The Year of Isabella I of Castile – Joanna of Castile, Under Lock and Key (Part three)

Read part two here.

Joanna’s husband and father conspired to keep her from public view, and Philip planned to rule over Joanna’s Kingdom of Castile himself. People were led to believe that Joanna was mentally ill and could not govern. Things took a shocking turn when Philip died suddenly, leaving Joanna pregnant and widowed but free to reign.

During this time, Castile was in a terrible state; there was widespread famine, drought and disease, and the Cortes was unstable. Joanna tried to take control of Castile but could not drum up enough money or support. In January 1507, Joanna gave birth to her daughter, Catherine, and at this time, a regency council tried desperately to bring Castile under control.¹ Thankfully, the famine and plague started to retreat. As this coincided with Ferdinand’s return in July, many people believed that Ferdinand himself had restored Castile’s good fortunes. Joanna was overjoyed to see her father again, though before long, he began to proclaim that she had handed her realm over to him for the “peace and security of the kingdom.” ² Joanna had made it very clear that she did not want to renounce her powers and would not sign anything. Her father forged her signature, meaning she was not needed from this point and was a mere figurehead and a Queen in name only.³

Joanna had little choice but to slip out of the public eye and fall under her father’s control. Soon, her father was reorganising her household, controlling her finances and deciding who she could and couldn’t see. It was as if she was back under the control of her husband all over again. In 1509, Joanna was moved to the Royal Palace in Tordesillas with only a small number of household staff.⁴ With her out of the way, it was easy for Ferdinand to tell everyone that Joanna was completely insane, the death of her husband having made her mental state even worse.

There was one way that Joanna could escape her terrible situation, and that was by remarrying. Plans were drawn up for her to marry the recently widowed King Henry VII of England – the father-in-law of her sister Catherine. Joanna was an eligible match and a proven bearer of healthy children and Henry did not believe she was insane. Sadly, King Henry VII passed away in 1509, and the wedding never took place, leaving Joanna alone at Tordesillas.⁵

In 1516, Joanna’s father, Ferdinand, passed away, and she then became Queen of Aragon as well as Queen of Castile.⁶ The Queen may have believed that she would soon be free to rule her own realms, but before long her eldest son Charles took over her guardianship. Charles was sixteen at this point and had not seen his mother for ten years. As far as he was aware, she was incapable of reigning, and he made no effort to get to know her personally. Instead, he kept her locked away and merely carried on paying for her basic expenses.

After years of social isolation, being held in just two rooms, it is understandable that Joanna occasionally lashed out.⁷ If she were not listened to, Joanna would sometimes starve herself, refuse to sleep or go into an angry rage. This has, of course, been put down to mental illness, but with no other way to assert herself, maybe this was all Joanna could do when she needed something or wished to get the attention of her son.

In addition to being kept prisoner by her son Charles, Joanna also had to deal with her guardians, who watched over her night and day. This succession of governors, such as the Mosen Ferrer and the Marquis of Denia, went far beyond their duties and went out of their way to be cruel to Joanna; they would steal from her and lie to her to further isolate her.⁸ At one stage, Joanna was led to believe that her father Ferdinand was still alive when he had passed away, and at another time, when Joanna wished to be relocated, Denia told her that each place she suggested was in the grip of the plague and even had coffins paraded around outside for her to see.⁹ When her son Charles succeeded as Holy Roman Emperor and one of Europe’s most important rulers, these guardians could do as they wished with Joanna. It is reported that she was even beaten and abused by her guardian, Mosen Ferrer.¹⁰

In 1520, Charles was out of the country, and a chance of escape was opened up for the imprisoned queen. A group of officials had approached the castle and wished to see Joanna. They told her that Castile was in turmoil, and they wanted her to join their rebellion and back their cause. Tordesillas soon fell under rebel control, and Joanna was inside the castle with the group of men. This went on for months, with Joanna and her daughter Catherine living alongside the rebels. The queen was kind to the men but would not sign anything that would jeopardise her sons’s power in Castile. Before long, Charles returned to Castile with his army; Joanna was amid open warfare. Joanna would not act against Charles and was soon returned to her usual apartments. Though fighting continued for many more months, Castile was back under Charles’ control. Joanna had given up her only chance of freedom in order to show loyalty to her son.⁴ The rebels reported that Joanna was “perfectly sane” and was being “tyrannically detained” at the castle. ¹¹ Despite proving her capacity to reign and her loyalty to her son, Joanna was not allowed any further freedom after this rebellion.

