November 6, 1479

Joanna (November 6, 1479 to April 12, 1555) was queen of Castile from 1504 and of Aragon from 1516. Her last decades were spent confined in a nunnery because her family thought she was insane. The behavior leading to this label was "obsessive jealousy, uncontrollable rages, and disregard for anything save her passion for [her dead husband King] Philip" according to contemporary accounts. Considering that there was some basis for her jealousy, we have to wonder if the confinement was justified. This story discusses that question.

One assumes she had all the panoply and luxury that accompanied her regal status as Queen of Spain. That would include art, and we have a picture from the manuscript now called the 'Hours of Joanna the Mad', which is associated with Bruges in the years 1486-1506. The British Library has the book now, a volume which includes a picture of the "Golden Kitten."

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There is nothing crazy about what strikes us as whimsical beasts, though there may be a meaning in this picture which is lost.  What we do see is an enclosure, a sense of unity which at the same time looks beyond itself. The interrelations and the edge both reach out.