A Bit of Beauty from the Alcazar Palace, Segovia (printable tag)

Please CLICK ON THIS PICTURE to see the lovely detail.

The tag prints well on postcard stock and can be used for a gift, organizational or luggage tag.

I created this tag from a photo I took of a ceiling medallion at the gorgeous Alcazar Palace in Segovia. I wrote a bit about my day trip to Segovia in a previous blog entry, "The Rain in Spain, Stays Mainly in the Plane". The Alcazar is, of course, the palace where Queen Isabella retreated for safety's sake, shortly before she was proclaimed Queen of Castille. Modern western people tend to remember this queen more than others because she was the mother of Henry VIII's first wife, Katherine of Aragon, as well as financier of Christopher Columbus.

Isabella is one of those gals about whom I have mixed feelings. She sounds like a pretty strong woman, a good example of feminine power and strength. But she was also one of the main instigators of the Inquisition, a centuries long event of genocidal terror bent on stamping out religious tolerance among Spanish Jews, Muslims and Christens. Isabella wasn't the first ruler to think that her way was the only way, but she was a terrible crusader for her own cause. She left a legacy that continued from her time, in the late 1400's, in one form or another up until the 1800's.