formidable Holy Inquisition.
If there’s a spot in Madrid charged with a somber backstory which could made it the perfect magnet for ghosts, then probably the Plaza Mayor is the place to be for human ghosts. And probably ghost birds too, given the story of the equestrian monument that presides it (there are no mention about ghost birds, though, which I find disappointing). This “main square” has seen auto-da-fés, executions, bullfights and three fires (1631, 1672 and 1790) with multiple victims. It’s not strange then that rumours about mysterious aparitions (inside or outside the buildings surrounding the square) abound.
Plaza Mayor’s “official” ghost is Cirilo, who apparently was executed there during the 17th Century. He’s not as popular as Ataúlfo or the ghosts of the Palace of Linares, but he has his little space in the city’s extended list of spectral inhabitants. Cirilo’s favourite activity is to equally scare tourists and madrileños. For the ghost, the fact that his victims are present at the square at certain hours of the night is reason enough. Cirilo and other unnamed ghosts are said to visit the housings nearby. Perhaps they hang near one of the square’s secondary entrances, in past times called Hell’s Alley (Callejón del Infierno, in Spanish). Thus named in remembrance of the 1672 fire. Since 1854, the street bears the somewhat less intriguing name of Arco del Triunfo (Triomphal Arch).
And what about the birds? Philip III’s statue, a masterwork by Gianbologna and Pietro Tacca, was, during centuries, a mortal trap for them. This was unintentional: the horse’s mouth had been left slightly open, so sparrows and other little birds were often trapped inside. Only in the 20th century, when after the proclamation of the Second Republic someone throw a little bomb against the statue and damaged it, was this discovered. When the monument was restored the house’s mouth was carefully sealed, so no other bird had to suffer the same fate again.
Two caricatures about the Spanish flu (which of course didn’t originate in Spain) appeared in the press of Madrid in 1918. The first one refers to the illness by the nickname Soldado de Nápoles (Soldier of Naples), from the name of a catchy chorus of a zarzuela,La Canción del Olvido (The song of forgetfulness), a tune that was extremely popular back then. The man dressed in a frac flees from the other two, poorly dressed, and singing the piece from the zarzuela screaming: But, who is not suffering from this epidemy? In the other caricature, a doctor (Nothing: this is nothing; it’s only a fashionable illness) is examining the bear that figures in Madrid’s coat of arms, an allusion to the quantity of population who became ill in the city. My scan.
On this day in 1492, the joint Catholic monarchs of Spain - Ferdinand and Isabella - issued the Alhambra Decree. This decree ordered the expulsion of all Jews who refused to convert to Christianity from the Spanish kingdoms of Castile and Aragon by July 31st. This measure was pushed for by the monarchs’ adviser Tomas de Torquemada, who spearheaded the Spanish Inquisition aimed at rooting out heresy. Ferdinand and Isabella agreed to the expulsion after successfully completing the reconquista- the unification of Spain under Christian rule - with the conquest of Granada. The majority of the nearly 200,000 Spanish Jews chose to leave the country rather than renounce their religion and culture. Many of these Sephardic Jews moved to Turkey, Africa, and elsewhere in Europe, though they often encountered violence as they tried to leave the country. The Jews who remained became conversos,suffering harassment and mistrust.The policy of religious conformity continued in 1502, when Spanish Muslims were also ordered to convert to Christianity. The Alhambra Decree was formally revoked by the Second Vatican Council in 1968, as part of a general attempt by the Spanish government to make amends for the painful legacy of the expulsion.
Mujeres renacentistas en la Corte de Isabel la Católica
En torno al año 1400 se inició un largo y complejo debate sobre la inteligencia femenina y la conveniencia o no de instruir a las mujeres, conocido como la Querella de las mujeres, que se desarrolló en Europa hasta la Revolución Francesa y en el cual participaron escritores de muchos países a favor de un bando u otro. En la Edad Media los conventos religiosos fueron la única vía de acceso de las mujeres a la educación. El surgimiento de las universidades abrió nuevas oportunidades de formación; pero —excepto en Italia— éstas estaban cerradas a las mujeres debido a los prejuicios misóginos imperantes. Durante los siglos XV y XVI florecen en Europa numerosas mujeres cultas. El interés por el conocimiento y difusión de las lenguas clásicas que había despertado el Renacimiento permitirá el resurgimiento de la educación femenina.
