Normally a marriage would have been arranged for the children in the convent once they were old enough, but Catalina’s rebellious temperament convinced her parents that it was useless to try and get her a husband.

The convent where Catalina was held prisoner is now a museum. Of course in the deeply conservative Spanish society of the time, such a thing was unthinkable. Her father was an officer in the Spanish army, and from an early age Catalina wanted nothing more than to also be a soldier. The convent was in the town of Donostia (also known as San Sebastian), in the Basque district of Spain. Her aunt was the prioress of the convent, and Catalina’s two sisters were also sent there – not unusual for educating the children of the well-off. Since she was enrolled in a convent as a four year old, it seems unlikely she wasn’t baptised until she was seven. Her autobiography says that she was born in 1585, but records of her baptism give a date of 1592. When this particular legend was born is actually where the confusion starts, as it happens. So fact becomes impossible to distinguish from fiction, and legends are born. But partially this is because Catalina’s real exploits were so outrageous that people found it difficult to credit them, even though they actually happened. Partially this is because our main source is her “ autobiography”, which reads like an adventure novel and probably was one. The details of her life, however, are much harder to pin down. | Latin America - Biography.Catalina de Erauso was a real person, that much we can verify. | Women soldiers - Latin America - Biography. Includes bibliographical references (pages 122-137) and indexĮrauso, Catalina de, approximately 1592- | Nuns - Spain - País Vasco - Biography. Zogbaum follows the path of this exceptional woman and the historical circumstances which allowed such capers.

She then embarked on a chequered career in Peru as a soldier. A novice in a nunnery, she escaped and dressed as a boy. Xx, 142 pages : illustrations, map, portrait 24 cmĬatalina de Erauso, known as the Lieutenant Nun, is one of the most colourful figures in the conquest of the Americas.

Catalina de Erauso : the lieutenant nun and the conquest of the New World / Heidi Zogbaum Book Bib IDīook, Online - Google Books

Lieutenant nun