Extension of a Royal House: Servants of the Last <em>Trast&aacute;mara</em>. The <em>Infants</em> of Castile and Aragon (1470-1504)

Abstract

The reign of the Catholic Monarchs is possibly the most important reign and, therefore, the most studied in the history of our country. However, this reign had a defect in the form of its offspring, not because of the absence of children but because of their tragic end. The lives of the children of Catholic Monarchs were studied to an unequal extent, with Juana and Prince Juan being the characters who have most attracted the attention of historians. This article examines how the house of each of the last Trastámaras infants was created, what the composition of their house was, and who their servants were. In so doing, we can understand what led the Catholic Monarchs to build their children’s houses in a particular way and why the monarchs educated their eldest children more lavishly and publicly than they did their little brothers. Finally, we will answer the following question: what happened to the servants of infants who died when they were young? In this case, the examples of the deaths of the eldest daughter Isabel and Prince Juan are essential to solving this question. As an epilogue, we will recount how Juana once again had the same servants of her childhood in her house when she settled down in Tordesillas in 1509.

Keywords

• Queenship
• Castile
• Aragon
• infantas
• political project
• house