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so you can explore your creativity.” Eugenia Martínez became infamous in Spain from
a very young age due to her size and weight. She was ridiculed by her neighbors
and hidden away by her family but at just six years age joined the royal court
of Charles II of Spain. It was here that she was nicknamed la Monstrua or the monster and sadly
she had to endure abuse almost her whole life. Eugenia Martínez Vallejo was born in 1674 in a
remote settlement in Merindad de Montija which is located in the north of Spain. Her father was José
Martínez Vallejo and her mother was Antonia de la Bodega. The exact occupations of her parents are
unknown but it has been reported that they came from a humble background. It is known that Eugenia
had siblings but how many is also uncertain.
Before her birth, it was reported
that her mother’s waters broke one Sunday morning while in church, because of
this, Antonia, her mother had no time to get home and ended up giving birth in the church.
Of course, this wasn’t a very common occurrence and thus those present believed the
circumstances of the birth to be a good omen for the baby girl's future. The Spanish writer
María Jesus Jabato suggests that this could be the reason for her name Eugenia, well this name in
Spanish means 'la bien nacida' or the well born.
As a baby, Eugenia was described as being healthy,
strong and with a very good appetit. All of this indicated that she would grow up into an adult of
good health, something which wasn’t a guarantee at the time. Well, in the 17th century and especially
in rural areas because of the lack of doctors, infant mortality rates were very high. For example
in England at this time, 12% of all children born would die in their first year and 36% of
children died before the age of six.
Eugenia was plump as a baby yet her parents
didn't think too much of it initially, well at the time medical and social standards favored
girls and women who were slightly more robust as it was a sign of fertility
and in some cases wealth. Thus, her parents likely believed it
probably wasn’t something to fret about.
However, as she got older, things got more
worrying. Little Eugenia started to grow very fast in comparison to other infants. It was said
that Eugenia looked like she was 12 years old even before her 1st birthday. Although this was more
than likely an exaggeration, when she was just one she already weighed around 20 kilos and as
time passed she kept growing at an alarming rate. Meanwhile, her siblings grew normally like most
other children and because of this, her parents sought out a physician in order to help them with
their daughter’s weight problems. As a result, Eugenia was put on a strict diet. Yet, even
this wasn’t enough to remedy the situation. As time went by Eugenia grew larger and because
of this she was repeatedly made fun of by her neighbors. Due to this treatment her parents
tried to hide her from the local residents by keeping her inside the house so she
wouldn’t have to endure the harassment she constantly faced in the
outside world. In spite of this, word of the giant girl quickly spread to nearby
towns and villages and so, strangers would frequently approach the house in an attempt to
get a glimpse of her and mock her appearance.
By the time she was six it is said
that she weighed around 65 kilos, and as a result of the constant bullying
she endured she spent most of her time confined to her room where nobody could see her.
However, she would soon change as it wasn’t long until she was invited to join
Charles II’s royal court in Madrid. One day when she was just 6 years old, a messenger
from the royal family knocked on the family’s door asking if Eugenia could be taken before
the Spanish King, Charles II also known as the bewitched. Her story had spread so far
throughout the Spanish countryside that it even reached the ears of Charles II who was very
intrigued by this mysteriously large girl.
Of course, her parents were at first uneasy by
this, but they were in no position to refuse. It’s unclear whether or not they knew the
exact reasons for their visit to the capital, perhaps they believed they would find a cure for
their daughter, but sadly this was not the case.
In 1680, at just six years old Eugenia was
taken to the royal court with her parents. Once here, the royal tailor didn't take long
to make Eugenia a dress, as was required to be presented before the king. It was said that
the Charles II was fascinated by her appearance and quickly suggested to her parents that
she be taken care of and become part of the royal court, which they promptly accepted.
A chronicler of the period called Juan Cabezas published a pamphlet of her arrival at court
saying that” los prodigios de la naturaleza que ha llegado a esta corte, en un niña gigante
llamada Eugenia Martínez. Meaning the wonders of nature have arrived to this court in the
form of a giant girl named Eugenia Martínez”. He then goes on to add that: His majesty Charles ii realizing that this
was a miracle of nature decided to see her and asked that she be brought to his royal palace
in Madrid, where today she is admired by the royal household and all the nobility of these kingdoms.
Although at first glance, it seems that the King was inviting Eugenia into the palace out of
goodwill and generosity, there was another reason for this. Since the medieval times it
had been a popular tradition in European Courts to keep all sorts of entertaining characters
around. Spain was no exception and here these were called “gente de placer” which can be
translated into English as people of pleasure.
