Dona Isabel de Josa y Cardona (1490 in

Lleida Lleida (, ; ; '' see below'') is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital and largest town in Segrià county, the Ponent region and the province of Lleida. Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It ...

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

– 5 March, 1564 in

Vercelli Vercelli (; ) is a city and ''comune'' of 46,552 inhabitants (January 1, 2017) in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, around 600 BC. ...

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

) was a Catalan writer. Born Isabel d'Orrit as a member of an influential and wealthy Barcelonian family, she married Guillem Ramon de Josa. She was a humanist, Latinist, philosopher, and specialist on the theology of Dun Scotus. Along with other women from wealthy and influential Barcelona families, she belonged to an exclusively female organization called “las Iñigas,” which was composed of devotees of Ignatius Loyola, founder of the

Jesuit order The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 by ...

. She helped Ignatius during his studies, and corresponded with him for a number of years. Isabel de Josa was widowed in 1539, after which she travelled to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. She wrote a treatise entitled ''Tristis Isabella'', which is now lost.

References

1500s births 1575 deaths Year of birth uncertain Spanish women poets Poets from Catalonia 16th-century Spanish Roman Catholic theologians Women religious writers {{Catalonia-poet-stub