Gender Roles In Isabel Of Europe

Gender and social roles of the 15th century were redefined and revolutionized under the Spanish ruler, Isabel of Castile. Isabel of Castile revolutionized the monarchy, becoming Europe’s first female monarch. In the late fifteenth century Isabel of Castile capitalized on the perceived shortcomings of the female sex to bolster her legitimacy as ruler of the Spanish Kingdom. In her time as ruler she strengthened the crown and centralized power for the monarchy despite facing criticisms and obstacles as a woman of power during this period. During her climb to the crown, although she faced countless obstacles to her rule, she manipulated perceptions of the female sex and gender roles to enhance her power and claim to the crown. Isabel of Castile

Shortly after the death of her half brother, the question of who should be the next ruler began Isable’s quest to create legitimacy for herself to be the ruler and monarch for Spain. She independently acted by holding a ceremony for herself to be sworn in as the ruler of Castile. During this ceremony, without her husband Ferdinand with her, she used powerful, traditionally masculine symbols to give her a clear assertion of authority. In the ceremony she utilized an unsheathed sword, a very masculine symbol of power that was not traditionally utilized by women. Traditionally in this ceremony a scepter is traditionally used to show power, however Isabel used a sword to bolster her credibility and male power. There was split approval over this decision with some claiming she had the power as the sovereign ruler and needed to put forth a strong front. Whereas others saw this as undermining her husband Ferdinand as King, especially as he was not present for this ceremony. Isabel also perpetuated another strong masculine symbol during her many uses of propaganda to further her claim to the crown. The eagle represents her patron saint, John the Evangelist as well as connecting the imagery back to her father Juan II, who although was not an extremely popular ruler, was at least better than her half brother Enrique

She was able to change the direction of the crown and fixed the problems that arose during the reign of the previous monarch Enrique IV. Isabel and Ferdinand were named the Catholic Monarchs and centralized the power of the crown by taking back the power from the nobility. Isabel of Castile was a revolutionary figure in the late fifteenth century, paving the way for other female monarchs to follow in her footsteps and challenging the traditional gender roles of her time. Through the rule of Isabel of Castile and her claims to the crown, she demonstrated the strength of a woman in power and the could be just as successful and influential as a man. The reign of Isabel of Castile was legitimized through different propaganda tactics which laid way to revolutionizing gender roles and the legacy of the Spanish monarchy that she