The Immaculate Conception is the dogma, defined by the Catholic Church in 1854, which states that the Virgin Mary from the very first moment of her Conception was preserved from all stain of sin, both original and actual(1). The dogma had a long period of development, leading to intense debate in fifteenth-century Spain(2). Although the conception of the Virgin Mary is addressed in the early chapters of the Vita Christi (VC), its importance within the narrative should not be underestimated, since the Conception of the Virgin is the first act in the VC but is also, according to Sor Isabel, the first phase in God's planned redemption of mankind. Planning the Conception of the Virgin signifies that the 'fullness of time' has arrived when 'sa Majestat deliberava entendre en la reparació e salut de natura humana'(3). The reference to the fullness of time echoes the Epistle to the Galatians, 4.4: 'But when the fullness of time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born a subject of the law, to redeem the subjects of the Law.' In Galatians, the text refers to the birth of Christ but Villena transfers the moment to the conception of Mary, applying christological language to Mary and moving the moment of the start of redemption back to give greater importance to female involvement(4). Transfer of elements and detail from the Nativity story of Christ has a long history dating back to the Gospels themselves and to the Protoevangelium and Sor Isabel merely follows the precedent.(5)

In my study of how the Immaculate Conception is depicted in fifteenth-century poetry, I point to a fusion of various types of image, mostly drawn from biblical sources, which poets used to express their belief in the doctrine(6). Among these key themes are apocryphal gospel stories, pre-creation images, the woman from Genesis, Wisdom literature images, application of poetic reference to the Song of Songs and the woman crowned with stars. It is my intention in this article to explore the images of the Immaculate Conception which Sor Isabel develops in her VC, indicating how she uses them, I then propose to show how Sor Isabel's depiction of the Immaculate Conception has its own dynamic.

Isabel devotes the first chapter of her VC to the angelic annunciation to Joachim, father of the Virgin Mary, basing her narrative on the apocryphal gospel stories. Next, she describes the angelic annunciation to Anna, mother of the Virgin, and then the nativity of the Virgin. Suzanne Stratton has argued that use of the apocryphal gospels as a staple for depiction of the flourishing Conception doctrine was common in Spanish art(7). Spain was different to other countries, since, for example, in Italy depiction of the embrace at the Golden Gate was going out of fashion by the end of the fourteenth century. In Spain, it came into vogue in art in the late fifteenth century and was generally used for immaculist purposes. Stratton points to depictions of the 'osculatory conception' across Spain in the late fifteenth century, noting, for example, that there is an altar to the Immaculate Conception in the chapel of the Conception in the cathedral of Toledo, dating from the early sixteenth century, which represents the meeting of Anna and Joachim at the Golden Gate(8). Apocryphal gospel representation of the Immaculate Conception was no less in use in the Kingdom of Aragón. In 1471 a contract requiring a depiction of the osculatory conception was signed in Vich.(9)

The Toledo Cathedral Conception, from the plate reproduced by Stratton, shows a reverent moment of greeting to represent the Immaculate Conception(10). The embrace at the Golden Gate is addressed in a similar manner by Villena. In the VC, Anna and Joachim meet, Anna does homage to her Lord and they embrace 'ab molta amor'(11). Then Anna takes her husband by the arm and they return home to chastely talk through the events and 'continuaren su virtuosa vida' (74). Sor Isabel does not highlight the moment of embrace as the moment of conception but nor does her narrative point to any other genitive acts. Her reticence could stem from her lack of knowledge of relationship with men or be due to the fact that she wished to avoid addressing the theological question of whether the Virgin Mary could have been engendered through a kiss.(12)

However, whilst on the one hand devoting her attention to the apocryphal events, Sor Isabel focuses in the annunciation to Joachim on the development of another immaculist image embedded within it. Conflation of images which is such a feature of poetic representation of the Conception doctrine begins(13). The narrative events provide a vehicle for the extended metaphor of the building of the temple, an image applied to the conception of the Virgin. In Valencian certamen poems, poets address the concept of Mary as the vessel who carried Christ, using different images to represent her. For example, Vallmanya refers to her as both santuary and ship(14); he also terms her a building and a chamber(15). The use of the temple as an image of the Virgin is first found in Ambrose.(16)

The temple became one of the tota pulchra es emblems which develop in the late fifteenth century(17). Among the biblical allegories included are the hortus conclusus (the garden enclosed); the porta coeli (gateway of heaven) and the plantatio rosae (the rose garden). Tota pulchra es symbols are visible as a stylized part of many paintings of the Immaculate Conception(18). Sor Isabel includes some of these symbols, some in close succession, as well as incorporating the central reference, tota pulcra es et macula non est in te from the Song of Songs 4:7 into the Annunciation to Anna.

