Writing process and thinking patterns: Sor Isabel de Villena (1430-1490) writer of the Vita Christi in Valencia (Spain)

Abstract

In 1497 by the will of Queen Isabel la Católica was published in Valencia the Vita
Christi in 291 chapters of the abbess of the Clarisses Monastery of the Trinity of Valencia, Sor
Isabel de Villena died in 1490. For the first time a woman writes a Vita Christi for women,
following in the line of the Vitae Christi previously written by men and using quotations
generally in latin from various canonical and spiritual texts. This article is interested in the
writing en romanç and the thought of Sor Isabel de Villena and presents a series of significant
calas, which aim to shed light on some relevant aspects of the work of Sor Isabel writer and
translator. It also confirms some observations already made by Albert Hauf i Valls and shows
the originality of Sor Isabel de Villena’s Vita Christi and how literary works are built into
culture.