# Doncel

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{{Short description|Court pages in medieval Spain}}
'''''Doncel''''' was a [court appointment](/source/court_appointment) in the Crowns of [Castile](/source/Crown_of_Castile) and [Aragon](/source/Crown_of_Aragon) during the [Late Middle Ages](/source/Late_Middle_Ages). It was bestowed upon youth from noble families, prior to [knighthood](/source/knighthood). ''Donceles'' worked alongside other ''pajes reales'' ([royal pages](/source/Page_(servant))) as royal servants and received training by the ''Alcaide de los Donceles''.<ref name="MALQ">{{cite book |last1=Ladero Quesada |first1=Miguel Ángel |title=La Casa Real en la Baja Edad Media |date=1998 |publisher=Historia. Instituciones. Documentos No. 25 |pages=327–350 |url=https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=634139 |language=es}}</ref> One of the most famous ''donceles'' was Martín Vázquez de Arce, known as the ''Doncel de Sigüenza'', who was page to [Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, 1st Duke of the Infantado](/source/Diego_Hurtado_de_Mendoza%2C_1st_Duke_of_the_Infantado) and died during the [Granada War](/source/Granada_War).

Donceles lived in the [Royal household](/source/Royal_household) during their adolescence. In the court of [Peter IV of Aragon](/source/Peter_IV_of_Aragon) in 1356 there were 110 donceles of noble origin (Aragonese, Catalan and Valencian).<ref name="MALQ" /> In the Crown of Castile there were both noble ''donceles'' and other ''pajes'' and ''criados'' who were often not noble.<ref name="MALQ" /> Both ''pajes'' and ''donceles'' received military training by the ''Alcaide de los Donceles'', a post created by [Alfonso XI of Castile](/source/Alfonso_XI_of_Castile) around 1340.<ref name="MALQ" /> Known ''alcaides'' include {{ill|Martín Fernández de Córdoba (died 1437)|es|Martín Fernández de Córdoba|lt=Martín I Fernández de Córdoba}}, [Diego Fernández de Córdoba](/source/Diego_Fern%C3%A1ndez_de_C%C3%B3rdoba_(died_1450)) and [Martín II Fernández de Córdoba](/source/Mart%C3%ADn_Fern%C3%A1ndez_de_C%C3%B3rdoba_(died_1478)).<ref>See [https://historia-hispanica.rah.es/ ''Diccionario Biográfico Español''].</ref>

In the times of the ''[Reyes Católicos](/source/Reyes_Cat%C3%B3licos)'', this kind of royal servant was known as ''[contino](/source/contino_real)'', thus named because of their ''continuous'' availability.<ref name="MALQ" /> Their tasks were varied, mostly administrative, and they received a fixed salary.<ref name="MALQ" /><ref>{{cite book |last1=León-Borja |first1=István Szászdi |title=Juan Ponce de León y su época: estudios institucionales de la Conquista |date=2011 |publisher=Diputación de Valladolid |isbn=9788478523016 |page=136 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A_rPkCSwOI0C |language=es}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

Category:Medieval royalty
Category:15th century in Spain

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Doncel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doncel) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doncel?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.