The temple image is sustained throughout the annunciation to Joachim. Because there is nowhere for God's son to stay 'no hy avia posada decent' (67), there is no house of God 'domus Dei' (67), a house must be built which will be fitting for God to rest in. The house of God is frequently used as a synonym for the temple in the Bible, as can be seen in II Chronicles 5:14, where Yahweh's taking up residence in the Temple is described. Christ's birthplace, where there was 'no room in the living-space' (Luke 2:7) is echoed in Sor Isabel's description of building of a dwelling place for Christ. At the same time, Sor Isabel alludes to the words applied to Solomon, the king who had entrusted to him the building of the temple: 'quia nullus dicere possit aliquam ante eam similem et fuisse nec post eam futuram' (69) at I Kings 3:12 [Solomon no-one like you has been seen before you and no one like you shall arise after you.] applying them to the Virgin Mary. A similar reference can be found some lines later 'ut nullus ante te similis tui fuerit nec post te surrecturus sit' (70). The original destinatory and the link to Solomon would have been appreciated by the nuns, well versed in scripture. Through this allusion, Sor Isabel intends to set up a contrast between the old and new Testaments. Just as Solomon collaborated with God in the building of the temple, so Mary will collaborate in becoming the temple of the new covenant. Furthermore, the association of Solomon with the doctrine recalls another Catalan writer who incorporated reference to Solomon into an immaculist text: Jaume Roig. In the Espill o llibre de les dones, for the third part which contains Roig's development of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, Solomon is the guide to the narrator.(19)

Sor Isabel continues to build and extend the temple symbol. Taking the context of the future glories of the temple as described in Haggai 2: 23, Sor Isabel cites the text 'Quia ego elegi te' (69). The concept of God's will in selecting the Virgin is regularly found in the fifteenth century often coupled with the idea of the Virgin's existence in the pre-creation period. At this point in the annunciation to Joachim, Sor Isabel begins to contruct links to creation: 'nostre Senyor Déu la vulla crear per a mare sua' (69); 'Ipse creavit eam' (69); 'Nostre Senyor Déu ha creat aquesta Senyora excel.lent' (69). Finally the pre-creation image, echoing Ecclesiasticus 24.14, is woven in to the story: 'ell l'ha vista eternalment e d'ella s'és enamorat' (69-70).(20)

Sor Isabel's intention is to bind the temple image with reference to God's will and to his action in the creation of the Virgin Mary. A survey of quotations from the annunciation to Joachim will reveal how often the operation of God's will is drawn into the story: 'no vol sa majestat sia oït colp de martell (69)'; 'e vull que siau l'hort dels meus delits (69)'; 'nostre Senyor Deu la vulla crear delliberadament per a mare sua' (69)(21). Sor Isabel, following Franciscan thinking, consistently underpins the first part of the apocryphal story with reference to the will of God. The origin of Franciscan support for the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception lay in the arguments put forward by John Duns Scotus. In Scotus' argument in favour of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, his first premise is the establishment of God's will that the Virgin Mary should be Immaculate(22). Sor Isabel, a Poor Clare nun, alludes to the arguments drawn up by the Subtle Doctor, Scotus, whose arguments unlocked the theological impasse on the Immaculate Conception.

