Elizabeth of York
11/2/1466-11/2/1503
Elizabeth of York, the only English queen to have been a daughter, sister, niece and wife of
English monarchs during her lifetime was born at Westminster, the eldest child of King Edward
IV and his Queen consort, Elizabeth Woodville, the former Lady Grey, on 11th February 1466.
At the age of 5, she was briefly betrothed to George Neville, son of John Neville, Earl of
Northumberland, a supporter of Edward IV. Northumberland switched sides, however, and the
betrothal was called off. In 1475, she was offered as the bride of Charles, the Dauphin of France.
That plan was scrapped when Charles's father, Louis XI, decided against her. Her own father
King Edward died shortly afterwards, and her brother Edward's throne was usurped by her uncle
Richard of Gloucester. Elizabeth and her mother fled to sanctuary in Westminster Abbey but
returned to the King's Court in 1484, although it was widely assumed that Richard had had the
young King and his brother murdered. Richard's Queen, Anne Neville, was dying of tuberculosis
and there were rumours that the King intended to marry Elizabeth after her death. Elizabeth's
own part in this remains murky: a letter from her which survived until the seventeenth century
suggested that she was keen and may even have had a sexual relationship with Richard. In the
meantime, her mother was hedging her bets by negotiating with Lady Margaret Beaufort for the
marriage of Elizabeth to Margaret's son, the Lancastrian claimant, Henry Tudor.
After Richard's defeat and death at the Battle of Bosworth Field on 22nd August 1485, Henry
VII kept his promise to marry Elizabeth, but he was careful to be crowned first so that there was
no suggestion that he was claiming the throne in her right rather than his own. Henry and
Elizabeth were married on 18th January 1486. The marriage was reasonably successful: Henry
seems to have genuinely cared for Elizabeth and he was faithful to her, although observers noted
that his mother wielded far more influence than his wife.
Elizabeth's beauty, grace and kindness made her a popular Queen, and she and Henry had
four surviving children: Arthur, born in 1486; Margaret, born 1489; Henry, born 1491 and Mary,
born 1496. Three other children died young. Elizabeth was profoundly affected by the tragic
death of her eldest son Arthur in 1502. She became pregnant again, although she had a history of
difficult births. She gave birth to a short-lived daughter, Katherine, but died of puerperal fever on
11th February 1503, her thirty-seventh birthday. Elizabeth was sincerely mourned by her
subjects and by her husband, with whom she is buried in Westminster Abbey.
Margaret Tudor, Queen Consort of Scots
28 November 1489-18 October 1541
Margaret Tudor was the eldest sister of King Henry VIII and was the first daughter of Henry
VII and Elizabeth York. She was born in the palace of Westminster. After two days of her birth
she was baptized in St. Margaret Westminster, Margaret Beaufort her grandmother was one of
her godmothers. Margaret was well prepared to be a royal consort, she was taught to play the
clavichord, the lute, she learn Latin and French, and she loved archery. As you all know the
children of Kings always become an important part of negotiations for marriages and Margaret
since she was very little was part of Henry VII negotiations for her betrothal to James IV of
Scotland. Both parts has been making this negotiations since 1496, but was official by a treaty in
1502. This negotiations was delay because of the family related by blood, the family has to wait
for a papal dispensation. James great-grandmother was Joan Beaufort, sister of John
Beaufort,who was the great-grandfather of Margaret Tudor. This made James IV and Margaret
Tudor fourth cousins. This was prohibited by the church.
Before the couple was married in person, Patrick Hepburn, the Earl of Bothwell, acted as a
proxy for James IV of Scotland at Richmond in January 1502 for his betrothal to Margaret
Tudor.In April 1502 before Margaret move for Scotland her family lost the eldest of the Tudor
children Arthur Tudor, he died on the border of England and Wales in a place name Ludlow
Castes. After a year Elizabeth of York, Margaret mother died after given birth to a baby girl
name Katherine, the baby died shortly after her mother. Now after all that lost on the 2nd of
July,1503 Margaret finally departed for Scotland from Richmond Palace. On her way to Scotland
she stopped at her grandmother Margaret Beaufort state at Collyweston, and later she continued
on the way north.
