St Anne, a Woman of Substance: Tracing the Cult of St Anne in the Kingdom of Valencia

This essay sifts evidence from literary sources, combining it with study of onomastics, history of religious institutions, and evidence from artistic representations of St Anne. In this way it points to fresh perspectives on the cult of St Anne in the kingdom of Valencia. I will, therefore, interrogate a range of sources for the evidence they provide of St Anne’s cult, including naming of churches, convents and chapels, naming of female children, and evidence of celebration of St Anne in convents with records dating from the fifteenth century to demonstrate the feast was recognized among women religious. I will also examine literary evidence of the cult with particular emphasis on Roís de Corella’s Vida and sections of the Vita Christi (VC) of Isabel de Villena (1430-1490). These important Valencian authors of the fifteenth century wrote about St Anne’s life.