The Struggle for Equality and Religious Tolerance: Women's Presence and Leadership in Protestant Circles in Sixteenth-Century Spain

Abstract: In 1559 two Protestant communities were discovered in Spain. A striking number of women—ordinary citizens, noblewomen, nuns—lived in those communities. Several played preeminent roles as teachers, preceptors, and feminist leaders who fought to defend their religious freedom and rights. This article aims to remove their names from oblivion, to describe the decisive role they played in Protestant circles in sixteenth-century Spain, and to analyze their philosophical and theological thinking.