Her real wedding (after a several proxy marriages) took place on 8 August 1503 at Holyrood
House in Edinburgh. By that time Margaret was only 13 years old and James IV was 30. In
March 1504 Margaret was officially crowned Queen. Margaret wrote a letter to her father Henry
VII and apparently she was not happy and she was homesick. Apparently in the letters where two
different hand writings, seems like the top of the letter was written by a secretary and the other
part was Margaret owns handwriting. In 1506 she was pregnant for the first time and in February
1507 she gave birth to her first son James, who only lived about 1 year. Later in July 1508 she
gave birth to a daughter who only survived few hours. Her brother became King Henry VIII of
England when her father died in 1509. Later at the beginning of the same year she became
pregnant again, and in the month of October she had a baby boy and she name him Arthur. Again
she suffer another lost and the baby died only with 9 month old.
On April 11, 1512 at Linlithgow, Margaret gave birth again to a baby boy name James. This
boy succeed his father as James V a little over a year old, unlike all those before him he lived to
adulthood. The Queen became pregnant again, she gave birth to a baby girl, that only survived a
few hours. The relations with Scotland become strained the first few years of Henry VIII reign,
and eventually erupt into war. King Henry made Queen Catherine of Aragon regent with the Earl
of Surrey in 1513, when he went to France to conduct military campaigns.( Margaret was
conducted to Scotland by the Earl of Surrey for her wedding) by that time he was in charge of
the forces that had remained in England. Surrey and the Queen took the troops to the northern
and wait for the Scottish attack. This time Margaret was pregnant again and was the last child of
James IV. In order to cross the border of England, James IV began his march in August. On
September 9th at Flodden Field was the final battle of this conflict where James IV died leaving
Margaret infant, King James V. In September 21 and according to James IV's will, the boy was
crowned King. As long as Margaret not remarry, Margaret was to act as regent until James came
of age. Margaret was pregnant again at the time of James IV death, she was going to have the
late King's baby. In April 1514 Margaret gave birth to a boy she name him Alexander and was
given the title "Duke of Ross". Margaret married again to a powerful Scottish man name Lord
Archibald Douglas 6th Earl of Angus.
Margaret died en October 18, 1541, in Methwen Castle in Scotland probably from a stroke.
She was buried at the Carthusian Abbey of Saint John's in Perth, Scotland.
Queen Isabella of Castile
22.4.1451 - 26.10.1504
Queen Isabella was born in 1451, in Madrigal de Las atlas, Spain, and died April 22,
1504. She was the Queen of Castile and Aragon, and was the daughter of John II, King of
Castile, by his second wife, Isabella of Portugal. Being only a little more than three years of
age when her father died {1445}, she was brought up carefully and overly protected by her
mother until her thirteenth year. Her brother King Henery IV then took her together with her
younger brother and older sister. When Isabella was very small, they thought of her little brother,
Alfonso, who died of poison. It is believed that on July 5, 1468, they sought to obtain the crown
for the infant Isabella, rejecting the kings presumptive daughter, Joan, who was called “La
Beltra Neigh” on the supposition that Don Beltran was her real father.
Isabella I (1451-1504), queen of Castile, called la Católica ("the Catholic"), and a sponsor
of the voyages of Christopher Columbus. She was the daughter of John II of Castile and León by
his second wife, Isabella of Portugal. In 1469 Princess Isabella married Ferdinand of Aragón,
known also as Ferdinand V, the Catholic. On the death of her brother, Henry IV, Isabella and
Ferdinand jointly succeeded (1474) to the throne of Castile and León. Isabella's succession was
contested, however, by Alfonso V of Portugal, who supported the claim of Henry's daughter
Juana la Beltraneja. Alfonso attacked Castile and León but was defeated by the Castilian army in
1476. Three years later Ferdinand succeeded to the throne of Aragón. This union of the two main
Spanish kingdoms laid the foundation of Spain's future greatness. They had five children,
including Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII of England, and Joanna the Mad,
who was the mother of Charles V, king of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor. Isabella and her
husband (known together as "the Catholic kings") are remembered for initiating the Inquisition
in 1478, for completing the reconquest of Spain from the Moors and for their ruthless expulsion
of the Spanish Jews, both in 1492. That same year they sponsored Christopher Columbus's
voyage, which led to the creation of the overseas Spanish colonial empire, bringing great wealth
and power to Spain.
