Birth
Her birth caused a scandal in the Castilian court. Her mother was Joan of Portugal, the spouse of Henry IV of Castile. The king had no other children from this or the previous marriage and rumour said he was impotent. Because of this and the fact that Joan of Portugal was allegedly having a relationship with Beltrán de La Cueva, a Castilian noble, she was considered illegitimate. She was nicknamed the Beltraneja (a mocking reference to her assumed real father) from the cradle.
Her mother was banished to Bishop Fonseca's castle where she fell in love with Fonseca's nephew and became pregnant. Henry divorced her in 1468.
Read more about this topic: Joanna La Beltraneja
Famous quotes containing the word birth:
“They do not live in the world,
Are not in time and space.
From birth to death hurled
No word do they have, not one
To plant a foot upon,
Were never in any place.”
—Edwin Muir (1887–1959)
“But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
—Bible: New Testament, Luke 1:13-15.
“It must appear impossible, that theism could, from reasoning, have been the primary religion of human race, and have afterwards, by its corruption, given birth to polytheism and to all the various superstitions of the heathen world. Reason, when obvious, prevents these corruptions: When abstruse, it keeps the principles entirely from the knowledge of the vulgar, who are alone liable to corrupt any principle or opinion.
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—David Hume (1711–1776)