También en la península ibérica apareció un buen número de jóvenes brillantes que participaron en el proyecto renacentista. Famosas por sus conocimientos y por su erudición, estas mujeres fueron apodadas y conocidas entre sus contemporáneos como lasPuellae doctae. El humanista italiano Lucio Marineo Sículo en su Hispanis Laudibus alabó las virtudes y las excelencias de las mujeres españolas, “elocuentes y sin complejos ante los hombres, en quienes ven sus iguales”. En palabras de M. M. Rivera, estas mujeres llegaron a ser genias educadas desde la infancia en las lenguas latina y griega y en todos los saberes de moda, excepto en la retórica, porque el dominio de la retórica marcaba el umbral de acceso al mundo del poder de verdad; el del ejercicio de la política del estado. Se trataba en general, de jóvenes geniales (…) que ejercieron (un saber) con tanta o más maestría que los sabios que habían hecho de ellas sus discípulas cuando niñas (…). La formación intelectual de aquellas jóvenes, hijas de nobles o de intelectuales, fue favorecida por el entorno familiar y por el mecenazgo desarrollado por reinas, virreinas, infantas y nobles en las cortes de Castilla, Valencia y Portugal. Gracias a la posición familiar pudieron contar con buenos maestros y bibliotecas particulares y alcanzar una excelente cultura y formación, que estaba vedada a la mayor parte de las mujeres. Esta presencia femenina en las altas esferas intelectuales y su participación activa en el nuevo movimiento cultural, alcanzaron su máximo esplendor durante el reinado de Isabel I de Castilla. La Reina llevó a cabo una importante obra de difusión y recuperación de la cultura clásica. Su determinación tardía de aprender latín y su empeño por elevar el ambiente del saber de la Corte, le llevaron a llamar y acoger a destacados humanistas como Nebrija, Alonso de Palencia, Lucio Marineo Sículo, Pedro Mártir de Anglería o los hermanos Antonio y Alessandro Geraldini.
El entusiasmo por las letras y las artes que Isabel la Católica imprimió durante su reinado se extendió entre las clases privilegiadas, que permitieron e incluso impulsaron una educación igualitaria para hombres y mujeres. La Reina no solamente dedicó especial atención a proveer de los mejores tutores y profesores a sus hijos, sino que se preocupó de que sus damas y las hijas de familias distinguidas recibiesen la instrucción necesaria. Isabel educaba a sus expensas a gran número de jóvenes hijas de los nobles, atendiendo con solicitud a su custodia y después les procuraba un honorable partido. Uno de los instrumentos que puso al servicio de sus cortesanos y especialmente del nutrido grupo de mujeres cultas fue su biblioteca. Entre las lecturas predilectas de la reina Isabel se encontraba la obra de Christine de Pizan, una gran defensora de los derechos de las mujeres en la sociedad.
La educación en tiempo de Isabel la Católica no solo se circunscribió a las élites y a la nobleza, también llegó al pueblo. Empezaron a fundarse escuelas para jóvenes pobres a fin de darles instrucción. Sin embargo, el fenómeno de las Puellae doctae en el Renacimiento se caracterizó por la brevedad de su existencia: no duró siquiera un siglo. Con la muerte de aquellas reinas, infantas y nobles mecenas, el espíritu que sustentaba esta fuerza que parecía imparable, dada su brillantez, comenzó a decaer, prolongándose débilmente en el tiempo. Fueron muchas las dificultades de estas Puellae doctae para encontrar un lugar en el mundo de la cultura o de la política, después de un tiempo. Conozcamos los nombres de algunas de aquellas cultas y brillantes mujeres que se educaron o vivíeron en el reinado de los Reyes Católicos:
Beatriz Galindo, sus conocimientos y dominio del latín le valieron el sobrenombre de la Latina
Luisa de Medrano, poetisa y pensadora
Francisca de Nebrija, colaboró con su padre en la redacción de la primera Gramática Castellana y a la muerte de éste le sustituyó en la cátedra de Retórica de la Universidad de Alcalá
Florencia Pinar, la única autora de poesía en lengua castellana del siglo XV
Isabel de Vergara, docta en latín y griego, fue traductora de las obras de Erasmo de Rotterdam. Calificada por Marineo Sículo como «latine graeceque doctissima».
