Description:

Isabella I of Spain Queen 1451 - 1504 Isabella I of Spain regarding improvements to the Alhambra including the famous Court of Lions!

Thick cream paper inscribed on both sides in compact and stylized handwriting. Signed by Isabella I as "I, the Queen", Gaspar de Trizio (the queen's secretary), Sancho de Paredes (the queen's chamberlain), and Jeronymo de Palacios (the queen's carpenter). Signatures ornamented by double underlines, zig zags, or braided loops. Inscribed "La Reyna" at top. Dramatically slashed with two V-shaped cancellation marks indicating that the royal edict was recorded in the account books, although these have been taped verso. Docket inscription appears verso. In very fine condition with a few expected fold marks; ink has aged to warm nut brown. Document measures 8.5" x 11.75" and is dated April 24, 1501 from the city of Granada, Spain.

Isabella I orders her chamberlain Sancho de Paredes to give 40,000 maravedis to the palace carpenter Jeronymo de Palacios. This sum is to be taken from the 585,000 maravedis given to the chamberlain by the treasurer Alonso de Morales. According to a memorandum in the possession of the steward, this installment of 40,000 maravedis would complete payment of a bill of 100,000 maravedis charged for the construction of several palace apartments including that of the queen's maids above the porch at the entrance to the Court of Lions. The chamberlain notes that the carpenter's bill is actually 120,000 maravedis, and that therefore de Palacios can expect another 20,000 to come. Two lines at the foot of the document include a clerical summary. Maravedis were copper coins used as currency in medieval Spain and North Africa.

Isabella I (1451-1504) and her marriage to Ferdinand II of Aragon ensured the future unification of Spain. The two monarchs are most celebrated for their patronage of Genoese explorer Christopher Columbus and their subsequent empire-building in the New World, but other legacies include implementing internal administrative reforms, stabilizing the budget, and reducing crime. In 1482, Isabella and Ferdinand began a ten-year assault on the Muslim city of Granada, the city from which Isabella would issue this directive seventeen years later. The 1492 Treaty of the same name pledged that Jews and Muslims would be allowed to live peaceably in the kingdom. This agreement was later revoked after a Muslim uprising occurred the same year that this document was signed by the queen. The systematic efforts of the Catholic Church during the Spanish Inquisition forced non-Christians to either leave or convert. Pope Alexander VI gave Isabella the official title of Catholic monarch for her efforts in spearheading the "Reconquista" in Spain.

The Spanish monarchs established a royal court at Alhambra Palace after they conquered the city of Granada. This massive fortified palace made of clay, marble, alabaster, stucco, tiles, and filigree is situated on a rocky overlook. The Court of the Lions is one of the most splendid parts of the palace complex, and near where the carpenter Jeronymo de Palacios added apartments for the queen's household servants. The domestics, as well as the queen, would have had a view overlooking the splendid oblong court surrounded by 124 marble columns and dominated by a fountain encircled by twelve lion sculptures at the center.

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