source: documentation/trunk/tutorial_sample_files/tudor/englishhistory.net/tudor/letter1.html@ 18423

Last change on this file since 18423 was 18423, checked in by kjdon, 15 years ago

added teh sample files into svn. I got these files from the releases on sourceforge, jun2006 release with the october extra files.
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4<meta name="content" content="Primary Sources - Letter of Katharine of Aragon to her father, King Ferdinand II of Aragon, 2 December 1505">
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9<title>Primary Sources - Letter of Katharine of Aragon to her father, King
10Ferdinand II of Aragon, 2 December 1505</title>
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20 <td valign="top" width="70%" height="29">&nbsp;</td>
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32 Letter of Katharine of Aragon to her father, King Ferdinand II of Aragon <br>2 December 1505</FONT>
33 </b></p>
34 <p><FONT size=-1><b>Background</b><br>The following letter was written in Spanish by
35 Katharine while she was Princess Dowager of Wales.&nbsp; Katharine only wrote
36 in English after her marriage to King Henry VIII.&nbsp; Her mother, the famous
37 Queen Isabella of Castile, had died in the previous year; her father was beset
38 by diplomatic troubles, particularly with the English (he was unable to force
39 Castilian acceptance of a trade agreement with England, which resulted in loss
40 of money for the parsimonious King Henry VII.)</FONT> </p>
41 <p><FONT size=-1>In
42 1502, Katharine's husband and Henry VII's heir, Prince Arthur, had died.&nbsp;
43 Katharine was put in an untenable position, and spent seven years of miserable
44 widowhood in England before Arthur's brother married her.&nbsp; Her father was
45 never able to pay the full amount of her dowry to Prince Arthur.&nbsp; This
46 issue became even more pressing when she was then betrothed to Prince
47 Henry.&nbsp; Ferdinand and Henry VII were equally wily monarchs, each
48 unwilling to compromise in order to make Katharine's life in England
49 bearable.</FONT> </p>
50 <p><FONT size=-1>The marriage to Prince Henry, though
51 formally recognized in 1504, was not to be celebrated until two years later
52 when the prince came of age.&nbsp; The Spanish ambassador Dr De Puebla had
53 negotiated the contract, and assumed Henry VII would gladly support Katharine
54 for those two years.&nbsp; But Henry gave her barely enough money for food;
55 she had no money to pay servants' wages or buy clothing, among other
56 things.&nbsp; She lived in extreme poverty and with a frightening lack of
57 attention or respect.&nbsp; Henry VII made it clear that if her dowry was not
58 paid, he would renege on the marriage to Prince Henry.&nbsp; And Ferdinand
59 made it clear that he lacked the funds to pay the dowry; indeed, it was not
60 even a priority in his tumultuous life.</FONT> </p>
61 <p><FONT size=-1>In this
62 letter, Katharine mentions an 'Infanta Isabel'; this was her older sister
63 Isabella.&nbsp; She also unfairly maligns the amiable Dr De Puebla.&nbsp;
64 Katharine's duenna Dona Elvira despised De Puebla for political reasons and
65 poisoned the young woman's mind against him.</FONT> </p>
66 <P><FONT size=-1>This letter, a litany of complaints - all politely phrased -
67 is fascinating, and offers invaluable insight into Katharine's life as
68 Princess of Wales.&nbsp; She was poor, hungry, and desperately ill; 'I shall
69 soon die,' she wrote to her father in despair.&nbsp; She survived, of course,
70 but these conditions explain why she considered her marriage to King Henry
71 VIII to be so miraculous.</FONT>&nbsp; <FONT size=-1>This letter also offers a
72 funny glimpse into Henry VII's miserly nature.</FONT>
73 <P>
74 <HR width="100%">
75
76 <p><font face="Times New Roman">Most high and most puissant lord, <BR>Hitherto I have not wished
77 to let your highness know the affairs here, that I might not give you
78 annoyance, and also thinking that they would improve; but it appears that
79 the contrary is the case, and that each day my troubles increase; and all
80 this on account of the doctor de Puebla, to whom it has not sufficed that
81 from the beginning he transacted a thousand falsities against the service of
82 your highness, but now he has given me new trouble; and because I believe
83 your highness will think I complain without reason, I desire to tell you all
84 that has passed. <BR>Your highness shall know, as I have often written to
85 you, that since I came into England, I have not had a single maravedi,
86 except a certain sum which was given me for food, and this such a sum that
87 it did not suffice without my having many debts in London; and that which
88 troubles me more is to see my servants and maidens so at a loss, and that
89 they have not the wherewith to get clothes; and this I believe is all done
