Mad Kings and Queens [Wednesday, June 11th, 2nd Period]

[atreideslioness]

"Juana I de Castilla," Ghanima announced abruptly, once the students were seated.  "Queen of Castile and León, Queen of Aragon, Duchess of Burgundy, Duchess of Brabant, Limburg and Lothier, Duchess of Luxemburg, Margravine of Namur, Countess of Artois and Flanders, Countess of Charolais, Countess of Hainaut, Holland and Zeeland."

"Madness is not just constrained to men." 

"Queen Juana I of Castile was highly-strung and physically addicted to her dashing but adulterous husband, Philip the Handsome of Austria.  Her passionate ardor was to grow wildly out of control, leading to profound jealousy, mental instability, and deranged antics that earned her the title of "Juana la Loca," or "Joan the Mad," " Ghanima said.

"As a child, Juana was sullen, moody, and solitary.  Some interpreted her reclusive and haughty behavior as the hallmarks of natural majestic dignity," Ghanima smiled slightly, "of which there really is no such thing, but those close to her were disturbed to recognize in her moods a resemblance to her grandmother, the mad Queen Isabel of Portugal.  At the age of sixteen, Juana was sipped off to Flanders to marry the only son of Emperor Maximilian I, the tall, dark, and dashing Philip.  By all reports, the couple were instantly attracted to one another, and enjoyed an actively carnal relationship."

"The passion soon grew one-sided however, with Philip quickly reverting to his pastimes of feasting, drinking, and bed-hopping.  Juana, incensed by his unfaithfulness, flew into uncontrollable rages, spending her nights pounding on the walls of her bedchamber.  Philip refused to countenance her behavior, and punished her further by withdrawing all conjugal visits.  Frustrated and increasingly unbalanced, Juana grew more hysterical the more Philip withdrew."

"The death of her only brother John, Prince of Asturias, her eldest sister Isabella of Asturias, Queen of Portugal, and then of the latter's infant son Miguel, Prince of Asturias, made Joanna the heiress of the Spanish kingdoms. Her only living siblings were Maria of Aragon and Catherine of Aragon, three and six years younger than Joanna. In 1502 the Castilian Cortes of Toro recognized Joanna as legitimate heiress to the Castilian throne, and Philip as her legitimate consort. She was then named Princess of Asturias, the title traditionally given to the heir of Castile.  On receiving a cold reception from her mother, and with a husband desperate to return to his harem, a heavily pregnant Juana sunk further into despondency and irrationality.  She lashed out at servants, kicking, screaming, and biting, and she hurled insults.  Her family locked Juana in the Castle of La Mota, and Philip happily returned to Flanders without her."

"Imprisoned and pining for her husband, Juana's obsession grew.  After giving birth, she managed to escape and make her way back to Flanders, abandoning her infant son.  She arrived home to find her husband in bed with another mistress, and Juana snapped.  She attacked the other woman, hacking off her hair and beating her." 

"When Juana's mother died, she became the Queen of Castile.  Pregnant again, the new queen traveled back to Spain to claim her inheritance, taking Philip with her," Ghanima said.  "Juana wanted him as far from his mistresses as possible." 

"By virtue of the agreement of Villafáfila, the procurators of Cortes met in Valladolid on 9 July. On 12 July, they swore Philip and Juana together as kings, and their son Charles as their inheritor."  Ghanima drew the family tree out on the wipeboard as she spoke.  "This arrangement did not last long. On 25 September 1506 Philip died suddenly of typhusfever in Burgos. Joanna, pregnant with her sixth child, was inconsolable.  The lovestruck queen reportedly refused to be parted from her husband's body, and several times after he was entombed, she had his coffin opened to view his remains.  When she fled the town of Burgos to escape the plague, she brought his coffin with her.  She continued to open it on a regular basis to make sure he was still there, and on one occasion began to kiss his rotting corpse.  When he daughter Catarina was born, Juana seized upon her as the final reminder of Philip, and guarded the child jealously, placing her in a locked tower in the castle of Tordesillas. 

"Juana was ultimately declared incapable of assuming the monarchy, and both her father and oldest son ruled in her stead.  After one visit, her son Charles advised she never be allowed in public again.  Despite legally being the Queen of Spain, she languished alone in her windowless castle tower for nearly forty years before dying."

"Most historians believe she suffered from schizophrenia or post-partum depression, and she was kept locked away and imprisoned by her male family members, rather than killed, because she was needed to legitimize the claims of her father and son to the throne.  Joanna only nominally remained Queen regnant of Castile until her death."