After the rebellion came to an end, Denia wrote to Charles that Joanna had become spoilt by the attention during the revolt and said “if your majesty would apply the torture” suggesting he should be allowed to physically punish Joanna into complying. We do not know what Charles’ response was to this letter.¹² Charles had many dominions to rule over, and often, he simply forgot about his mother. His sister Catherine wrote to him, “The Queen, my lady, wishes to walk for her recreation in the corridor, on the river or if she wishes to go to the large room to refresh herself.” ¹³ This shows that as time went on, nothing changed for Joanna, and she was deprived of even basic wishes such as a walk outdoors.

Time went on slowly for Joanna, who had few visitors other than her staff and some family members. She was especially lonely once Catherine moved out to be married. These visits from family filled Joanna with joy, and she loved to receive letters, news and portraits from her children and, later in life, her grandchildren. In 1554, for example, Joanna was overjoyed to hear that her grandson Philip had married her niece – Queen Mary I of England.

By 1555, Joanna’s health had taken a rapid decline, and before long, she was confined to her bed and died on 12 April after a staggering 46 years imprisoned in Torsedillas.

Joanna left behind a legend of a mad queen who was locked away for her own good. While she may have sometimes struggled with her mood or could have been seen as “excessive in her reactions and her paranoia”, this would not have stopped Joanna from reigning as a regnant Queen. She was prevented from ruling over Castile and Aragon by the men in her life: her father, her husband and her son, who schemed to have her locked away and made her seem insane and incapable.¹⁴

Joanna’s legacy was her six children and over twenty grandchildren who ruled over much of Europe.

Sources
J. Fox., Sister Queens: Katherine of Aragon and Juana, Queen of Castile
G. Tremlett., Isabella of Castile- Europe’s First Great Queen
B. Aram, Queen Juana: Legend and History in M Gomez, S Juan-Navarro, P. Zatlin., Juana of Castile- History and Myth of the Mad Queen
E. Gascon Vera., Juana I of Castile, Catherine of Aragon and the Failure of Feminine Power and in the Construction of Empire in M Gomez, S Juan-Navarro, P. Zatlin., Juana of Castile- History and Myth of the Mad Queen

1. Sister Queens: Katherine of Aragon and Juana, Queen of Castile by Julia Fox p.129
2. Sister Queens: Katherine of Aragon and Juana, Queen of Castile by Julia Fox p.140
3. Juana I of Castile, Catherine of Aragon and the Failure of Feminine Power and in the Construction of Empire in M Gomez, S Juan-Navarro, P. Zatlin., Juana of Castile-  History and Myth of the Mad Queen p.52
4. Queen Juana: Legend and History in M Gomez, S Juan-Navarro, P. Zatlin., Juana of Castile – History and Myth of the Mad Queen p.38
5. Sister Queens: Katherine of Aragon and Juana, Queen of Castile by Julia Fox p.147
6. Queen Juana: Legend and History in M Gomez, S Juan-Navarro, P. Zatlin., Juana of Castile- History and Myth of the Mad Queen p36
7. Sister Queens: Katherine of Aragon and Juana, Queen of Castile by Julia Fox p.207
8. Sister Queens: Katherine of Aragon and Juana, Queen of Castile by Julia Fox p.233
9. Queen Juana: Legend and History in M Gomez, S Juan-Navarro, P. Zatlin., Juana of Castile – History and Myth of the Mad Queen p.37
10. Sister Queens: Katherine of Aragon and Juana, Queen of Castile by Julia Fox p.208
11. Sister Queens: Katherine of Aragon and Juana, Queen of Castile by Julia Fox p.251
12. Sister Queens: Katherine of Aragon and Juana, Queen of Castile by Julia Fox p.252
13. Sister Queens: Katherine of Aragon and Juana, Queen of Castile by Julia Fox p.254
14. Juana I of Castile, Catherine of Aragon and the Failure of Feminine Power and in the Construction of Empire in M Gomez, S Juan-Navarro, P. Zatlin., Juana of Castile – History and Myth of the Mad Queen