Was Juana insane?

I am reminded here that of the saying that just because a death is very convenient for someone else doesn't necessary mean it's a murder. Certainly it was very much in the interests of two very cunning men, Ferdinand and Charles, to have their daughter and mother respectfully declared insane so they could rule in her right. On the other hand, her grandmother, Isabella's mother, was apparently insane, as was her greatgrandson, Don Carlos. (He was an extreme example of inbreeding, of course).

Juana's behavior towards her husband, which doesn't seem to have surprised her family, was certainly eccentric. However, it's true that her illness may have been episodic and that had it been in anyone else's interest for her to be shown as mentally normal she might have been treated in a way that would have shown her to be so.

It seems to me that either possibility could be argued

Carol





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Carol wrote: I am reminded here that of the saying
that just because a death is very convenient for
someone else doesn't necessary mean it's a murder.

***

I haven't heard that saying before. But it's worth
remembering. I can see it's application Richard and
his nephews as well as to Juana and her father and
son.

***

Certainly it
was very much in the interests of two very cunning
men, Ferdinand and Charles, to have their daughter and
mother respectfully declared insane so they could
rule in her right. On the other hand, her grandmother,
Isabella's mother, was apparently insane, as was her
greatgrandson, Don Carlos. (He was an extreme
example of inbreeding, of course).

Juana's behavior towards her husband, which doesn't
seem to have surprised her family, was certainly
eccentric. However, it's true that her illness may
have
been episodic and that had it been in anyone else's
interest for her to be shown as mentally normal she
might have been treated in a way that would have shown
her to be so.

***

So it's possible that Ferdinand and Charles could have
purposely made Juana's condition worse for their own
advantage. Just as they could have contributed to
making her condition better if they had seen
advantages to doing that.

***

It seems to me that either possibility could be argued


***

I don't know enough to argue for one or the other.
But I think it's worth keeping in mind, since S.B.
Chrimes' comments contradict what I've always heard.
Most of the time, Chrimes writes in a neutral tone of
voice, so it surprised me that his statements about
Henry VII and Juana were so forceful.

I need to learn more about events in 15th century
Spain and Portugal relative to events in 15th century
England.

I want to see Richard III and his life in comparison
to the lives of other rulers, like King John of
England or Louis XI of France or Henry VII of England.
(Someday I hope to include contemporary Scandinavian
rulers, since the story of Havelock the Dane fits
Richard's situation)

Michael Jones' "Bosworth, a psychology of a battle,"
suggests new possibilities for comparisons with
Spanish and Portuguese rulers, which I want to
explore.

On p. 138, Jones says that Richard would have felt
something in common with Isabella, because she
declared her half-brother's daughter a bastard in her
effort to take the throne of Castile. I'd never heard
that before.

Can anyone comment on this?

TIA!

Marion

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