The above allusion would be almost too elusive, were it not that Sor Isabel picks up another of Scotus' arguments. Joachim's reaction to the news from the angel and his doubts about being up to the task ahead of him gives Sor Isabel the opportunity for an exploration of Duns Scotus' third argument which relies on the premise that it was possible for God to carry out the preservation of the Virgin Mary from sin(23). Joachim is advised in Psalmaic terms that, unless God build the house, the builders will labour in vain and he finally comes to a realization that, with God, all things are possible. He cites Matthew 19:26 'Quod est impossibile apud homines, hoc est possibile apud Deum' (72). The citation operates on several levels concurrently. Salvation, in human terms, is impossible but in God's terms possible. Immaculate Conception is in human terms impossible but in God's terms possible. Finally, the example of Joachim, unable to believe at first but then convinced by God's actions, serves as a model for those who do not believe the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception but should be convinced because everything is possible with God.

As if this complex conflation of images were not enough, reference to the temple of God is taken further. The image of building where the sounds of the hammer blow are not heard is an unusual image of the Immaculate Conception but one which chimed with the experiences of the nuns within the walls of the Trinity convent. Beyond the immediate link to the building of the temple, the image recalls the Trinity convent under construction at the time of Sor Isabel's period as abbess.(24)

Albert Hauf points to the VC as 'un llibre de cavalleries celestials que resultàs útil y assequible a les seues monjes'(25). The extension of the construction image to apply to the Santa Trinidad nuns points to a further layer of usefulness of the VC. The reference to 'with God all things are possible' from Matthew 19:26 shows that beyond the value of the text as a tool for mediation and as a mode of instruction about the events leading up to redemption, a deeper and more subtle web of allusions permeate the VC. The quotation from the Gospel lies within the story of the young man who cannot find it in himself to renounce riches. In the biblical context, Christ is encouraging his disciples to be ready to renounce riches and family life. For the nuns, who have renounced family life and possessions to serve God, the inference is that of binding them into the role of Christ's assistants, and affirming the choice of way of life they have made. In Matthew 19.29, the Gospel affirms those who have renounced everything to follow Jesus since renunciation of earthly wealth will be repaid a hundred times. To those who would know the context from daily reading, the lines cited by Joachim within the context of building the temple for God would explicitly affirm the vocation of the nuns, many of them of noble birth, who had taken that step(26). At this early stage in the narrative, Sor Isabel reaffirms the link between the Immaculate Conception and the role of the nuns in building community.

As I have shown, Sor Isabel parallels the building of the Temple, which contained the ark of the Covenant, with the engendering of the Virgin Mary, to contain the living God, whose coming would mark the second covenant. As we have noted, the source of the image of the Virgin Mary as temple is St Ambrose. In his treatise on the Holy Spirit, Ambrose writes 'for Mary was the temple of God'. But St Ambrose it is who also honours Mary as the 'mother of Virgins' and who promotes her as the model for all virgins: 'Who will not honour the mother of so many Virgins? Who will not honour the house of chastity?'(27) It does not seem beyond the bounds of possibility to suggest that the very reference to the temple would create an allusion to Ambrose, himself the advocate of the Mother of God as pattern for all virgins, on whom their life should be modelled. The effect of the temple image is thus to affirm the vocation of the nuns and to affirm their chosen life within the walls of their temple, the convent of the Holy Trinity.

In the early chapters of the VC, Sor Isabel de Villena conflates themes used to signal the Conception: apocryphal Gospel, elements of the tota pulchra es and scholastic argument. This conflation is comparable to that observed in poetic treatment of the doctrine in the fifteenth century. Sor Isabel emphasizes the Scotian arguments in favour of the Immaculate Conception, thus ensuring that the sisters become familiar with scholastic arguments in favour of the doctrine.

In addition, she uses the narrative to create parallels for the nuns who are the main recipients of the text. The sisters are drawn into the story through parallels embedded into the aprocryphal story which serve to link their own experience to the events being described within the redemption narrative which Sor Isabel weaves. The two key ways in which this is done in the early chapters is to create a parallel between the Temple of God, the Virgin Mary and the convent, which provides a dwelling place for the sisters who are working out their vocation there. Their vocation is affirmed both through reference to Christ's call to his disciples and through reference to Ambrose's definition of the Virgin Mary as model for virgins. Both of the ways in which Sor Isabel treats the Immaculate Conception are gendered in that they intentionally supply access to reworking of biblical and apocryphal sources for a female audience but at the same time they serve to depict a model of life for that same group.