Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 10.djvu/909

* ISAAC I., COMNENtrS. 803 ISABELLA I. pelled to submit. In 1059 he repelled the Hun- garians, who had encroached upon his possessions in the northwest, but soon afterwards he was at- tacked by a violent fever, and, believing his death approaching, appointed liis famous general, Con- Etantine Ducas, as his successor. He recovered from his illness, b>it nevertheless resigned the crown and retired to a convent, where he died after two years. Isaac w-as not deficient in liter- ary' attainments. We still possess his Hcholia on Homer, his favorite autlicr; further, a work. Characteristics, dealing with the Greek and Tro- jan chiefs mentioned in Homer ; and, finally, a treatise entitled On the Works of Homer. Con- sult Oman, The Bi/zantine Empire (London, 1892). ISAAC IL, ANGELUS (?-1204). Byzan- tine Emperor from 1IS5 to 1193 and 1203-04. De- livered by a popular revolution from deatli, to which he had been condemned bj- his kinsman, Andronicus Comnenus, Emperor of Constanti- nople, he obtained the throne in 118.5. His vices, incapacity, and military disasters rendered him ■unpopular, and he was dethroned, blinded, and shut up in a monastery by his brother Ale.xius III., in 1195; but was restored by the Crusaders, who took Constantinople in 1203, only to be again dethroned by Alexius Ducas in 1204. He died soon after. Bulgaria was lost to the Byzantine Empire during his first period of po.wer in 1186. ISAAK, e'ziik. IZAK. or YZAC, Heixbich (c.l450c.l517 ). A German-Italian musician. We know nothing of his life except that he was in the service of Lorenzo de' !Medici for a number of years; was organist in Rome; and later was 'syniphonista regis' to Maximilian I. at Vienna. He was a prolific composer of the contrapuntal school, and was one of the first to employ the melody in the soprano. His compositions were frequently reprinted in collections, and some of his part-songs and melodies (notably the choral "Nun ruhen alle Wulder'') are still in use. ISABELA, e'sa-Ra'hi. A province in Luzon, Philippines. It takes in part of the Sierra Madre and the Carballos !JIuuntains. A large part of its area is covered with thick forests peopled by savage tribes. Live stock are raised extensively, and tobacco is cultivated. Its area is 4467 square miles; its population in 1899 was 54.000. Capital, Ilagan (q.v.). ISABELA. A town of Xegros, Philippines, in the Province of Eastern Xegros. (Jlap: Philip- pine Islands, G 9). Population, in 1898, 11,100. ISABELLA, iz'abel'la ( 1 ) In Ariosto's Or- lando jurioao, the daughter of the King of Gala- cia, in love with Zerbino, slain by Rodomont. (2) In Shakespeare's Meaxure for Measure, the sister of Claudio, pursued by the base passion of Angelo, but delivered from him by Duke Vin- eentio. (3) In Kyd's Spanish Tratierhj. the wife of Hieronimo. (4) In Massinger's DuVc of .Wi- Zan, the mother of Ludovico Sforza. (5) In .John Webster's tragedy The "White Devil, the wife of the Duke of Brachiano. (6) The Countess in Marston's tragedy The Tiisntiate Countess. (7) In Southern's tragedy The Fatal }farriape. the nun who marries Biron. .fter his supposed death she marries Villeroy. and on Biron's return kills herself. The part of Isabella atlonls great scope for a tragic actress and was often played by Mrs. Barry, Mrs. Siddons, and others. (8) A char- acter in Mrs. Centlivre's comedy The Wonder. (9) A character in Young's tragedy Tlte Re- venge. (10) In Meyerbeer's opera WoftcrMe Z>ia- Ue, the Princess of Sicily, in love with Robert. ISABELLA; OB, Tue Pot of Basil. A poem by Keats, based on a story by Boccaccio (1818). ISABELLA. A bufl or brown color. The term originated in a story told of Isabella of Austria, daughter of Phiiip II., at the siege of Ostend (or of Isabella of Castile at the siege of Granada), who vowed not to change her linen before the capture of the town. Owing to the length of the siege, the linen was discolored, and so gave rise to the name. ISABELLA I., Sp. ISABEL, e'sa-bcK (1451- 1504). Queen of Castile, known as the Catholic. She was born at Madrir'al, Old Castile, the daugh- ter of John II., King of Castile and Lc6n, by his second wife, the Infanta Isabella of Portugal. In 1454 Isabella's brother Henry ascended the throne of Castile, and in 1409 the Princess, after considerable opposition and in the face of gicat difficulties, married Ferdinand of Aragon. On the death of Henry IV., in 1474. she succeeded to the throne of Castile and Ledn, to the ex- clusion of her niece Joanna. She had won the support of a great part of the estates of the Kingdom during her brother's life, and the vic- torious arms of her husband compelled the con- sent of the rest. A war with Portugal, which wa.s waged by King .lfonso in behalf of the Princess .Joanna, was terminated in Isabella's favor in 1479. and the same year Ferdinand, who had been created honorary King of Castile, suc- ceeded to the throne of Aragon as Ferdinand V. This union of the two chief Spanish kingdoms laid the foundation of Spain's future greatness. The first ta,sk the allied sovereigns set them- selves to perfonn was the pacification and con- solidation of the kingdoms of Castile and Ar- agon. Then in 1482 they began the ten years' war against the Moors of Granada, which cul- minated with the capture of the Moorish capital and the extinction of Moorish sovereignty in Spain at the beginning of 1492. It was toward the end of this struggle, the danger and hardships of which Isabella shared with her army, that the Queen of Castile earned her greatest title to fame in the eyes of posterity, by her acquiescence in the plans of Columbus, who was then a sup- pliant at the Spanish Court. For their successes against the Moors and their stanch Catholicism the title of 'Catholic sovereigns' was conferred by the Pope on Ferdinand and Isabella. Queen Isabella was possessed of no inconsiderable beauty and much winning grace, although proud, ambitious, and exceedingly punctilious. She was always present in meetings of the council, and insisted on the use of her name with that of Ferdinand in all public documents. The con- solidation of the Spanish Kingdom through the organization of the Hermandad (q.v.) and the establishment of the royal supremacy over the great military orders were in a large measure her work. In the reign of Isabella the Inquisi- tion was organized in Castile by Torquemada, under whom its work was carried on with a bar- barity bred of the most fanatical zeal. In 1492 the .Jews were expelled from Castile and the rest of Spain, to the great detriment of the country. She died at Jledina del Campo on Xovem- ber 26, 1504, and was buried in accord-