She was known as a friend of Christopher Columbus. Following the ten-year war with
Granada, Ferdinand and Isabella financed the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus in his
exploration of a trade route to the East. Isabella was one of the few people who saw merit in the
plan of Christopher Columbus to find the Indies by sailing west. Their support of Columbus
gave Spain its first claim to America. This led to the growth of the Spanish Empire. In 1479
John II of Aragon arranged a marriage between his son Ferdinand and daughter of John II of
Castile, Isabella. The union was intended to unite the Eastern and Western kingdoms of Spain in
response to the French aggression in northern Spain. The result of this political union allowed
Spain to grow into a dominant power in Europe and in the New World. She married Ferdinand of
Aragon in 1469. The marriage led to the union of Spain’s largest kingdoms, Castile of Aragon, in
1479. The union laid the foundations for Spain’s future greatness. After Ferdinand and
Isabella’s marriage, their son Ferdinand was born on March 10, 1452. The Castilian Nobles had
been constantly increasing in power during the repeated minorities through which the crown had
passed, and had taken advantage of the weakness of kings like Henery II and John II. At this
period they had reached the point completely stripping through of its authority. As it went on,
they still refused the powers of the Nobles. They availed themselves of Henery IV’s incredible
ignorance and of the scandoulous relations between Joan of Portugal, his second wife, and his
favorite, Beltran de la Cuveu. They were defeated at the Almedo, and deprived of their leader.
Isabella was also known to school children as the Queen who funded Columbus’s voyages to the
New World.
While Spain was carrying on its war against Granada, Christopher Columbus presented
himself to the Catholic sovereigns. It was Queen Isabella who gambled on Columbus' s proposal
for a western route to China, a proposal that had not been understood at Genoa, at Venice, or in
Portugal. Protected first of all by the Spanish friars, Columbus was presented to the queen by her
confessor, Padre Hernando Talavera, and Cardinal Mendoza (el Cardenal de España). Isabella
provided the funds to outfit the three famous caravels which placed America in communication
with the Old World. Sailing, August 3,1492, from the port of Palos, Columbus arrived on
October 12, at the first of the Bahama Islands.
Queen Isabella, by her example, led the way in fostering the love of study, and in many
respects her Court recalls that of Charlemagne. When she was already a grown woman she
devoted herself to the study of Latin, and became an eager collector of books, of which she
possessed a great number. Her Castilian has been ranked as a standard of the language by the
Spanish Royal Academy. She was extremely solicitous for the education of her five children
(Isabella, John, Joan, Maria, and Catherine), and in order to educate Prince John with ten other
boys, she formed in her palace a school similar to the Palatine School of the Carlovingians. Her
daughters, too, attained to a degree of education higher than was usual at that epoch, and they so
combined with their learning the industries peculiarly appropriate to their sex, that Ferdinand the
Catholic could imitate Charlemagne in using no article of clothing that had not been spun or
sewn by his consort and his daughters. This example of the queen, a model of virtue, piety, and
domestic economy, who mended one doublet for her husband the king as often as seven times,
exercised a great moral influence on the nobility in discouraging inordinate luxury and vain
pastimes. It also fostered learning not only in the universities and among the nobles, but also
among women. Some of the latter distinguished themselves by their intellectual attainments:
Beatriz Galinda, called la Latina, Lucia Medrano, and Francisca Nebrija, the Princess Joan and
the Princess Catherine (who afterwards became Queen of England), Isabella Vergara, and others
who reached great proficiency in philosophy, Latin, and mathematics, and became qualified to
fill professional chairs in the universities of Alcalá and Salamanca.
By 1479 both Ferdinand and Isabella had claimed their royal titles and together won a
war against Alfonso V of Portugal. By outlawing all religions except Catholicism, they became
known as the “ Catholicism Monarchs.” They even received from the Pope the right to appoint
all high church officials. Unfortunately, their religious reforms exploited the cruelty of the
Spanish Inquisition in an effort to enforce uniformity within the church. This caused the exile,
torture, and death of many Jews, Moors, and other groups in Spain that were deemed heretical.
