Catalina I: Unequal to the Task?

Abstract

Catalina is the last of the queens in this survey, although she is not the last reigning Queen of Navarre. That distinction was held by Jeanne d’Albret or Juana III, who held the title from 1555 to 1572. However, although she was the sovereign lord of an impressive collection of territory in the southwest of France, Jeanne d’Albret did not rule the Iberian Kingdom of Navarre itself, as it had been annexed by Ferdinand of Aragon in 1512. This disastrous event took place during the reign of Catalina and has been the subject of intensive study by scholars of Navarrese, Iberian, and European history for its significance in the political events of the period and beyond. As 2012 marked the 500th anniversary of the annexation, it has once again come to the forefront of media and academic attention. However, while the event itself has attracted considerable interest, Catalina has not garnered a similar amount of academic research. The strongest offering on her reign was the recent work of Alvaro Adot Lerga, which has provided an excellent study of the political challenges that Catalina faced and the lead up to the annexation itself.¹ However, while Catalina’s reign has often been studied in terms of its political significance, she has yet to be examined in the context of female rule, and how this factor may have played a considerable part in the challenges she faced.