Alcázar of Seville, Kingdom of Castile, September 1508
It was early in the morning when Catalina went to her nephew’s rooms to wake him for his lessons. As she made way her way through the dim room, she heard Ferdinand’s soft snoring, and she barely suppressed a chuckle,
Just like his mother. She walked over to his bed and smiled,”Come now Ferdinand, you have your Latin lessons with the Lady Galindo in two hours.”
The boy groaned, and shifted in his nightclothes,”I don’t feel well Auntie Catalina.”
Catalina raised an eyebrow,”Let me see then, you are well enough to speak at least.”
She then pressed her hand against the boy’s forehead, and nearly pulled it away at the heat that she felt. He felt hot, too hot, especially for this time of year. Panic welled inside her, for she had never seen her nephew ill with a fever, for he normally had robust health. Still, her brother Juan’s death, as well as that of her husband Arthur taught her that sickness can strike one down easily, even if both young men were rather sickly, they were both older than Ferdinand when they took deathly ill. So, what chance did a five-year-old have of surviving without quick intervention? Stroking the boy’s dark hair, she tried to remain calm,”I will be right back Ferdinand, and I will fetch a physician to help you feel better.”
The boy simply nodded at this, apparently not having the energy to respond verbally. She then rushed from the room, quickly as she could, though careful not to fall. As soon as she came upon a servant she briefly stopped, and gave a desperate order,”Fetch Doctor de Villalobos, the King is ill, tell him it is some sort of fever!”
The young man ran in the direction of the physician's chambers, while Catalina continued on, to her sister’s rooms. When she entered Juana’s rooms, a minute later, walked over to her bed, and shook the snoring woman,”Juana, it’s Ferdinand.”
The other woman nearly jumped from the bed scowling,”Good God you frightened me!” She paused to rub her eyes, and when she was finished asked,”What of him? Is my son alright?”
Catalina shook her head quickly,”No, when I went to awake him, he felt far too hot, it was as if I was holding my hand to a fire. It must be a fever!”
Juana sat wide-eyed,”Then we must do something to help him!”
“I already have sister. I had a servant send for the Converso, Francisco López de Villalobos.”
“You trust him?”
The younger sister nodded,”Yes I do, he treated father when some madman in Barcelona stabbed him.”(1)
“Ah yes, I remember… Father was in very rough shape, so I would think that de Villalobos will be able to save my son.”
Catalina quickly nodded,”Yes, but please make some haste, I think your presence would comfort him there.”
As Juana slipped on a pair of slippers, Catalina opened the door to leave, and her sister asked,”Where are you going Catalina?”
She turned around,”I am going to get Beatriz Galindo, she has some knowledge of medicine.”
Juana said,”Very well then.”
Catalina quickly left the room, and made her way back to the hallway, where she found Beatriz Galindo waiting for her, holding some small clothes and a bowl of water Catalina exclaimed,”You already know of what ails the King?”
The older woman replied,”Yes I do, I have been working with Doctor de Villalobos and we were reading on herbal medicines when the servant informed us..”
Beatriz started walking towards young Ferdinand’s chambers, with Catalina in tow
“That is fortuitous then. So, you have an idea of how to help him?”
They stopped outside of the room, and Beatriz gave her a nervous smile, looking down at the bowl of water,”I think so. This has been known to bring down fevers, but there is no guarantee of it.”
Catalina felt a quiver of fear as they opened the door, hoping that they were not too late.
…
As it turns out, they were not too late. Dr. de Villalobos and Juana arrived soon after, and the former concluded that while Ferdinand was still in a delicate state, there was some hope for his survival. Catalina made the sign of the cross, as she finished a prayer for the boy’s life, and suddenly had an idea. If she wanted God to spare her nephew she needed to make a sacrifice of sorts, to humble herself before Him. As prepared to make her exit, her sister, who was reading to Ferdinand asked,”What are you doing sister?
“I... I am not abandoning you and Ferdinand. Do not worry. I need to appeal to God on my own.”
Normally a statement speaking of God would have elicited a cynical response from her sister, but for once she seemed to be grateful for Catalina’s piety,”Go then, any sort of help will be appreciated.”
…
Catalina sat in her chair a pair of shears in her hand, as she looked in the mirror.
Lord, I humble myself before you, and sacrifice my earthly beauty, I gladly do so. Please… Let my nephew live. She took the shears and cut off a long strand of her red hair, and did so again, one after the other. As she continued, she thought back to when she prepared to leave for England, and the advice her mother gave her. It was nearly ten years ago, yet it was still fresh in her mind. Her mother had said,”Beauty is a weapon that is sharp as any sword. It can inspire men to fight and die for you. But beauty without virtue is useless… To have a beautiful soul and a connection to God is what we all must aspire to, only then, can we change the world.” She then cut even more, until it did not even go past her shoulders, and clung to the back of her neck. She grabbed a white wimple from a table, one of her mother’s, and put it on top of her head, to hide what remained of her hair. She then got up, and left the room, to see if her penance to God was successful… As she went to her nephew’s rooms, Beatriz de Galindo exited them, and Catalina asked,”How is he?”
Beatriz smiled,”He is well, I think he is starting to feel better.”
Catalina crossed herself, it really worked!,
Thank you Lord for sparing my innocent nephew.
(1) This is in reference to an assassination attempt on Ferdinand II of Aragon in Barcelona in 1492.
