Catalina de Erauso: Lieutenant Nun of Spanish Descent

Lieutenant Nun

Catalina de Erauso (4)

Lieutenant Nun may seem like some sort of paradox for some; but for Catalina de Erauso, it was her reality. Erauso was born in 1592 in San Sebastian, Spain. From here, she engaged in learning about warfare from her father, alongside brothers at a young age. At the age of 15, Erauso was expected to take her vows as a nun; however, she refused to do so. After being beaten by one of the nuns, she was locked up but eventually escaped beginning to take on a boyish-like persona, not easily caught due to her short hair and male clothing (1). The rest of her life was spent as a fugitive, constantly escaping her past; but, in the process, she paved a way for her future as a warrior. She was feisty and quick-witted, always escaping death and destruction, fighting wars in the process and making something of herself: someone she was proud to be.

Never Give Up
Something perhaps most admirable about Erauso was her sense of never giving up. Even from the day that she escaped being a nun, she never lost her fiery passion for striving to be the best she could be. Her honor had a lot to do with her will to go on. Early after she had escaped the Dominican covenant, Erauso found her sense of self in becoming a warrior under the name "Francisco de Loyola" (2). This is where things get kind of interesting for Erauso.She began her conquest by fleeing to Peru and participating in the Araucanian Wars, gaining recognition for her bravery in battle. After almost being sentenced to death for several crimes being committed during the course of her warpath, Erauso confesses her sins, and is forgiven to become a nun again. However, this doesn't last long; because, she is soon found out to not have finished her vows. So she flees again back to Spain. Here she is granted pension for war after several set-backs and she is able to continue her male persona (2). The fact that she went through so many major inconveniences to get to where she really wanted to be proves to me that she was meant to go on this path and that it was a good thing she never gave up on who she wanted to be. Many deemed her so important as to carry on her legacy in many literary works. It may have been fascinating to many that she carried many male identities and escaped death time and time again.

La Monja Alferez (The Nun Lieutenant) (3)

War and Honor
War was a very serious matter at the time, as technology advanced and war was being seen as something that required intelligence and skill. It is very inspiring that Erauso fit these qualifications as a woman. It is no surprise, however, as her father must have trained her well in the art of warfare. In addition, "For these men, it was a matter of both morale and effectiveness that the main criteria for promotion should be knowledge and experience, rather than noble birth," proving that Erauso must have had a lot of experience to show in war to receive such high praise (2). One of the reasons she may have received her military pension was because of one of her senior officers, who vouched for her honor and prestige in the military. That being said, "military service offered honor and ennoblement that surpassed the circumstances of birth"(2). It did not matter if she was of any nobility or importance at this point, she had proven her worth through military action. She essentially climbed the social wall by becoming someone who stands for honor.

Destiny is NOT Set in Stone
Erauso proved to everyone that  her destiny was not written in stone. She changed who she was to escape something that she was not and fought valiantly through war, upholding honor and prestige in her military service. There is nothing more inspiring to me than this story. Life has many paths that we could go down and although you may be born into some life it is never too late to break free. Erauso continued to break free of her destiny again and again to make it something that she wanted, not what was expected of her. Many scholars looked at her story and ran with it, creating literary works to continue her legacy and rightfully so. In this time period of Spain I wouldn't have expected a woman to be accepted for her achievements in war. However, Erauso was accepted with open arms, due to what war meant to the Spanish at this time, rather than being denied. Although she had to wear boys clothing to get to where she wanted to be, she accepted herself for who she was and used her fiery personality to her advantage. I do not believe that she was ever meant to be a nun, which is why she chose to escape her previous life and start a new one of her own. For this, she became the legend of the Lieutenant Nun.

Works Cited:

(1) "Catalina de Erauso." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Oct. 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalina_de_Erauso

(2) HARDEN, FAITH S. “Military Labour and Martial Honour in the Vida de La Monja Alférez, Catalina de Erauso.” Bulletin of Hispanic Studies (1475-3839), vol. 94, no. 2, Feb. 2017, pp. 147–162. EBSCOhost, doi:10.3828/bhs.2017.10.

(3) "Catalina de Erauso Lieutenant Nun." Blogger. http://piracyinmediterranean.blogspot.com/2010/04/catalina-de-erauso-lieutenant-nun_1863.html

(4)  "Catalina de Erauso."Alchetron. https://alchetron.com/Catalina-de-Erauso