Maria de Padilla

This link leads to an interesting article on Maria de Padilla. (The novel referred to is only available in the United States, it appears.)

Maria de Padilla was, of course, the ancestress of the House of York, mother of Isabel of Castile who married Edmund of Langley. She was said to be the most beautiful woman in the world. (It is unlikely that the writer who claimed this toured the world to check all the other women it contained, but I think we can take it that she was uncommonly good-looking.)

King Pedro I of Castile was ‘married’ to several women at various points, and in this regard makes Edward IV look prudent. However, after Maria’s death, he swore before the Cortes that she was his true wife and that her children were his lawful heirs. They were accepted as such in England, that’s for sure, but what the truth was is impossible for any human to establish.

Various legends have grown up about Maria. One is that she used to walk naked through the court to reach the so-called Baths of Maria de Padilla. This is improbable. Not only did medieval women not behave that way – not even if they were courtesans – but the so-called baths were actually cisterns that provided fresh water for the palace. It is unlikely that Maria would have been so gross as to bathe in everyone’s drinking water.

I have also seen it posited that Maria was partly of Moorish or Jewish descent, but it seems impossible to demonstrate this. It may be propaganda – and negative propaganda at that. Her husband – if that is what he was – was accused by his enemies of being too kind to Jews and Muslims. Indeed, he was called ‘King of the Jews’. This was not intended as a compliment. It is very telling that after his deposition there were significant pogroms in Spain.

It is also worth noting that King Pedro was not only known as ‘Pedro the Cruel’ by the nobility but also as ‘Pedro the Just’ by his people.