Katherine of Aragon
By: Julia Hamilton
Proud, yet gentle and deeply religious, young Katherine of Aragon journeyed to Dover to marry Prince Arthur, eldest son of Henry VII. She expected be the queen of England – but within a year she was left a widow – and left at the mercy of the king and his court.
Her rescuer was Henry, Arthur’s young brother. In contrast to Katherine’s petite darkness, Henry was tall, fair and fiery as his red hair. When he ascended the throne as King Henry VIII, he promptly married Katherine – and they were to repent in leisure. As her inability to provide Henry with a son slowly disintegrated their marriage, Katherine was sustained only by her unbreakable will and abiding faith.
Summary from the back of the book.
Review Time!
Score: 3 out of 5 stars
“Here was a true fairy tale Princess, beloved by her Prince, and adored by her people” – Excerpt from the book.
I am a bit mixed in my feelings for this book. I appreciate the small instances of different people’s point of view (Katherine, Henry, Maria and her daughter), but there really isn’t a set flow of the story. It does hit on some important events like her marriage to Arthur and the “Great Matter” but it jumps around. The book is only 137 pages long, so the author is forgiven because I do believe that it would be entirely impossible to fit her entire 50 years into the novel.
There is some common ideas that are repeated in many books. Such are her absolute faith in the idea she was born to be Queen of England, her mother was a cold woman who cared little for her children, Henry VIII was a loving husband in the youth of their marriage and Donna Elvira was a horrible woman. I would have to agree with those ideas, there is enough accounts of those things happening.
The point of view in this book regarding Katherine and the “Great Matter” is that of a woman who is completely blameless in her husband no longer wanting to be married to her. That there is nothing about her that would push her husband into the arms of another woman except if there was black magic involved. Yes the Katherine of Aragon blames Anne of witchcraft. Its a big thing in the book, it seems like anyone loyal to Katherine seems to believe that Anne bewitched the king through a deal with the Devil that is why she was successful on wooing the king away. Even mentions about midway through the book that Henry also believes this and that even if Anne would give him a son, that he is done with her because a witch is not fit to wear the crown and that his dear “angel” Jane does, but he needs to figure out how to get rid of Katherine and Anne first the fastest way possible.
Some interesting bits. In this book where Katherine is forced into meeting Henry VII and Arthur before the wedding and is to show her face to the king. Donna Elvira (her caretaker/replacement mother figure) states “The English were barbarians who invaded the innocence of their brides’ retiring rooms before the religious ceremony had been celebrated! There would be a curse upon the children of the Infanta and the English Prince! He would be impotent, the Devil would see to that! If any issue came of their union, it would be deformed or die at birth!” (excerpt from the book) I was shocked when I read that, from all that I had read or researched regarding Elvira she was 100% loyal to Isabella and to hear her curse Isabella’s own daughter (and crush Isabella’s ambitions) was wild to me. Then it got me thinking is that something that is represented in the Bible? Is it really a bad thing to see the wife to be before marriage? Julia (the author) mentions while speaking in Katherine’s voice that “the Devil made free with those who anticipated the marriage vows, rendering them barren and incapable..” But this thought it never brought up again when she reflects on her failed pregnancies and early deaths of her babies.
Malleus Maleficarum was mentioned in the book, also known as the Hammer of Witches. I had no idea what this was (though there was a small synopsis of it) so I did the logical thing and investigate.
What is it? A book written by a German Catholic man named Heinrich Kramer. It was first published in 1486, and later condemned by the top theologians of the Inquisition for being inconsistent with the doctrines of demonology according to Catholicism.
There are different sections to the book but the main meat of the book is where they examine the concept of witchcraft from a theological standpoint, the practice/actual cases discussed along with their powers and recruitment strategies, and finally how to prosecute a witch.
With the mention of this book regarding Katherine’s feelings made sense for this book was published during her lifetime and she was taught theology and was very religious. Her mother was the Queen of the Spanish Inquisition. BUT! Here is where I have a little bit of an issue, when it was written there was only eight created at first, and then it was more widespread towards the end of the 15th century. I couldn’t find any information if in fact the Malleus Maleficarum made it to Spain before Katherine set sail, (Katherine mentions the book in regards of hearing it while at home). Now lets say that it did make it to Spain in time, it was condemned by the Inquisition (when exactly not sure), why would Isabella then allow Katherine to be taught that if the institution she created condemned it? It was also said that the Spanish Inquisition did not really focus on witches they were not a priority. The popularity of the prosecution of witches happened later in the time period. I appreciate the effort to insert a religious basis regarding witchcraft going hand in hand with Katherine’s own religious beliefs. So props to the author for that.
Side note: It was said that Kramer wrote the Malleus Maleficarum as a response of his own lust regarding women, and blaming women for it. He presented his views to the church in a nice cushy idea that men were essentially good men who follow the word of the Lord but are always seduced by women who are instruments of the Devil. (nice right?)
Okay, rant over. I enjoyed this book, but eye-rolled on the witch heavy parts of the book. I do like Julia’s way of thought on some things and would have liked to see what she could do with a larger novel regarding Katherine of Aragon, but alas that idea will be lost in time. With those words said, I would recommend this novel for anyone who likes Katherine of Aragon, it reads less like a novel but more like a quick snapshot of the thoughts and feelings of a women in the last moments of her life. (a heads up this book is no longer in print so copies are hard to find, Thriftbooks is where I stumbled upon mine, but they do not have many copies often.)
To read more regarding Katherine of Aragon, or some more books regarding her. Click the image to get a history lesson and a list:
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