This book examines the ways in which European queens engaged with
De institutione foeminae Christianae
(1524), the most popular instructional manual for women in sixteenth-century Europe. Vives (c. 1493-1540) dedicated the volume to Catherine of Aragon, queen of England as the wife of Henry VIII. Richard Hyrde did the same with his English translation. Juan Justiniano dedicated his Spanish translation to Germaine de Foix, dowager queen of Aragon as the wife of Ferdinand II. Catherine's support for
De institutione
and the association of its translations with a royal household, printer, or event became an important feature of its production and longevity. This book restores women to the history of
De institutione
and recovers a cultural understanding of its vernacular editions in England and Spain, especially with regard to queenship and public authority.
This book examines the close ties between European queens and Juan Luis Vives's
Deinstitutione foeminae Christianae
and its translations. This volume was the most popular instructional manual for women in sixteenth-century Europe. Vives dedicated the book to Catherine of Aragon, queen of England as the wife of Henry VIII. Richard Hyrde did the same with his English translation, while Juan Justiniano dedicated his Spanish translation to Germaine de Foix, dowager queen of Aragon as the wife of Ferdinand II. This volume restores women to the history of
De institutione
through an analysis of its printed English and Spanish translations and their contexts through 1599. In doing so, it highlights royal women's intellectual, cultural, and political associations with Vives's book, especially regarding humanism, women's education, and public authority.
Darcy Kern
is an independent scholar of Western European intellectual history.
