Reprinting Tudor History: The Case of Catherine of Aragon*
Juan Luis Vives's Instruction of a, Christen Woman (hereafter ICW), the text Ruth Kelso has described as the most influential conduct book for women of the sixteenth century, was printed and reprinted in English over nine times during the course of the century: in 1529, 1531, 1541, 1547, 1557, and 1567 from the shop of the Erasmian printer Thomas Berthelet, in 1585 by Robert Waldegrave, and in 1592, by John Danter. In addition to the widely recognized significance of the often contradictory views of women expressed in ICW, these English editions are significant as an example of an early modern reconstituting of the historical record. Allusions to Catherine of Aragon within these editions reflect swings in Tudor court politics and trace the privatization of this once seemingly powerful woman as she was removed from court and public life.