Soon after that Isabella died on November 26,1504, in Medina Del Campo. Her death
and the earlier deaths of two elder children left the succession of the throne to her daughter Joan
(known as Joan the mad) and her husband. However, Joan’s husband died in 1506. Ferdinand
married Germaine de Foix, a niece of Louise XII of France. They had a son, but he died in 1509.
Ferdinand was thus left the ruler of Castile until his death in Madigalejo on Jan. 23,1516.
The crowns of all the Spanish kingdoms passed on to his grandson, Charles the I, ruler of the
Netherlands and heir to the Holy Roman Empire as Charles V.
Isabella d'Este
Marchioness of Mantua
1474-1539
(as a young woman in her twenties)
by Titian, c. 1534-1536
Isabella d‘Este, (May 18, 1474– February 13, 1539), known as the “The First Lady of The
Renaissance,” was Marchesa of Mantua, an inventor, political ruler, patron of the arts, mother of
seven children and musician. As a well-educated noblewoman, she played an influential role in
the cultural and political development of the region. Throughout her life, she served not only
herself but also others and helped to better the standards of living everywhere. She became a
passionate collector as well as a patroness of the arts. Along with her husband, she sponsored
writers and sculptors, collecting their works and attracting other important artists, writers,
thinkers, and musicians to the city. By her words and actions she is revered and has become one
of the most influential people in renaissance history. She was not only a patron of the arts, but an
inspiration to great artists of the time. Titian and Da Vinci both created renditions of her in paint
and pen and ink, respectively. This woman was able to use her education, her position, and her
passion to forward the cause of an entire cultural movement and to inspire the artists of her time
to bring their best work to light.
As Isabella grew she received a royal schooling. As a child she studied Roman history, and
rapidly learned to translate Greek and Latin. Because of her intellect she often discussed the
classics and the affairs of the day with ambassadors. Moreover, she knew the painters, musicians,
writers, and scholars, who lived in and around the court. Besides history and language, she could
recite the works of Virgil and Terrence from memory, and was an expert with lute, singing, and
an innovator with new dances.
During the time of her children’s birth her husband, Captain General of the united forces,
was battling with the French King Charles VIII to keep him from taking territory in Italy. In
1509, after the Duke of Orleans had become King Louis XII of France, her husband Marquis
Francesco Gonzaga was captured in his sleep and taken to Venice. Made regent by the state,
Isabella took command of the city’s armies and successfully held off the enemy hosts. In 1512 a
peace treaty was signed and her husband was released.
Her life after that however would be changed forever. Her husband was weak and ill after he
was released, and became jealous of her power. Consequently he started ignoring her, and found
fault with everything she did. Noticing her husbands’ change of attitude toward her she decided
to travel to Rome. Once in Rome she went to the court of Pope Leo X, where she lived like a
queen and was the center of public attention.
After conflicts died down, Isabella left Rome, and in her 60′s returned to Mantua and made it
a cultural center, started a school for girls and created her ducal apartments into a museum,
which housed the finest art. Nevertheless this was not enough for Isabella so she continued her
life long quest and ruled a tiny part of Romagna, Solarlo until her death in 1539.
As a woman, a wife, a mother, a diplomat, and a creative soul, Isabella served as inspiration to
those around her. We hope that all women can recognize their own grace, light, and strength as
did Isabella d’Este to bring powerful transformation in the world.
Catherine de Medci
13.4.151 - 5.1.89
Throughout the ages, many women have tried to make an impact on the world, many without
success. There are those, however, who are able to break the bonds that held women to certain
positions in society. Some of these women who were able to break from tradition made an
immense impact on the society of their time and upon history in general. One of these amazing
women is Catherine de' Medici, an Italian woman who eventually became Queen of France.
Catherine de' Medici was born to the Medici family of Florence in 1519. Her parents were
Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino and Madeleine de la Tour d'Auvergne. Both of her parents died shortly
after her birth leaving her as the sole heiress to all of the possessions and holdings of the Medici
family. After her parents' deaths, she had no close relatives to care for her. Her father's distant
relative Cardinal Guilio de' Medici came to Florence to take control of the Florentine
government and to care for the young Catherine.
