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Juana I of Castile

Also known as Juana la Loca (epithet)

Toledo, 15 Nov 1479 – Tordesillas, 22 Apr 1555

13 facts3 sources

Animated by AI

About Juana I

Joanna I of Castile: Queen of Two Crowns

AI-assisted · edited

The collection records Joanna’s probable birth in Toledo in 1479. She was the daughter of Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, placing her at the intersection of two royal dynasties and two Iberian kingdoms. 123

Joanna became Queen of Castile and León in 1504 and Queen of Aragon in 1516. The records also assign her the Sardinian royal title from 1516 to 1555, associating her name with several territorial crowns. 456

Her marriage to the Austrian archduke Philip the Handsome was arranged in 1496. The collection records her death in 1555, but the precise date is disputed: the evidence preserves competing possibilities, and Tordesillas is associated with one of them. This uncertainty makes the location and moment of her death particularly important points for further study. 789

Drafted with AI and edited against the collection. Open a citation to see the record, its sources and how certain it is.

Facts and their sources

  • Born15 Nov 1479, Toledonot verified1 source
  • TitleMonarch of Castile and Leon, 1504–1555or King of Sardinia, 1516–1555not verified1 source
  • TitleKing of Sardinia, 1516–1555or Monarch of Castile and Leon, 1504–1555not verified1 source
  • Died22 Apr 1555, Tordesillasor 21 Apr 1555Records disagree1 source
  • FatherFerdinand II of Aragonnot verified1 source
  • MotherIsabella I of Castilenot verified1 source

A life in time

  1. 15 Nov 1479

    Born in Toledo

  2. 1498–1507

    6 children are born

  3. 1504–1555

    Monarch of Castile and Leon

  4. 1516–1555

    King of Sardinia

  5. 22 Apr 1555

    Dies in Tordesillas, aged 75

Family

See the tree

Parents

Partner

Children · 6

During her lifetime

She lived through 9 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Toledo.

General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.

The 1470s · Juana I is born in Toledo

What people wore

Around 1500–1524

Men's Hairstyles and Layered Robes

Men often grew long beards and hair, sometimes styling the tips into curls. Clothing could be layered, with high-status individuals wearing a pellizón, which was a long robe with wide, loose sleeves that could be knotted at the ends.

Daily life

Around 1500–1524

Household as the center of life

The household served as the primary center for education, work, and life, with tasks like laundry and water fetching falling to women and domestic servants.

Work

Around 1500–1524

Seasonal and domestic labor rhythms

Daily life followed seasonal tasks like the pig slaughter in November, a scene frequently depicted in medieval carvings and paintings. Household chores often centered around the hearth, where servants and family members performed tasks like drying laundry.

Music

Around 1500–1524

Cathedral music and instrument maintenance

In the Pamplona Cathedral during the early 16th century, musicians such as chirimia players were officially employed, and payments for instrument maintenance, like repairing a bajon, were recorded in ducats.

At the table

Around 1500–1524

Wine as a daily essential drink

Wine was the essential daily drink, considered vital for health and often mixed with water because pure water was frequently unsafe to consume. It was consumed by all social classes, and many people carried their own measuring tools to ensure the wine was diluted correctly.

Getting around

Around 1500–1524

Traveling primarily on foot

Ordinary people primarily traveled on foot, covering a maximum distance of 40 to 50 kilometers in a single day.

What it cost

Around 1500–1524

Wheat and Bread as Basic Staples

Bread was the most appreciated food, with wheat being the basic crop; however, poor harvests frequently led to tragic famines.