Isabel de Villena  Isabel de Villena (Valencia, Crown of Aragon, 1430-1490) was the illegitimate child of Enrique de Villena an unknown noblewoman who rose to become the abbess of the Real Monasterio de la Trinidad of Valencia. As the first major female writer of a work done in the Catalan language, she composed a number of religious treaties. Her most famous work was her "Vita Christi" (Christ's Life). She was also a proto-feminist who tried to change the negative image of women at the time through her writing. Born Elionor de Villena in 1430 Isabel was the illegitimate child of Enrique de Villena, an aristocrat and writer who was related to the royal line of Castile and Aragon, and an unknown noblewoman. She was raised by Queen Maria of Castile of Valencia from the time she was four. She lived in the court of Alfonso V of Aragon (the Magnanimous) and was educated there until 1445 when she became a nun in the Monastery of la Trinidad. She was fifteen years old. This monastery, La Trinitat, was founded by Queen Maria de Luna, who was also the chief benefactor. Isabel was elected abbess of the convent in 1462 and took charge in 1463. According to Rosanna Cantavella, a scholar who has extensively studied Sor Isabel, there was a rumor that there had to be divine intervention from the Archangel Michael that allowed Isabel to be elected as abbess, simply because it would have been very difficult for her to be elected on her own because of the fact that she was an illegitimate child. Illegitimate children were not usually eligible for such positions, but Isabel was elected anyway. Sor Isabel was a capable abbess who carried out economic policies in order to improve the convent she presided over. Sor Isabel dedicated her entire life to the convent and to her writing before dying in 1490 at the age of 60. It is believed that she died during an outbreak of plague. Sor Isabel had a career not only as an abbess but also as a writer. Her most popular work is her "Vita Christi". Widely considered to be a response to the misogynistic book "Spill o Llibre de les dones" (“The Mirror or Book of Women”) by Jaume Roig (link!) in 1459, Vita Christi embodied the feminist beliefs held by Sor Isabel.