Spain of the 16th century kept women in strictness: the daughters of the best aristocratic families for decades did not leave their palace chambers, their lot was frequent childbirth, prayers in home chapels and housekeeping. But even among them there were ladies who knew how to make the whole world serve them. Such was Ana de Mendoza, the beautiful one-eyed princess of Eboli.
Baby from the house of Mendoza
The only child in the family receives more attention, but they also pin more hopes on him than on the offspring of parents with many children. Born into the Mendoza family, one of the most notable, the girl Ana from an early age remembered this truth. Her father, Diego Hurtado, served the Spanish crown as Viceroy of Aragon and later of Catalonia. Mother, Catarina da Silva, was famous for her education, literary gift and a huge library of several thousand volumes at that time. Unfortunately, Ana's noble and enlightened parents did not get along with each other and eventually began to live separately.
Almost nothing is known about the childhood of the future princess Eboli, but historians unanimously claim that the girl was pampered. Otherwise, she would never have grown up such a headstrong and independent person. Ana's proud and capricious character was accompanied by a complete awareness of her own beauty. Even an injury did not interfere with her self-confidence - at the age of twelve, during a fencing lesson, her eye was accidentally gouged out, and since then her right eye socket was covered with an elegant velvet bandage. Evil tongues, however, argued that the girl's eye is in place, just in this way she hides her squint.
Thirteen years old, Anu was married to a close Prince Philip - Rui Gomes, who was almost three times older than the bride. But the heir to the throne gave the newlyweds an unheard of honor, witnessing from the groom, and then assigned the newlywed the title of Prince of Eboli and appointed a solid annual annuity. Over the years of marriage, Ana and Rui had ten children, six of them survived to adulthood. Philip II's favor to the Eboli family, who came to the throne, seemed endless: he appointed Anu as a maid of honor to his wife Queen Isabella, and Ruy Gomez awarded him the title of Duke of Pastrana for his loyalty and gave him the right to the entitlement for his eldest son. There were rumors at the court that all these gifts were received by the spouses because of Ana de Mendoza's connection with the king, and her eldest son was actually a child from the sovereign. But be that as it may,Rui and his wife moved to the lands of the Duchy of Pastrana and took over the management of their possessions.
Woe to this monastery
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According to the sources of that period, their plans were grandiose. In the city of Pastrana, the couple organized a fair, which greatly revived the trading life of the duchy, and even set up the production of silk fabrics in the hope of making a good profit. At the same time, the reconstruction of their palace began, requiring considerable funds.
The Eboli family also took care of the spiritual life of the population: it was decided to invite the famous Catholic nun Teresa of Avila to Pastrana to live. It was assumed that the Carmelite, enchanted by the warm welcome, would want to found a monastery for the nuns of her order in the city. But the good intentions of Ana and her husband almost turned into a huge scandal. Ana told the servants the contents of Teresa's mystical autobiography, which she asked for them to read. Those, understanding little of what they had heard, began to mock the nun, and she was going to leave the city where she was insulted. Only Rui's diplomatic talents helped to calm the offended Teresa, and the monastery was still opened. Perhaps the prince and princess of Eboli could have implemented many other ideas for the improvement of their possessions, but fate intervened. Rui Gomez died suddenlyleaving the young widow pregnant once again, with six small children and huge debts. As soon as her husband died, the princess announced to the household that she intended to take monastic vows.
Dressed in tattered rags, Ana mournfully proceeded in a simple cart through the whole city and settled in one of the cells of the monastery. Her biographers believe the performance was staged to persuade creditors to delay or abandon debt collection. Upon learning of the new novice, the abbess uttered the prophetic words: “Does the princess want to become a nun? Woe to this monastery!"
The pious, quiet monastic life soon really came to an end. The proud Ana wished to be titled as before, and in addition to be served on her knees. She freely received visitors, gave lavish dinners for relatives and friends, and did not want to think about the humility that befits a woman who left the world to serve the Lord.
