Luisa Sigea de Velasco facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Luisa Sigea de Velasco
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Oil portrait of Luisa Sigea de Velasco, a Spanish humanist
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| Born | 1522 Tarancón, Province of Cuenca, Castilla-La Mancha |
| Died | October 13, 1560 (aged 37–38) Burgos, Spain |
| Occupation | Poet, classicist and intellectual |
| Literary movement | Humanism |
Luisa Sigea de Velasco (born in Tarancón in 1522 – died in Burgos on October 13, 1560) was a very smart writer and poet. She was also known as Luisa Sigeia or Luisa Sigea Toledana. She was one of the most important people in a movement called Humanism in Spain.
Luisa spent a lot of her life working for Maria of Portugal (1521–1577). She taught Maria, who was a princess, how to speak Latin. A famous writer named André de Resende wrote a special message for her after she died. It meant something like: 'Here lies Sigea; that's all you need to know. Anyone who doesn't know the rest is not educated.'
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Luisa's Early Life
Luisa Sigea de Velasco was born in 1522 in Tarancón, Spain. She was the fourth child of Francisca Velasco, a Spanish noblewoman, and Diogo Sigeo, who was from France. Luisa had a sister named Ângela and two brothers, Diogo and António.
Her father, Diogo, moved to Spain when he was young. He studied at the University of Alcalá. There, he learned Latin, Ancient Greek, and Hebrew. In 1522, he was involved in a failed uprising in Castile. This event was called the 'Revolt of the Comuneros'.
Diogo had to escape to Portugal. He became a teacher for the children of the Duke of Bragança. Around 1536, his family joined him in Portugal. Luisa and her siblings were taught by their father. At that time, women were not allowed to go to universities in Europe. This meant Luisa and her sister received a special education. Most women did not get this kind of learning unless they lived in a monastic (religious) setting.
Luisa's family was not rich. Also, their reputation was not the best after her father had to flee Spain. Because of this, neither Luisa nor her sister could marry someone very rich or powerful. Their unique education helped them make their own way in the world. It was very important for their social standing.
Working for Princess Maria
Princess Maria's father died when she was only six months old. Her mother remarried and moved to France three years later. She had to leave young Maria behind. Because of this, and her huge wealth, Maria never had to marry. She was able to create her own royal court.
Princess Maria surrounded herself with humanist writers and artists. Luisa Sigea was one of them. Luisa taught the princess Latin. She was paid 16,000 reis (a type of money) each year. Luisa wrote her most famous works while she was working here.
Even with her important job, Luisa wrote a letter to her brother-in-law. She said that after thirteen years of hard work, she still had not received all her promised pay. However, Princess Maria clearly cared for Luisa. In her will, Maria left 12,000 reis every year to Luisa's daughter, Juana.
Luisa's Later Life
In 1552, Luisa Sigea married Francisco de Cuevas. He was a nobleman from Burgos, Spain. Soon after, Luisa left the royal court to live in Burgos. Luisa and Francisco had one daughter, Juana de Cuevas Sigea.
In 1558, Luisa and her husband found new jobs. They worked for Mary of Hungary. She was the daughter of Philip I of Spain. Francisco worked as a secretary. Luisa worked as a Latin expert. But this job only lasted a few months. Queen Mary died shortly after they started.
For the rest of her life, Luisa tried to find another job at a royal court. But she was not successful. She died in Burgos on October 13, 1560.
Luisa's Writings
Luisa wrote her most famous books and poems while she was working for Maria of Portugal. She also wrote some of them at her own home.
One of her famous works is Syntra. This was a Latin poem written for Princess Maria. Luisa's father published it in France in 1566. Another important work was Duarum Virginum Colloquium de vita aulica et privata. This means Dialogue between two Virgins on Court Life and Private Life. It was a bucolic (countryside-themed) dialogue. It was also published in France in 1562. The French ambassador in Portugal helped get it published.
Besides these works, we also have many of Luisa's letters. She sent some of these letters to Pope Paul III. They were written in several different languages.
In 1553, Princess Maria was briefly married to Philip I of Portugal. He later became Philip II of Spain. Their marriage was ended very quickly, just 24 hours later. But Luisa wrote Syntra for this occasion. The poem Syntra is named after the forest of Sintra, which is near Lisbon. In the poem, a nymph (a nature spirit) tells a prophecy (a prediction) about Maria's marriage. The prophecy said she would marry a powerful man who would rule the world.
The poem uses ideas from famous ancient writers like Ovid, Virgil, and Homer. Some people also think it connects to works by female classical poets, Sappho and Sulpicia. Even though the prophecy in the poem turned out to be wrong, Syntra helped Luisa's reputation at court.
Duarum Virginum Colloquium de vita aulica et privata is a dialogue (a conversation) between two women. They talk about whether it is better to live at a royal court or in a private home. This was a common topic in humanism. In this work, Luisa thanked Princess Maria. She was grateful for the time and space Maria gave her to work. Luisa knew she was in a very special position as part of the Princess's court. This work was popular at first. But then it was mostly forgotten until the early 1900s.
Luisa's Letters
Luisa's letters show us a lot about her smart and intellectual life. They clearly show how skilled she was as a humanist writer. She wrote to many important people in Europe at the time. Her letters are full of references to Classical writings. They also help us understand which classical books were available in Portugal back then.
See also
In Spanish: Luisa Sigea para niños