In 1527, when Catherine was eight years old, the Medici palace in Florence was attacked by
an angry mob of Florentines. Her relatives who lived in the palace with her decided to flee the
palace but they were ordered by the rebellion leaders to leave young Catherine behind, so that
they would have a valuable hostage in the future. After young Catherine was taken hostage she
was placed in various convents in and around the city. While in these convents she received an
education that allowed her to be one of the best-educated women of her time.
When the Florentine rebellion was finally crushed by Guilio d'Medici, now Pope Clement
VII, she was sent to Rome to reside with him. Once there, her marriage arrangements were made.
Clement and King Francis I of France arranged that Catherine was to be married to his second
eldest son, Henry of Orleans. Now at age 14, she was described as, "small and slender, with fair
hair, thin and not pretty in face, but with the eyes peculiar to all the Medici" (Young 393).
Her arrival at the palace in France for the wedding ceremonies was supposedly a time of
great celebration. Catherine wanted a great impression on the Royal Court of France. Although
short in stature, she wanted to make a grand entrance. In order to do this she consulted a
Florentine artisan for help, who had presented her with the first example of the modern highheeled shoe. Her arrival in France, while wearing these shoes, caused quite a stir.
After her marriage to Henry of Orleans, she traveled and saw much of France. King Francis
I, now her father-in-law soon realized what a wonderful traveling companion his new daughterin-law was. Other than Francis, Catherine had not a friend in all of France and was not looked
highly upon by the French people, especially the nobles, who called her "the Italian woman".
King Francis' eldest son, the Dauphin Francis, died in 1536, leaving Henry of Orleans as the
heir to the French throne. This caused quite a commotion throughout France. The French did not
want an Italian woman to become their queen. Many French hoped for Catherine to do
something wrong to keep her from ever reaching the throne. Many thought that she would never
have children and that her time in there would be short, but between the years 1543 and 1555
Catherine had ten children, three of which died in infancy. Of those that survived three of them,
Francis, Charles, and Henry, would later serve as Kings of France.
In 1547, Catherine's beloved father in law, Francis I died. Her husband of 14 years became
King Henry II of France, and Catherine was now the Queen. Catherine's severe unpopularity
with the French people became greater than ever. Their new queen was not of royal blood and
she was Italian-- not a good combination according to the French.
Catherine's marriage was also not very pleasant. Although she loved him deeply, Henry was
more in love with his mistress, Diane de Poitiers, with whom he spent much of his time. What
made matters worse, Diane had almost complete control over the weak-minded Henry. Through
Henry, Diane de Poitiers gained much influence in the governing of France. This severely
bothered Catherine, but she did not cause problems or create a stir. She kept her personal feelings
and attitudes to herself.
In 1559, Catherine's husband died in a tournament accident and her eldest son Francis II
came to the throne. Like his father, he was weak of mind. Francis II only ruled for 17 months and
upon his death in 1560, Catherine's second son, Charles IX came to the throne at age ten. This
allowed Catherine to become Queen Regent of France, and she served as such until Charles IX's
death. She also served as Queen Regent for her third son, Henry III.
During her reign, Catherine de' Medici faced many problems including the religious wars
involving the Huguenots in France and the French hatred toward her. She overcame such
obstacles, managed to uphold the power of the monarchy, and protected the claims of the Valois
dynasty.
Diane de Poitiers (1499-1559)- Mistress to King Henri II of France
Her official title was Duchess of Valentinios, however history remembers the beautiful Diane
as one of the most influential women of the Renaissance, through her role as the domineering
mistress of Henri II. Following the death of her husband, Louis de Breze in 1531, Diane became
the mistress of Henri II, despite the fact he was twenty years her junior. Diane dominated Henri’s
life- he lavished her with many gifts, including the crown jewels of France. Diane’s primary
interest was in the arts. She became a great patron of many artists, and played an important role
in spreading the Renaissance through Northern Europe. After Henri’s unexpected death from a
jousting accident in 1550, his estranged wife, Catherine de Medici became regent, ousting Diane
from court. Diane quietly retired to her chateaux at Anet. She died there in 1566 at the age of 67.
