Isabel de Villena (1430-1490) is one of the most fascinating women of the Spanish middle ages. Related to the royal family, she became abbess of the Poor Clare convent, the Santa Trinitat, in Valencia in 1462, a position she held for almost thirty years until her death. Her treatise on the religious life, Vita Christi, was the first book by a woman to be printed in the kingdom of Aragon.
This is the first full-length survey in English of Isabel's life and literary works. The author pays particular attention to the way in which devotion to the Virgin Mary is manifested and described through material culture, on her rich fabrics, brocades, silks, shoes, and crown. The book thus highlights not only Isabel's distinctive contribution to the genre of the Vita Christi, but also reflects the status of Valencia as a centre for trade and producer of silks and velvets at the time, as well as its flourishing shoe-making industry.
Lesley K. Twomey is Principal Lecturer, Hispanic Studies, Northumbria University.
Details
First Published: 21 Mar 2013
13 Digit ISBN: 9781855662483
Pages: 314
Size: 23.4 x 15.6
Binding: Hardback
Imprint: Tamesis Books
Series: Monografías A
Subject:
Hispanic StudiesBIC Class: GTB
Details updated on 20 Jun 2013
Contents
- 1 Introduction: Isabel de Villena: Her Life and Times
- 2 Reading the Vita Christi
- 3 Pure Bodies: Feeding the Soul in the Vita Christi
- 4 Veiled Bodies
- 5 Reading Red: Deepening Understanding of Red in the Vita Christi
- 6 For Richer, for Poorer: Redrawing the Boundaries in the
- 7 The Fabric of Society: Dressing, Undressing, and Gifting in Sor Isabel's Writing
- 8 Shoes, Shoes, Shoes: Stepping out in Style
- 9 The Crown of Stars and Franciscan Rosary Devotions
- 10 Literary Liturgy: Sor Isabel's Processions and Prayers
- 11 Conclusion
- 12 Appendix: selected chapters translated from the Vita Christi