Juana de Contreras, alumna de Lucio Marineo Sículo, mantuvo con él correspondencia en latín y dio conferencias en la Universidad de Salamanca
Beatriz de Bobadilla, camarera mayor y consejera de Estado
María Pacheco, mujer culta con grandes dotes de mando, conocida como La leona de Castillao La última de los Comuneros
Isabel, Juana, María y Catalina de Trastámara, figuraron entre las princesas más cultas de su época
Juana de Mendoza, consejera y camarera mayor de la reina Isabel, preceptora de las chicas nobles que se educaban en la corte de Castilla y guarda de las damas de la reina
Teresa de Cartagena, reconocida como la primera pensadora y escritora mística en castellano, su obra ha sido considerada por algunos autores como el primer texto feminista escrito por una mujer española
Beatriz de Silva y Meneses, dama culta de origen portugués, fue fundadora de la Orden de la Inmaculada Concepción
Isabel de Villena, la primera escritora en lengua catalana
Magdalena de Bobadilla
Catalina de Medrano, dama de la reina y hermana de Luisa de Medrano, esposa de Fernando de Rojas
Master of Affligem [Netherlandish. c. 1480 - c.1520] Philip the Fair and Joan the Mad. c. 1495 - 1506
Maximilian I was supported in his struggle against France by England and Spain; in the latter case, the alliance was to be consolidated with a marriage. Although the widower Maximilian initially wanted to marry a Spanish princess himself, the royal house of Spain expressed a preference for the younger generation. In 1496 there was a double wedding: the children of Ferdinand and Isabella, Joan (Juana) of Castile and Aragon and her brother Don John (Juan), Prince of Asturias, were married to Maximilian’s children Philip and Margaret of Austria.
The marriages were thus not part of some cleverly conceived Habsburg strategy for acquiring the Spanish throne but, rather, a means of strengthening an alliance: the Austrians and the Spanish were to join forces in order to drive the French out of Italy and each take a share of the peninsula for themselves. However, the double wedding was followed by a sequence of strokes of good fortune that favoured the Habsburg cause: not only did Margaret’s new husband Don John die but so did all the other Spanish royal heirs, putting Joanna and her husband Philip first in line for the throne. In 1500, furthermore, they consolidated their claim to the succession by producing a son, the future Emperor Charles V, so that when Philip became King of Castile in 1504, Spain and all its possessions fell into Habsburg hands.
Only a few years later, however, Philip died, after which Joanna is said to have lost her mind – thus going down into history as Joanna the Mad – and was in any case not capable of governing. In 1506 her young son Charles was named as Philip’s successor; his grandfather Maximilian took measures to guarantee that the young boy would indeed one day accede to the throne. So it was that in 1516, as a result of a sequence of accidents, Charles became king in Spain, Naples and Sicily, and the Spanish colonies.- Read more on habsburger.net.
“Using sources from an impressive array of municipal, royal, and ecclesiastical archives, Franklin-Lyons’s ambitious and timely study offers a convincing accounting of the roles that human agency played in generating or worsening food shortages within the later medieval western Mediterranean. This highly original treatment fills a notable void in medieval Mediterranean historiography, adds texture and nuance to existing work on premodern food crises, and will serve as a valuable model to scholars and nonspecialist readers interested in inequality and the essential roles played by governmental institutions.“
Old Bumblehead the 18th trying on the Napoleon Boots, or Preparing for the Spanish Campaign, caricature by George Cruikshank, 1823. That’s Napoleon’s son, the Duke of Reichstadt, standing behind Louis XVIII, ready to catch the crown.
Napoleon in America takes place, in part, against the backdrop of a French invasion of Spain. This invasion was not invented for the novel. It actually happened, in 1823, to restore a Spanish Bourbon king to the throne. It was a huge deal at the time, both in Europe and the Americas. Newspapers, diplomatic reports, memoirs and letters of the period are full of commentary on the events leading up to the invasion, the resulting war, and its aftermath. For a very abbreviated account of what transpired, see “The 1823 French Invasion of Spain.”
On This Day in History June 7, 1494: The countries of Spain and Portugal sign the Treaty of Tordesillas at the city of Setúbal, Portugal. The agreement between the Iberian neighbors aimed to divide the New World along a meridian line 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde islands, off the west coast of Africa.
This would entail a Spanish claim to all lands to the west, and Portugal to the east, including the coast of Africa and later the coast of Brazil. Not surprisingly, the other European nations refused to accept and abide by the treaty.
FORGOTTEN BY HISTORY: Mariana Victoria of Portugal
Mariana Vitória Josefa Francisca Xavier de Paula Antonietta Joana Domingas Gabriela was born on 15 December 1768 as a daughter of Queen Maria I of Portugal “The Mad” and her uncle-husband, Pedro III of Portugal. She was named after her grandmother, Mariana Victoria of Spain. In 1785, she married in double political alliance, Infante Gabriel of Spain, the most talented of Charles III’s sons. In exchange, her brother, John, took Gabriel’s niece, Carlota Joaquina of Spain as his wife. Sweet, inteligent Mariana quickly became favourite daughter-in-law of Charles III. Her sister-in-law, Maria Luisa of Parma said that Charles “cares about nobody but the Portuguese”. Shehad 3 children with Gabriel, but only the oldest, Pedro Carlos survived to adulthood. In November 1788, she contracted smallpox among with her husband and newborn son, Charles Joseph. She died on 2 November 1788, only few days after labour. Both her son and husband followed soon after.