Following the death of Queen Claude on July 24, 1524, Diane de Poitiers was put in charge of
the royal nursery. This was her biggest social coup to date.
Little Prince Henri was only five when his mother died, so Diane no doubt took on a motherfigure role which she would maintain for the rest of their lives. More sorrows lay ahead for the
little prince and his brother, the Dauphin. Their father, Francois I, was taken hostage after the
Battle of Pavia, in 1525. In exchange for his own freedom, Francois offered his two oldest sons
as hostages to the Emperor Charles V. At the tender age of 10 and 9, the two princes were
escorted to the Spanish border, by a French entourage that included Diane de Poitiers. No doubt
Diane tried her best to comfort young Henri, who must have been terrified of leaving his
homeland to live among the enemy.
Henri’s Return From Exile
Diane’s presence at his departure must have left a great impact on the boy, for upon his
return two years later Henri immediately went to Diane, not his father, for comfort. During the
summer and fall of 1530 both Henri and the Dauphin stayed with Diane and her husband, Louis
de Breze at their chateaux, Anet. Henri, 11, loved Diane with a boyish adoration. The following
spring at his first jousting tournament, Henri wore green and white, Diane’s colors, in her honor.
The Widow
Louis de Breze died later that same year and Diane found herself a widow. However, even
with her great wealth and beauty, she would need a protector at the scheming French Court.
Despite her quiet tact, Diane had some powerful enemies; chief among them was François I's
conniving mistress, Anne de Pisseleu. It would only be a matter of time before Anne found a
way of ousting Diane from court.
Henri, only 14 at the time, made his devotion to the new widow clear, offering his
protection. Though they were not yet lovers, this chivalrous admiration would grow into one of
the most powerful love affairs of the Renaissance.
Henry was married to the daughter of a Florentine merchant, three years later in 1533. The
quiet, plain faced Catherine de Medici could not hold a candle to the lovely Diane de Poitiers.
Diane would play an important role in Henri and Catherine’s marriage, overseeing their
households, royal children and even state of affairs. Through it all Catherine smiled and sat bland
faced, waiting for the right time to strike her enemy down.
Despite wielding such power over the king, Diane's status depended on the king's welfare,
and his remaining in power. In 1559, when Henri was critically wounded in a jousting
tournament, Queen Catherine de' Medici assumed control, restricting access to him. Although the
king was alleged to have called out repeatedly for Diane, she was never summoned or admitted,
and on his death, she was also not invited to the funeral. Immediately thereafter, Catherine de'
Medici banished Diane from Chenonceau to the Château de Chaumont. She stayed there only a
short time, and lived out her remaining years in her chateau in Anet, Eure-et-Loir, where she
lived in comfortable obscurity.
She died at the age of sixty-six. In accordance with her wishes, and to provide a resting place
for her, her daughter completed the funeral chapel built near the castle. During the French
Revolution, her tomb was opened and her remains thrown into a mass grave.
When French experts dug up the remains of Diane de Poitiers in 2009, they found high levels
of gold in her hair. It is suggested that the "drinkable gold" she regularly took — believed to
preserve youth — may have ultimately killed her.
Lucrezia Borgia
(18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519)
The women of the Renaissance, like women of the Middle Ages, were denied all political
rights and considered legally subject to their husbands. Women of all classes were expected to
perform, first and foremost, the duties of housewife. Peasant women worked in the field
alongside their husbands and ran the home. The wives of middle class shop owners and
merchants often helped run their husbands' businesses as well. Even women of the highest class,
though attended by servants, most often engaged in the tasks of the household, sewing, cooking,
and entertaining, among others. Women who did not marry were not permitted to live
independently. Instead, they lived in the households of their male relatives or, more often, joined
a convent.
