Chapter One - Birth
Part One: Infante
Chapter 1 - Birth 1485
“The birth of a son would have caused los reyes greater happiness, for a succession depending on an only son inspired no small fear, and the fecundity of their daughters boded difficulties for future relationships.” Palencia in 1485
Alacá de Henares – Madrid – 16th December of 1485
The winter of that year had been both cold and rainy. The damp chill settled in the bones of those living inside the thick stone walls of the palace of the archbishop in the very heart of Castile. To Isabel I of Castile this place provided both opportunities to govern her kingdom and to have her last child. The year had been long and exhausting for both her and her Aragonese husband; their campaigns against the emirate of Granada had been extensive and a outburst of plague had driven them away from Seville in that very spring. Pregnant or not, Isabel was not about to abandon the holy Reconquista that was about to enter into it’s third year at this time. The summer had been a mix, a defeat in the valley of Velillas, but the engineers had provided artillery and gunpower for the fortress of Ronda to fall and another ninety moorish castles and settlements had fallen in the royal hands. The warring had ended with celebrations in Jaen and would resume in the spring. The royal family had made their way into the plains of La Mancha to the fortified castle of Alacá de Henares where Isabel was due to give birth.
The Annunciation by Sandro Botticelli, painted in 1485
By 1485 the monarchs of Spain had four children, Isabella, Juan, Juana and Maria and they desired a second son to secure the succession. Juan was their only son and his frail health gave cause to worry for the fertility of their daughters. Infanta Isabella had been promised to the neighbouring kingdom of Portugal since 1479 according to the Treaty of Alcáçovas. None of the other infantas had matches and neither had the prince, even if matches had been contemplated. Warfare had occupied Castile for the past years and the marriages of the children, other then Isabella had been put on the backburner.
Queen Isabel began her labour before dawn on the 16th. The queen remained as courageous in childbirth as ever. Her ladies remarked to chroniclers that “did they ever see her complain, and that, rather, she suffered them with marvellous fortitude.”
Isabel’s stalwart determination was greatly rewarded during that morning, as she was safely delivered of a son to her and Ferdinand’s great joy. A strong and healthy boy was precisely what the catholic monarchs had desired and his birth was greeted with immense joy in the court, as bells rang out along the plains of La Mancha to the rising winter sun of Castile.
Author's Note: So evidently I have lost my mind completely and written the beginning of a new TL. So here is the first chapter of my Trastamara TL where the premise of it is that Catherine of Aragon is born an infante and then we go from there. Suggestions or other ideas are warmly welcome! This chapter is dedicated to @isabella for helping me brainstorm for so long!
Chapter 1 - Birth 1485
“The birth of a son would have caused los reyes greater happiness, for a succession depending on an only son inspired no small fear, and the fecundity of their daughters boded difficulties for future relationships.” Palencia in 1485
Alacá de Henares – Madrid – 16th December of 1485
The winter of that year had been both cold and rainy. The damp chill settled in the bones of those living inside the thick stone walls of the palace of the archbishop in the very heart of Castile. To Isabel I of Castile this place provided both opportunities to govern her kingdom and to have her last child. The year had been long and exhausting for both her and her Aragonese husband; their campaigns against the emirate of Granada had been extensive and a outburst of plague had driven them away from Seville in that very spring. Pregnant or not, Isabel was not about to abandon the holy Reconquista that was about to enter into it’s third year at this time. The summer had been a mix, a defeat in the valley of Velillas, but the engineers had provided artillery and gunpower for the fortress of Ronda to fall and another ninety moorish castles and settlements had fallen in the royal hands. The warring had ended with celebrations in Jaen and would resume in the spring. The royal family had made their way into the plains of La Mancha to the fortified castle of Alacá de Henares where Isabel was due to give birth.
The Annunciation by Sandro Botticelli, painted in 1485
By 1485 the monarchs of Spain had four children, Isabella, Juan, Juana and Maria and they desired a second son to secure the succession. Juan was their only son and his frail health gave cause to worry for the fertility of their daughters. Infanta Isabella had been promised to the neighbouring kingdom of Portugal since 1479 according to the Treaty of Alcáçovas. None of the other infantas had matches and neither had the prince, even if matches had been contemplated. Warfare had occupied Castile for the past years and the marriages of the children, other then Isabella had been put on the backburner.
Queen Isabel began her labour before dawn on the 16th. The queen remained as courageous in childbirth as ever. Her ladies remarked to chroniclers that “did they ever see her complain, and that, rather, she suffered them with marvellous fortitude.”
Isabel’s stalwart determination was greatly rewarded during that morning, as she was safely delivered of a son to her and Ferdinand’s great joy. A strong and healthy boy was precisely what the catholic monarchs had desired and his birth was greeted with immense joy in the court, as bells rang out along the plains of La Mancha to the rising winter sun of Castile.
Author's Note: So evidently I have lost my mind completely and written the beginning of a new TL. So here is the first chapter of my Trastamara TL where the premise of it is that Catherine of Aragon is born an infante and then we go from there. Suggestions or other ideas are warmly welcome! This chapter is dedicated to @isabella for helping me brainstorm for so long!
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