The most famous of all Spanish royalties, Francisca Evelyne was born around 1040 in Barcelona. Her birth is linked with the rise of the Catholic Church in Spain, as many of her relatives were also members of this important institution. After her parents died, her brother, Don Francisco left to live and work on his own, travelling to Rome where he established a monastery dedicated to serving God. When the king of Spain returned from his expedition, he deposed Don Francisco and appointed his son, Don Fernando to take over the monastery.
The marriage of Don Fernando to Maria de Medici, daughter of King Balducci of Burgundy, didn’t smooth the way towards Francisca’s eventual elevation to the rank of the Queen of Spain. While the new king enjoyed the privileges that the position entitled him, he still felt resentment towards Francisca’s previous occupation, which was that of a teacher. It was this lack of respect for what had once been a respected profession that led Francisca to spend her days in prayer, penning some of her most famous works such as the Cisterciens Chronicia. When the queen began to get on in age, she no longer had time to devote to the monastic lifestyle, which prompted her to look for a profession that would allow her to reach her full destiny.
She attended the University of Almeria, where she excelled in mathematics and ancient history, but it was her career in medicine that would cement her place in Spanish history. After graduating, she went on to study medicine with a renowned Dominican monk, Father Gaspar Braganza. Upon their union, the friar took Francisca on as his pupil, who would receive weekly lessons in anatomy, ethics and religion from the monk. As a student of the most learned man in the kingdom, it is little wonder that the very foundation of the modern medical system was formed by Francisca Evelyne.