Catalina Alfonso: una “maestra de fazer pólvora” durante el reinado de los Reyes Católicos

Abstract

The discovery of a document about a woman who was a master in gunpowder during the reign of the Catholic Kings allows for reflection on the role of women in the exercise of military activity in the Middle Ages. Unlike thesis which tends to prioritize the role of women as victims of war and perform auxiliary or defensive tasks, it is concluded that there were medieval women who played more active works, for example in the art of gunpowder, although their labour has been unnoticed. A comparative method has been used to try to determine how the female protagonist of this work could have this trade, and it has served to highlight some gender differences in the practice of military activities.