Isabel La Católica, Queen of Castile

Book excerpt: Few historical figures have continued to captivate attention for centuries after their death as has Queen Isabel I of Castile. Yet the realities of Isabel’s life and works are obscured by the legacy of a persona carefully crafted by Isabel and a cadre of historians in her employ or that of her successors, who recognized the benefits of an image of benevolence and piety. This volume includes original essays that examine the world into which Isabel was born; the public and private facets of her marriage and reign; her intervention in the areas of religion, medicine, the arts, and the reform of political, social and economic institutions; and the construction of her image in literary and historical works from the fifteenth century onward.