On the royal decree, ordering Princess Eboli to return to the rule of the duchy, Ana responded with a sharp refusal. There remained a last resort to get rid of the restless novice: one night, at the direction of Teresa of Avila, who decided to close the monastery, all the sisters left the monastery and secretly left the city. Anya had to return to secular life, moreover, she obeyed the order of the king and went to Madrid.
Secrets of the Madrid court
The self-willed widow, accustomed to universal worship, might have gotten bored at court, but she met a man just in time who could not be more suitable for her in temperament and a tendency to intrigue. It was the royal secretary, Antonio Perez, who was brought up in the house of Rui and was rumored to be his illegitimate son. He was known as a gifted politician and was respected by many for having achieved his position solely with his personal talents. An alliance soon developed between him and Ana, both amorous and business.
The main goal of the pair of intriguers was to introduce discord between the king and his half-brother Juan of Austria, who was extremely popular not only in Spain, but throughout Europe. Philip II was already wary of his brother and jealous of his military glory. So Princess Eboli and her lover quite successfully used royal feelings, while they were not too cautious and fearlessly embarked on dangerous adventures. They forged letters from Philip and Juan to each other (of course, the forgeries contained various unpleasant statements), Spanish secrets were sold to Dutch Protestants, and the secrets of the ruler of the Netherlands (this post was occupied by Juan) were sold to the Pope. The web of intrigues grew, and the secretary of Juan of Austria, Juan de Escobedo, learned about the tricks of Anna and Antonio. He began to blackmail the conspirators, for which he paid with his life. Perez managed to get Philippe tacit permission to "eliminate" Escobedo. Interestingly, in the age of poison and dagger, this contract murder took place only on the third attempt. They tried to poison the secretary twice, both times unsuccessfully. Only hired assassins with daggers were able to finish the job, watching Escobedo in a dark Madrid street.
The danger seemed to recede, but fate again intervened in the fate of Ana and her partner. In the Netherlands, Juan of Austria suddenly died of typhus, and his brother's papers that fell into the hands of the king of Spain shed light on a cunning scheme that the conspirators had used for several years. Philip II was offended by the betrayal of those to whom he provided royal patronage. And if we assume that there really was a love affair between him and Ana de Mendoza, the rage of the deceived man was probably added to the royal anger.
Last turn of the wheel of fortune
One way or another, Philip's patience was exhausted. Princess Eboli and her accomplice were taken into custody, the king ordered the judges to investigate their fraud and deliver a fair sentence. The case took a serious turn, the conspirators were accused of high treason, the usual punishment for which was the death penalty.
However, Antonio Perez did not wait to be dragged to the chopping block: with the help of his wife, whom he remembered for the first time in many years, he managed to escape from prison to France. Perez spent the rest of his life in oblivion, occasionally bargaining for his brisk pen and the "secrets of the Madrid court", which could still be useful to the French. It is significant that he in every possible way avoided mentioning his acquaintance with Ana de Mendoza.
As for the princess herself, Philip II showed genuine royal mercy towards her. Apparently, it was not in vain that he was besieged by the relatives of the aristocrat, begging to forgive the woman, in their words, completely insane. Ana escaped the death penalty, but her fate was little better than death: the princess was placed under house arrest in her palace in Pastrana, so that she remained there for the rest of her life. The woman spent thirteen years before her death in a room where windows and doors were locked with strong bolts. She could only communicate with the guards and rare visitors through the grill, like a nun living in a monastery.
When the earthly life of Princess Eboli came to an end, she was buried in the Cathedral Church of Pastrana. They say that before her death, she showed her unyielding disposition for the last time: a doctor came to her to alleviate her suffering, but Ana ordered to let him down from the porch, since she herself was able to cope with the disease. Alas, the princess was wrong.
To this day, biographers of the one-eyed beauty argue why Philip II never canceled the punishment imposed on one of the noblest ladies of the state. Perhaps her sins, which remained unknown to posterity, were much more serious than the officially charged charges against her. But it is no longer possible to find out about this.
Magazine: Secrets of the 20th century No. 25, Ekaterina Kravtsova