90 by hand of the doctor, who, notwithstanding your highness has written,
91 sending him word that he should have money from the king of England, my lord
92 that their costs should be given them, yet, in order not to trouble him,
93 will rather entrench upon and neglect the service of your highness.&nbsp;
94 Now, my lord, a few days ago, donna Elvira de Manuel asked my leave to go to
95 Flanders to be cured of a complaint which has come into her eyes, so that
96 she lost the sight of one of them; and there is a physician in Flanders who
97 cured the infanta donna Isabel of the same disease which which she is
98 affected.&nbsp; She labored to bring him here so as not to leave me, but
99 could never succeed with him; and I, since if she were blind she could not
100 serve me, durst not hinder her journey.&nbsp; I begged the king of England,
101 my lord, that until our donna Elvira should return his highness would
102 command that I should have, as a companion, an old English lady, or that he
103 would take me to his court; and I imparted all this to the doctor, thinking
104 to make of the rogue a true man; but it did not suffice me - because he not
105 only drew me to court, in which I have some pleasure, because I had
106 supplicated the king for an asylum, but he negotiated that the king should
107 dismiss all my household, and take away my chamber-equipage, and send to
108 place it in a house of his own, so that I should not in any way be mistress
109 of it. <BR>And all this does not weigh upon me, except that it concerns the
110 service of your highness, doing the contrary of that which ought to be
111 done.&nbsp; I entreat your highness that you will consider that I am your
112 daughter, and that consent not that on account of the doctor I should have
113 such trouble, but that you will command some ambassador to come here, who
114 may be a true servant of your highness, and for no interest will cease to do
115 that which pertains to your service.&nbsp; And if in this your highness
116 trusts me not, do you command some person to come here, who may inform you
117 of the truth, and then you will have one who will better serve you.&nbsp; As
118 for me, I have had so much pain and annoyance that I have lost my health in
119 a great measure; so that for two months I have had severe tertian fevers,
120 and this will be the cause that I shall soon die.&nbsp; I supplicate your
121 highness to pardon me that I presume to entreat you to do me so great favor
122 as to command that this doctor may not remain; because he certainly does not
123 fulfill the service of your highness, which he postpones to the service of
124 the worst interest which can be.&nbsp; Our Lord guard the life and most
125 royal estate of your highness, and ever increase it as I desire.&nbsp; From
126 Richmond, the second of December. <BR>My lord, I had forgotten to remind
127 your highness how you know that it was agreed that you were to give, as a
128 certain part of my dowry, the plate and jewels that I brought; and yet I am
129 certain that the king of England, my lord, will not receive anything of
130 plate nor of jewels which I have used; because he told me himself that he
131 was indignant that they should say in his kingdom that he took away from me
132 my ornaments.&nbsp; And as little may your highness expect that he will take
133 them in account and will return them to me; because I am certain he will not
134 do so, nor is any such thing customary here.&nbsp; In like wise the jewels
135 which I brought from thence [Spain] valued at a&nbsp; great sum.&nbsp; The
136 king would not take them in the half of the value, because here all these
137 things are esteemed much cheaper, and the king has so many jewels that he
138 rather desires money than them.&nbsp; I write thus to your highness because
139 I know that there will be great embarrassment if he will not receive them,
140 except at less price.&nbsp; It appears to me that it would be better if your
141 highness should take them for yourself, and should give to the king of
142 England, my lord, his money.&nbsp; Your highness will see what would serve
143 you best, and with this I shall be most content. <BR>The humble servant of
144 your highness, who kisses your hands.</font></p>
145 <p>&nbsp;</p>
146
147 <BLOCKQUOTE>
148 <P>
149 <HR width="100%">
150 </BLOCKQUOTE>
151 <p align="center"><FONT size=-1><A
152href="letters.html">to Letters of the Six Wives
153of Henry VIII</A></FONT></p>
154<P align="center"><FONT size=-1><A href="primary.html">to
155Primary Sources</A></FONT><BR><FONT size=-1><A
156href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor.html">to Tudor England</A></FONT><BR><FONT size=-1><A
157href="monarchs/aragon.html">to Katharine of
158Aragon website</A></FONT></P></td>
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