"She is entombed in the Capilla Real of Granada, alongside her parents, her husband, and her nephew Miguel.  Between 1498 and 1507 she gave birth to six children, two emperors and four queens, all of whom carried to some degree her seeds of madness."

[OOC:  Wait for the OCD to go up please.  Enjoy!]

 

Comments

Sign In

[atreideslioness]

Ya'll know the drill.

Re: Sign In

[solo_sword]

Jaina Solo

During the Lecture

[atreideslioness]

Chat or take notes, as it takes your fancy.

Re: During the Lecture

[inthereflexes.livejournal.com]

Jack was trying to practice the art of flipping a coin across his knuckles...until the professor said the word "carnal" and everything else went out the window. He was also not pointedly not ignoring Reno or trying not to snicker at him while doodling.

Re: During the Lecture

[walks-two-paths.livejournal.com]

Savannah was taking notes

Re: During the Lecture

[solo_sword]

As usual, Jaina was listening, really glad this story didn't have impalements.

Re: During the Lecture

[sixstandingby.livejournal.com]

Gavin paid closer attention in this class than most others. There was a lot of information but it was good information and hey, if anything, he could impress his squadron mates with his intelligence whenever he went back home.

Re: During the Lecture

[minnesota-teen.livejournal.com]

Amber took notes, lots of notes.

Re: During the Lecture

[ella-obeys.livejournal.com]

Ella took notes, finding herself feelng really bad for poor Juana.

Re: During the Lecture

[notyourpawn.livejournal.com]

Alice was taking notes, and wondering a great deal about loss and madness.

Re: During the Lecture

[lordofthecats.livejournal.com]

Lion-o was taking notes. He felt very sorry for this poor woman.

Re: During the Lecture

[makescherries.livejournal.com]

Cimorene was taking notes, as usual

Class Discussion

[atreideslioness]

"Postpartum depression, schizophrenia, or just a lonely woman?" Ghanima asked. "Juana remained queen her entire life, but should she have been removed from power? Did her son and father have the right to do so?"

Re: Class Discussion

[inthereflexes.livejournal.com]

"What I think is, I think she's just crazy. Is jealousy a disease?" Jack asked. Seriously. People go crazy when they're in love.

Re: Class Discussion

[walks-two-paths.livejournal.com]

Savannah was thoughtful. "I think all of those things, plus the environmental factors she was raised in and subsequently lived in contributed to her madness."

Re: Class Discussion

[ella-obeys.livejournal.com]

"It seems men we've talked about have been as bad or worse and kept power," Ella couldn't help but point out. "Juana had problems, clearly, but it seems her son and father only made them worse by locking her away and spreading the word she was mad."

Re: Class Discussion

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

Chad looked he might have been on the brink of saying something profound, but, at the last minute, he just closed his mouth and shook his head.

"You know," he finally muttered, "I think it's just a bad combination of a lot of bad things leading to, y'know..."

Re: Class Discussion

[notyourpawn.livejournal.com]

"I feel sadness for her," Alice said. "She had no one to care for her, except her children, and they were the ones who placed her in that tower. Her husband and family seemed largely indifferent otherwise."

Re: Class Discussion

[makescherries.livejournal.com]

"It sounds like she was just put into one bad situation after another, and somewhere along the line she went mad trying to create a situation she liked. I don't think she should have been in power, but I don't think her father and son had a right to use her as a pawn, either." Cimorene said thoughtfully.

Re: Class Discussion

[solo_sword]

"If she had those moods as a child, and people in her bloodline seemed to have some sort of madness, she had to have something wrong. It was probably just made worse by her situation," Jaina said. "And while she definitely seems unstable, I'm just glad to hear she wasn't setting towns on fire or anything in comparison to some of the other people we've talked about."

Talk to the TAs

[atreideslioness]

Wait for the ladies to arrive, please.

Re: Talk to the TAs

[walks-two-paths.livejournal.com]

Savannah was here, listening to the discussion.

Re: Talk to the TAs

[notyourpawn.livejournal.com]

Alice was here, considering the dangers of letting a mad woman stay in power. One whose kingdom could be usurped by a Red Queen.

Chat with Ghanima

[atreideslioness]

She's here, both before and after class.

Re: Chat with Ghanima

[walks-two-paths.livejournal.com]

Savannah waited until it looked like Ghanima had a free moment after class.

OOC

[atreideslioness]

If the world ends, I don't have to go to work tomorrow!