A few wealthy women of the time were able to break the mold of subjugation to achieve
at the least fame, if not independence. Lucrezia Borgia, the daughter of Pope Alexander VI, was
one such woman. As pope, Alexander VI attempted to use Lucrezia as a pawn in his game of
political power. To further his political ambitions he arranged her marriage to Giovanni Sforza of
Milan when she was thirteen, in 1493. Four years later, when he no longer needed Milan's
political support to as great a degree, he annulled the marriage after spreading false charges of
Sforza's impotence. Alexander VI then married Lucrezia to the illegitimate son of the King of
Naples. The Borgia legend stipulates that Cesare Borgia, Lucrezia's older brother, murdered
Lucrezia's son produced by this marriage. In 1502, at the age of 22, Lucrezia was again divorced
and remarried, this time to the duke of Ferrara, Alfonso d'Este. She remained in Ferrara until her
death in 1519, where she became a devoted wife and mother, an influence in Ferrara politics and
social life, and a noted patron of the arts.
Lucrezia's sister-in-law, Isabella d'Este, was perhaps the strongest, most intelligent
woman of the Renaissance period. She mastered Greek and Latin and memorized the works of
the ancient scholars. She frequently gave public performances, in which she demonstrated her
skill at singing, dancing, and playing musical instruments. In 1490 she was married to Francesco
Gonzaga, the duke of Mantua, and the pair shared a happy and loving relationship. Isabella
exerted a great amount of influence over the Mantua court, and it was due in great part to her
presence that Mantua became known as a major center of wit, elegance, and artistic genius. After
her husband, the duke, was captured in battle, she ruled Mantua herself. She also influenced the
economic development of the region, encouraging the development of the textile and clothing
industry that became the cornerstone of the Mantua economy. As a patron of the arts, Isabella
collected many paintings, sculpturres, manuscripts, and musical instruments, and encouraged
Mantuans to support the arts.
Commentary
The theme of the life of a Renaissance woman was subjugation. A woman was controlled
by her parents throughout her childhood, and then handed directly into the hands of a husband,
whom she most likely had not chosen herself, and who would exercise control over her until her
death or his. Women who did not marry for whatever reason were likewise granted no
independence of thought and action, living under subjugation in the home of a male relative or in
a convent, where a woman could become a nun, the only career accessible to the gender. Women
were frequently discouraged from participating in the arts and sciences, and thus the world will
never know the full literary and artistic potential of an age in which the spirit of expression was
perhaps the defining characteristic.
Only women of the highest class were given the chance to distinguish themselves, and
this only rarely. For the most part, the wives of powerful men were relegated to the tasks of
sewing, cooking, and entertaining. In history, women provide no more than a backdrop to the
political and social story of the Renaissance. For example, one can find very little written about
the women of the Medici line, though there must have been women if the line were to continue.
Thus, one concludes that even access to the most powerful men in the world did not necessarily
allow a woman to distinguish and express herself.
The case of Lucrezia Borgia is interesting in that it seemed to her contemporaries that she
was one of the most liberated and empowered women in all of Italy. Certainly, her mobility,
from place to place and husband to husband, was more than any Renaissance woman could hope
for. The details of her marriages garnered for her the common perception as both a powerful and
devious woman. However, upon historical review, it becomes quite clear that Lucrezia was not
in control of her life so much as she was a pawn in Alexander VI's master plan for the success
and wealth of the Borgia family. It is most likely that she resisted the pattern of marriage and
annulment which her father forced upon her during her early life, despite the advantages of
mobility and influence it bestowed upon her. In fact, history shows that Lucrezia only truly
exercised power after she had entered into a happy marriage with Alfonso d'Este, who allowed
her to participate to a great extent in the politics and society of Ferarra. Thus Lucrezia Borgia's
life may be looked on as demonstrative of the situation of women in the Renaissance, in that
even the illusion of power which surrounded her inhere early years was created by a man, her
father, who controlled her life, and the small measure of actual power which she was eventually
granted grew out of her traditional position as a devoted wife and mother.
Isabella d'Este differed from Lucrezia Borgia in that she broke down the barriers to power
and influence by virtue of her own independent spirit, strength, and talent. One is led to believe
by accounts of her character that she needed the approval of no man to live in the style that she
chose. Isabella was remarkable in that she was one of few women who expressed themselves in
the arts to any extent, and, even more so, in that she in effect became the first female head of an
Italian city state after her husband was captured in war. Isabella gladly assumed the role of
devoted wife, but did not allow that role to restrict the realm in which she held influence, proving
herself capable in many fields. Isabella stands out as one of the only strong female
representatives of the spirit of humanism.