Maria Amalia of Spain was born on 9th January 1779 in Madrid, Spain as the second surviving daughter of Charles IV of Spain and his wife, Maria Luisa of Parma.
When she turned 15, her mother was quick to arrage her marriage with Prince Louis of Parma, who had just entered Spanish land to complete his education. In contrast to Maria Amalia, he was endowned with extraordinary charm and handsome face. Louis later turned his attention to his bride’s younger sister, Maria Luisa, probably the most beautiful and witty out of their parents’ children. Too shy and plain, Maria Amalia was forced to accept unexcepted change and marry in a hurry, her uncle, Antonio Pascual of Spain, who remarkably resembled her father - as there had been no other marriage proposals from European royal courts. By all accounts, marriage was rather unhappy for both sides - Antonio was man of limited inteligence, who didn’t share any interests with his young bride. To highlight Maria Amalia’s bad situation, I would say, that she was married to Antonio in double ceremony, with her sister being married to her former fiance. Resigned to her fate, she got pregnant in October 1797. On 20 July 1798, labour started. But it soon became known that she was about to die in delivery, as baby had gotten stuck in the birth canal. 2 days later, doctors intervened, but baby boy was found dead. By the time she contracted labour infection and died in agony. She was only 19 years old
The Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula began during the 3rd century BCE. A number of clashes followed, including inLusitania, a province located between present-day Portugal and western Spain.
In 138 BCE, the Roman praetor Decimus Junius Brutus was sent to Lusitania to fight roaming guerrilla bands. Unable to follow them through the province, he decided to attack their towns directly.
According to Appian : “Here he found the women fighting and perishing in company with the men with such bravery that they uttered no cry even in the midst of slaughter.”
In 137 BCE, he crossed the river Douro and encountered the Bracari, a Celtic tribe of present-day northwest Portugal. According to Appian, the Bracari were: “very warlike people”. The women : “bearing arms with the men, who fought never turning, never showing their backs, or uttering a cry. Of the women who were captured some killed themselves, others slew their children with their own hands, considering death preferable to captivity.”
This determination to fight to the death reminds of Roman encounters with other tribes, such as for instance the Cimbri (who may have been Germanic or Celtic people), whose women displayed a similar behavior.
Plutarch also tells of Caesar’s battles against the Celtic Helvetiansthat:
“After a long and hard struggle he routed the enemy’s fighting men, but had the most trouble at their rampart of waggons, where not only did the men themselves make a stand and fight, but also their wives and children defended themselves to the death and were cut to pieces with the men.”
Fighting bravely among the Spanish soldiers was a woman: María la Bailadora (”the dancer”). María had wanted to follow her lover and had thus joined the soldiers dressed as man. A report of the battle tells that she was particularly skilled with an arquebus. Encountering an enemy at close quarters, she stabbed and killed him.
As a reward for her bravery, her name was inscribed in the official register of the soldiers, thus allowing her to earn a pay.
María’s story reminds of another Spanish woman, AnaMaría de Soto (fl.1793-1798) who enlisted in the marine infantry in 1793. She fought in naval battles, served for several years, was promoted to sergeant, but was discharged when her sex was revealed after a medical examination.
Bibliography:
Claramunt Soto Alex (ed.), Lepanto. La mar roja de sangre
Fields Nic, Lepanto 1571: Christian and Muslim Fleets Battle for Control of the Mediterranean
How the women of Palencia fought the English and saved their city
In 1388, the Spanish town of Palencia was under attack by John of Gaunt, earl of Lancaster, who had landed in Spain to defend his claim to the kingdom of Castile. All the men had left the city to fight in king John I’s army. The women stayed behind.
When they saw the English army approaching, the townswomen decided to resist. They dressed themselves in male clothes, took the weapons they could find and stationed themselves on the walls.
The English thought it was going to be an easy victory and began the attack. The women, however, fought and repelled the waves of assault. The armies of the king of Castile came to the rescue and John of Gaunt had to lift the siege.
The women’s exploits were rewarded by the king and they no longer to bow in front of him, a privilege generally only granted to knights. This was signaled by the band of fabric they now wore on their clothes.
