The Life of Katherine of Aragon

Life in the medieval society was one of the most painful for women. It was evident by the high level of exploitation and oppression of women. At a time when wealthy men enjoyed stylish life, women had very hard times. Comfort was not a privilege but a luxury that only few women could afford. Men completely dominated the society and any concrete decision to be made was their preserve (Spielvogel 179). Women were not consulted even in matters that directly affected their lives; they had little or no say in the decision making process.

Though she lived a short life, Catherine of Aragon left a footprint that impacted the world for a long time. Catherine of Aragon not only caused an immediate change in the mindset of Europe, she also left a long term change in the mindset of the world. Without her, the English Reformation may not have occurred, and the feminist movement would have been delayed. She showed the world how to persevere through hard times and was a role model of excellence.

“ The belief that women were inherently inferior in intelligence, strength, and character was so persuasive that for men like Knox, a woman ruler was almost a contradiction in terms” (“Documents for Chapters 5&6”). In the 16th century, women were looked upon as a gender that should stay in the house and work, not have power and rule over a country. Discussing the govern of Queens during the 16th century, such as Mary Tudor, Lady Jane Grey, Mary, Queen of Scots, and Elizabeth I, allowed prejudices to be lessened but never completely be erased. No matter how these four notable ladies came into power, the accomplishments they overcame, achieved and wrote about proved to be great and substantial in making history as it is written today.

In the sixteenth century the role of women in society was very limited. Women were generally stereotyped as housewives and mothers. They were to be married, living their life providing for her husband and children. The patriarchal values of the Elizabethan times regarded women as the weaker sex.’ Men were considered the dominant gender and were treated with the utmost respect by females. Women were mainly restricted within the confines of their homes and were not allowed to go school or to university, but they could be educated at home by private tutors. Men were said to be the ones to provide for their families financially. Women were often seen as not intelligent. Property could not be titled in the name of a female within the family. Legally everything the female had belonged to her husband. Poor and middle class wives were kept very busy but rich women were not idle either. In a big house they had to organize and supervise the servants.

Before she could start this journey to have Charles crowned she ran into one small problem at the age of fourteen and that was that her parents had got her engaged. When she found out about this she was worried because the voices said nothing about getting married. She was able to persuade them to call of the engagement and if anyone had asked her

Throughout Western thought to 1600, women are portrayed as second-class citizens, their roles in society were inferior to those of the dominant groups in society. Women during this time filled traditional roles of caretaking, birthing and manual labor. They were tools used in society in the form of property or as a source for bearing children, preferably boys. Women were compared to other luxurious items such as gold, and horses and often praised for their beauty. Although many texts portray women in these subordinate roles, some were referred by name but often times not. Overall women weren’t given access to many positions or resources in society due to the way they were perceived by those dominant in society.

The private sphere included wives, mothers, family, and immediate household. The information above helps us understand why women had little access to public power but it also shows us why it was necessary for women to sometimes use other means to control their surroundings to their desired end. A point to think on is, we should not underestimate the fact that a woman's self-interest may have been the driving force in her pursuit of influence (power). We also cannot assume that women were always helpless victims of society unable to affect forces that may have seemed beyond their control. In defining the private sphere, the scope of a woman's self-interest included wives and mothers working to advance the interests of their spouses and children. Simply by her management of the household she allowed her spouse to leave home and give his service for the crown which in turn could supply him with prestige and power through his military endeavors. A medieval woman could be forced to use many methods, not always acceptable ones, to reach a desired outcome. The contribution of money and support through dowry, wage labor, household works, production, patronage and hospitality, were many of the acceptable ways. The use of affection within her household gave her influence because it could directly result in loyalty to her. Wifely persuasion could be used as in the instance of convincing a spouse to donate funds to

This book covers a number of aspects throughout history, and more specifically, the role women played in them. The overall theme of the book is the role that women had throughout history. It explorers a chronological view of history of women and the impacts they made. A lot of

b. In 1527 Henry sought out, and was eventually granted, an annulment from his wife Catherine; by 1528 Anne Boleyn had made her entrance in to English royal society. (Eakins, 1994)

Isabella of Castile was born on April 22, 1451 to John II and Isabella of Portugal. At the age of three, Isabella lost her father. As her half-brother Henry IV ascended to the throne, with her mother and younger brother Alfonso, she moved to Arévalo. The living conditions in her new home were dreadful. This was due to Henry not abiding to his father’s wishes to provide for his wife and children after he past. Regardless of the money shortages and cold,damp living space, Isabella’s mother took it upon herself to instill a strong reverence of the Catholic faith into her daughter.

Robertson, Amber. “Women’s Agency as Represented in Various Works of Medieval Literature.” Aegis: Otterbein Humanities Journal, vol. 10, 2005.

The life of a queen was not always elegant and luxurious as it represented in popular media, but instead female monarchs were commonly oppressed to merely play the role of a political connection between kingdoms. While queens were generally allowed more freedom than normal women, it still took a high level of tenacity and dedication to overcome the many obstacles to achieve significant accomplishments. The Kingdom of Castile during the mid-1400’s unknowingly held a princess with the potential to revolutionize the role and expectations of a queen, moreover, undertake an issue that was ongoing for hundreds of years. Queen Isabella of Castile became the first queen in Europe to exemplify what a female monarch was capable of producing in a positive

In the novel The Wives of Henry VIII, by Antonia Fraser, the lives of six women that were all betrothed to King Henry VIII are discussed and picked apart. As Fraser says “the six women have become defined in a popular sense not so much by their lives as by the way these lives ended.”1 The Six biographies of the women discuss their background heritage and how they grew up, then go into what they had to deal with while being the wife of Henry. Fraser makes it clear that she intended to look behind each of the women’s stereotypes.

The focus of this report will be on the legacy of Queen Isabella and who was the Queen of Castile at this time. It will become evident that Queen Isabella played a large role in Medieval Europe.

In most historical situations we find ourselves studying the works of men in society and outcomes of their conflicts, yet we undermine the influence of women due to the stereotypical idea of their inferiority back then. This idea derives from the ideal identity of a woman being at home taking care of the kids and looking after the home. However, taking a deeper look into historical event, the role of women during these times play significant and revolutionary roles.