Page:A Dictionary of Saintly Women Volume 2.djvu/328

316 816 ADDENDA She passed great part of her life in the saddle, and travelled with snch extra- ordinary rapidity as enabled her to be always on the spot when her presence was necessary. While she set her soldiers an example of bravery in the field, she had a sympathetic heart for the sufferings of the wounded and was the first to institute a camp hospital. She often sat up all night attending to the business of the State. With all this fatigue she found time for study and needlework; for visiting the convents and. attending to the education of her children. She was the kindest of friends and the best of wives. She tenderly nursed her mother through the infirmities of age. The charm of her manner continually won friends who soon were bound to her by ties of affection. She was clever in choosing trustworthy agents, and loyal in upholding their authority and defending their reputation. In her there was no selfishness, no moan suspicion or spite ; having no vanity she had no small resentments. With all her respect for the Church, and all her devotion to her husband, she scrupulously maintained the rights of Castile against any encroachment either of ecclesiastics or of the sovereign of Aragon. Not- withstanding the prejudices of Spaniards against foreigners, with royal liberality she attracted talent from aU parts of the world. She was quick to perceive the advantages of the art of printing, which was introduced into Spain in the first year of her reign. She granted impor- tant privileges to all printers, native or foreign, and encouraged them to print the works of Spanish writers. In 1492 Ferdinand and Isabel took Granada and overthrew the Moorish power in Spain. In the same year Isabel furnished Christopher Columbus with ships and men and all the necessary authority to make his great voyage and discover the New World. In the same year she banished the Jews from Spain. Although this stop has been condemned by later generations, it was, at the time, regarded by all Christendom as a pious and glorious achievement, and the ex- treme cruelty with which the sentence was enforced was not commanded by the queen and was quite foreign to her nature. Another blot on her reign was the re- establishment in Spain — with increased powers — of the Inquisition. That also was in accordance with the religious and moral standard of the age. In 1494 or 1495 Pope Alexander VI. in consideration of their services to the Church, conferred on Isabel and Ferdi- nand the title of «< Catholic," still held by the kings of Spain. Suits of armour worn by Isabel and Ferdinand are shown in the Armoury at Madrid; the queen's is a little larger than that of the king. Pieces of her embroidery are preserved among the treasures of some of the Spanish churches. Her constant fatigue and her domestic troables wore her out and she died aged little over fifty. Her husband survived her seven or eight years. She had one son who died young. Her eldest daughter was queen of Portugal, the second — '^ the mad Joanna " — was the mother of Charles V., emperor of Gteiv many and king of Spain. Her youngest child — Catherine — was the first wife of Henry VIII., king of England. W. H. Prescott, History of the Reifin of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic of Spain, In this book Mr. Prescott gives his authority, generally contemporary, for every statement. She does not appear in the Calendars, but is called, on devotional pictures, « St. Isabella." St. Lukardis. March 22, Cistercian nun, + 1300. She took the veil at the age of twelve, in the monastery of SB. Peter and Paul in Oberweimar. She suffered dreadfully from rheumatic gout and lay helpless for eleven years. She received miraculous spiritual consola- tions. The Saviour allowed her to be marked with His five wounds and with the scars of His flagellation. She wrought many miracles both during her suffering life and after her death. Smedt, Analecta Bollandiana, St. Phillack, who has a dedication in Cornwall, is sup^msed to be the same as PlALA.