A commemorative plaque reminds today of their exploits and a mention to this episode is made in the city’s hymn. The band they wore became part of Palencia’s traditional costume.
This isn’t the only time in Spanish history where women defended their city in the absence of men. In Orihuela, in the beginning of the 8th century, the women fooled the attackers army by occupying the walls armed and dressed male clothes. Thinking that the city was well guarded, the enemy didn’t try to besiege it. In the 12th century, Jimena Blazquez and the other women used successfully the same ruse in Ávila. They were later rewarded with the right of participating to the town’s council. In the 13th century, it was the lords’s wife who convinced all the women of Jaén to take arms and to stand on the walls, thus preventing the city’s capture.
If you want to support me, here’s the link to my Ko-Fi.
References:
Las Mujeres y las guerras, el papel de las mujeres en las guerras de la Edad Antigua a la contemporánea
→ Female Governors of the Spanish/Austrian Netherlands. The Governor (Dutch: Landvoogd) or Governor-General (Gouverneur-Generaal) ruled the Habsburg Netherlands as a representative of the Counts of Burgundy (until 1549), the Kings of Castile (1556-1706), and the Archdukes of Austria (1716-1794). I have been inspired by my finales work for uni “The Royal power In Brussels during the modern times” and I realized that quite a lot of women ruled as Governor.
The Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula began during the 3rd century BCE. A number of clashes followed, including inLusitania, a province located between present-day Portugal and western Spain.
In 138 BCE, the Roman praetor Decimus Junius Brutus was sent to Lusitania to fight roaming guerrilla bands. Unable to follow them through the province, he decided to attack their towns directly.
According to Appian : “Here he found the women fighting and perishing in company with the men with such bravery that they uttered no cry even in the midst of slaughter.”
In 137 BCE, he crossed the river Douro and encountered the Bracari, a Celtic tribe of present-day northwest Portugal. According to Appian, the Bracari were: “very warlike people”. The women : “bearing arms with the men, who fought never turning, never showing their backs, or uttering a cry. Of the women who were captured some killed themselves, others slew their children with their own hands, considering death preferable to captivity.”
This determination to fight to the death reminds of Roman encounters with other tribes, such as for instance the Cimbri (who may have been Germanic or Celtic people), whose women displayed a similar behavior.
Plutarch also tells of Caesar’s battles against the Celtic Helvetiansthat:
“After a long and hard struggle he routed the enemy’s fighting men, but had the most trouble at their rampart of waggons, where not only did the men themselves make a stand and fight, but also their wives and children defended themselves to the death and were cut to pieces with the men.”
On page 21 of California by Kevin Starr, he describes the Spanish Explorer’s willingness to believe in fanciful tales like those of cities of gold or fountains of youth. Specifically he says “Today it is easy to dismiss such stories as fairy tales, but in the early sixteenth century, among a people not yet fully emerged from a medieval mindset and gifted with vivid imaginations, such myths and legends possessed the power to motivate some of the most arduous and heroic overland and maritime expeditions in human history.” This is rather sweeping and grandiose, and it seems foolish to describe actions motivated by apparent greed and ending in the destruction of entire populations as “heroic.” Further it seems to obscure historical processes and perpetuate a certain arrogance in assuming a “medieval mindset” – something we apparently don’t have to worry about anymore – as the agent for human gullibility.
These “heroic” men were apparently looking for what the stories had promised them (as you can learn from a closer reading of the Calafia tale), specifically beautiful and exotic women who would marry them, convert to their religions and in doing assure European ego’s of their superiority, all while presenting them with their very kingdoms, gold jewels and a life of leisure in terrestrial paradise. These men ended up affording that leisure with the slave labor of Indians, and while they didn’t find any ravishing, willing, amazons they did find plenty of opportunities for rape.
Again, I don’t think this is a product of some former mindset humans have evolved past. Large endeavors with gruesome consequence are still organized around media spin and the manipulation of public opinion through modern lies and ‘fairy tales,’ i.e. a foreign invasion will be greeted as a liberating force of democracy, or individual terrorist acts that come with the promised reward of 'virgins’ in heaven.
![Master of Affligem [Netherlandish. c. 1480 - c.1520]Philip the Fair and Joan the Mad. c. 1495 - 1506](https://64.media.tumblr.com/8eda8ffc6737882d4ae30c8c348689fc/a12cf2d04ec0e714-34/s1280x1920/edd9320195c2b3dc795aaa567a18d4d1899613eb.png "Master of Affligem [Netherlandish. c. 1480 - c.1520]Philip the Fair and Joan the Mad. c. 1495 - 1506")
