Catherine of Aragon

Despite her status as a Spanish infanta, Princess of Wales, and Queen of England, few of her personal letters have survived, and she is obscured in the contemporary royal histories. In this evocative biography, Theresa Earenfight presents an intimate and engaging portrait of Catherine told through the objects that she left behind.

A pair of shoes, a painting, a rosary, a fur-trimmed baby blanket—each of these things took meaning from the ways Catherine experienced and perceived them. Through an examination of the inventories listing the few possessions Catherine owned at her death, Earenfight follows the arc of Catherine’s life: first as a coddled child in Castile, then as a young adult alone in England after the death of her first husband, a devoted wife and doting mother, a patron of the arts and of universities, and, finally, a dear friend to the women and men who stood by her after Henry VIII set her aside in favor of another woman. Based on traces and fragments, these portraits of Catherine are interpretations of a life lived five centuries ago. Earenfight creates a compelling picture of a multifaceted, intelligent woman and a queen of England.

Engagingly written, this cultural and emotional biography of Catherine brings us closer to understanding her life from her own perspective.

“Whether you have interest in this queen of England or simply in material culture and its emerging importance, this book is an essential read.”—Cliodhna Condon, Royal Studies Journal

“. . .this is a lively, original, and evocative study that features material culture, beautiful objects, and queenly power as they figure in the life and deeds of Catherine of Aragon - in Earenfight’s view, a formidable woman and queen.”—Nuria Silleras-Fernandez, Early Modern Women

“. . . an important scholarly contribution to Tudor history, gender studies, and studies of material culture – appealing equally to scholars, students, and general readers.”—Maria Teresa Micaela Prendergast, Journal of British Studies

“A refreshing and compelling modern biography of the previously shadowy figure of Catherine of Aragon. Earenfight’s innovative use of material culture offers a sophisticated methodology for apprehending Catherine’s life, motivations, and decisions.”—Elizabeth A. Lehfeldt, author of Religious Women in Golden Age Spain: The Permeable Cloister

“Catherine of Aragon offers a unique appraisal of Catherine and an exciting and innovative approach to biography by drawing on sources—particularly material culture, economic, and Spanish sources—that are often bypassed or not fully explored to give a fresh perspective on Catherine’s life, a richer picture of Catherine as an individual, and a clearer understanding of her exercise of the queen’s office.”—Elena Woodacre, coeditor of The Routledge History of Monarchy and editor-in-chief of Royal Studies Journal

Theresa Earenfight is Professor of History at Seattle University. She is the author of The King’s Other Body: María of Castile and the Crown of Aragon and Queenship in Medieval Europe and editor of Queenship and Political Power in Medieval and Early Modern Spain.

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgements

Maps

1. Who’s That Girl?

2. An Infanta at the Court of Castile, 1485–1501

Time Line: An Infanta at the Court of Castile, 1485–1501

3. One Wedding and Four Funerals

Time Line: One Wedding and Four Funerals, 1501–1509

4. Bride Again, Queen Finally, and Mother at Last

Time Line: Bride Again, Queen Finally, and Mother at Last, 1509–1519

5. A “Humble and Loyal” Queen

Time Line: A “Humble and Loyal” Queen, 1520–1529

6. Resistance, Mortality, and the Power of Memory

Time Line: Resistance, Mortality, and the Power of Memory, 1530–1536

7. Who Was That Queen?

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Gender Studies

History

           Early Modern

           European

Medieval and Early Modern Studies

           Early Modern History

General Interest