The second season of “Isabel” has begun

The life of Isabel I of Castile, from 1479 to 1492. 

This scene recreates the Capitulation of Grandada, as painted by Francisco Pradilla y Ortiz in 1882.

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Spain’s big hit television show is back on the air (and the internet). The last season of Isabel followed her from her early teen years to her ascent to the throne of Castile in 1474 at age 23. The second season will cover her fight to keep the throne, reconquer Spain from the Moors, reign as an equal with her husband, expel the Jews, and send Columbus to find a western route to the Indies. To the delight of fans, some scenes have been filmed inside the Alhambra.

A third season is planned. It’s also available in the UK with English subtitles, according to Medievalists.net: http://www.medievalists.net/2013/09/28/new-tv-series-isabel/

Isabel and Fernando were reigning when Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo prepared his version of Amadis of Gaul, and his prologue praises their leadership. He fought in the initial campaigns to capture Granada, and they made him a knight for his service. According to the show, which is well researched, Isabel enjoyed chivalry novels.

In a wink to history, the show has recreated a famous painting depicting King Boabdil’s surrender of the city of Granada to Isabel and Fernando. You can learn more about the surrender and see the painting here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitulation_of_Granada

This 51-second scene from the show recreating the painting may give you an idea of why the series has won such a large following. You can watch with the following link, and if you don’t speak Spanish, here’s a translation:  

King Boabdil prepares dismount and bow to King Fernando and Queen Isabel.
Fernando: “You are the sovereign of Granada. You should not bow to us.”
Boabdil rides forward and hands Fernando a key: “Take the key to my city, and take those of us who are in it. We are yours.”
Fernando takes the key and hands it to Isabel: “My lady.” 
Isabel: “Glory is more pleasing when one has suffered so much to achieve it.”

http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/isabel/isabel-rendicion-granada/2004376/

Isabel - La rendición de Granada

• Isabel - La rendición de Granada

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Queen Isabella and the invention of modern chess

She was an actual field marshal, after all. 

Modern standard chess pieces, featuring the queen.

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Until the late 1400s, the queen moved only one square at a time in chess. And then, suddenly, the rules changed and she became the most powerful piece on the board, revolutionizing the game.

In this essay, Eduardo Gil Bera traces that change to November 7, 1489, and Queen Isabella of Castille — chess changed as an homage to her spectacular victory at Baza:

http://www.essayandscience.com/article/9/queen-isabella-and-the-invention-of-modern-chess/
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“Isabel” - the television series

Spain’s history triumphs on the small screen. 

Isabel I of Castilla, Enrique IV, and Alfonso of Castilla. TVE photo.
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If you understand Spanish, you may wish to watch one of this fall’s most popular television series in Spain, “Isabel.” It was aired on Televisíon Española (TVE), and you can watch the 13 episodes at the series’s website:
http://www.rtve.es/television/isabel-la-catolica/

RTVE describes it this way:

The thrilling battle of a woman to become queen: this is the story that “Isabel” tells in its first series. Specifically, it begins with her education when she was hardly more than a girl, and ends with her coronation at only 23 years old, a key period for understanding the personality of the woman who was later called Isabel the Catholic.

If you watch closely, you’ll notice a few historical inaccuracies, and social customs and language have been simplified. I’m particularly disappointed in the choice of the actor to portray Fernando of Aragon, whom she marries at age 18. He was only 17 years old when they wed, but the actor — talented and handsome, to be sure — is twice that age.

On the other hand, the series makes good use of Spain’s heritage: the actual castles where events took place, for example. The intrigues, battles, and personalities were real, and the photography and scripts will keep you riveted. This series gathered a 22% audience share for a reason.

“Only God can take me from this throne,” Isabel declares at the end of the final episode, but He didn’t make it easy to get there.

A second season is planned that will include the war of succession between the backers of Isabel and Juana la Beltrana, the conquest of Granada, the expulsion of the Jews, and the voyage of Christopher Columbus.

The only surviving version of Amadis of Gaul was written during Isabel’s reign. I don’t know if she read it, but future Spanish kings did.
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