San Isidoro de Léon is a royally-sponsored monastic church, one of the best known monuments surviving from Romanesque Spain. Yet Martin (medieval art history, U. of Arizona) notes that scholars have never given the full site its due because they found it difficult to date the buildings and name its patron. This study traces the construction history of San Isidoro and determines the identities of its patrons, including the remarkable Urraca, Queen of Léo-Castialla, who ruled in her own right. Martin traces the history of the site and its growth to a major site of pilgrimage, the elements of monarchic power introduced into the building as symbols of Urraca's self-identity, and the complex ways in which Urraca and other political women made themselves known in stone. This contains over 100 well-chosen monochrome and color photographs supporting Martin's claims. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)