It is said that Charles II was very generous
with Eugenia and she was promptly included within this group. These entertainers of
sorts consisted of a variety of characters including jesters, dwarfs, people with
deformities and even the insane. The king and other members at court liked to keep
these people around in order to have fun, the king especially enjoyed their
company, albeit in order to ridicule them. Charles II did not delay in exhibiting
her in parties at the palace. Here, Eugenia was a sought out by many
ladies who wanted to be drawn or painted next to her, in order to emphasize
the beauty of their slender figures. Sadly however, Eugenia and others like her
at court they received no payment for their services despite working long hours. Also, they
essentially lived at the mercy of their lords, who could throw them out
penniless whenever they saw fit. Of course some saw this as a grave
misfortune, as they lived simply to be mocked as a human exhibit by the nobility.
Yet for some, it may have been a stroke of luck, well, the nobility spent a lot
of money on la gente de placer. They made sure that they were well fed; kept warm
during cold winters nights and even had a varied and interesting wardrobe which is much more
than can be said for most peasants of the day. Despite being provided for, the nobility
treated them as objects and did to them whatever they pleased for their own amusement.
In fact, Charles’ father Phillip IV of Spain is recorded to have had around 110 court
dwarves. This wasn’t all for his own amusement because much of the nobility also kept dwarves
in orders to reinforce the idea of perfection and the superiority of the ruling dynasty.
What makes Eugenia stand out from others at court was the fact that two renowned portraits
of her were commissioned by the King. These were painted by artist Juan Carreño de
Miranda who was appointed court painter to the queen in 1671. Today both portraits can be seen
side by side at the Museo Del Prado in Madrid.
In the portraits, not only does Eugenia appear
sad and uncomfortable but she was presumably in quite a lot of pain as her weight issue would have
made it difficult to remain posing for such a long time. At court she was exhibited as a curiosity or
a ‘freak’ because of her size and these paintings are a testament to this as they are named la
Monstrua vestida y la Monstrua desnuda meaning The Monster Clothed and The Monster Undressed.
Juan Cabezas described the young girl saying that: Eugenia was pale and not too unpleasant to
look at, although her face was overly large. The head face and neck and other features of hers
are the size of two men's heads, her stomach is as huge as the fattest pregnant women about to give
birth. Her thighs are so thick and full of flesh that one becomes confused and astonished by her
unsightly nature. Her legs are just a tad smaller than those of a man and full of rolls. Her feet
are proportionate to her body, well they’re like those of a man however, she has trouble getting
around due to the excessive size of her body.
Of course at the time, no one knew what
afflicted the young Eugenia, but nowadays it is speculated that she likely suffered from
a genetic disorder called the Prader–Willi syndrome. This is caused by a loss of function
of specific genes on chromosome 15. Children with this syndrome are constantly hungry, which
can lead to obesity and type 2 diabetes. Often, affected individuals have a narrow forehead, small
hands and feet, short height, light skin and hair and most are unable to have children. Many of
these symptoms are very similar to reports of Eugenia from the time, though we still can’t be
100% certain this was the cause of her appearance. Tragically, Eugenia was frequently mocked when walking from place to place within the palace
tired easily and struggled to keep up with others. Also, it is believed that she had hormonal
problems and was infertile even in later life never having her period. Despite her
poor health and the mockery she endured, overall it is believed that she enjoyed living
at the palace. Eugenia was a pleasant girl, and actually became quite popular at court,
even being appreciated by the royal family. Even as she entered her teenage years and
adulthood she is said to have remained well liked. Eugenia Martínez Vallejo died in 1699 around the
age of 24. She lived her whole life in the court following being taken in when she was six. The
location of her remains and the exact cause of death are unknown, though it was likely to
do with the condition she suffered from.
Hundreds of years later, in
1997 the city of Aviles in Spain commissioned a statue of Eugenia Martinez to be
made in honour of the artist of her portrait, Carreño de Miranda. The statue
depicts his most famous painting La monstrua vestida, which was made out of bronze
by the spanish sculptor Amado González Hevia. The statue stands on the street which is named
after him in the barrio marinero de Sabugo.
Thank you so much everyone for watching this
video on Eugenia Martinez i do hope you enjoyed let me know in the comments below if you think
it was a good decision for her to have moved to the spanish court or if you would have been
better off staying at home with her family if you have any suggestions be sure to leave
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i get all my videos as soon as they're uploaded anyway that's all from me so i'll see
all of you in the next forgotten life thanks
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Not ugly, just 1500lbs