Villena, Isabel de (1430–1490)
Villena, Isabel de (1430–1490)
Spanish abbess and author . Born in 1430; died in 1490 in Valencia, Spain; illegitimate daughter of Enric de Villena (a nobleman and writer); educated at the court of Alphonso V (1396–1458), king of Aragon (r. 1416–1458); never married; no children.
Abbess of Trinity Convent in Valencia (1463–90); author of Vita Christi (1497).
Isabel de Villena was born in 1430, the illegitimate daughter of Spanish noble Enric de Villena. Like her father, she became a writer, although she was to surpass him in both fame and influence. Villena entered Trinity Convent in Valencia at the age of 15, after an education at the court of Alphonso V (known as the Magnanimous). In 1463, Villena was elected abbess of Trinity Convent for life and became an increasingly important voice in Valencian society, particularly after the accession of the "Catholic kings," Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon. The work for which Villena is best known, Vita Christi, was published posthumously in 1497.
Paula Morris , D.Phil., Brooklyn, New York