''Doncel'' was a

court appointment Court appointments are the traditional positions within a monarchy, royal, ducal, or Noble court, noble household. In the early Middle Ages, when such households were established, most court officials had either domestic or military duties; the mo ...

in the Crowns of Castile and

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

during the

Late Middle Ages The late Middle Ages or late medieval period was the Periodization, period of History of Europe, European history lasting from 1300 to 1500 AD. The late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period ( ...

. It was bestowed upon youth from noble families, prior to

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

. ''Donceles'' worked alongside other ''pajes reales'' ( royal pages) as royal servants and received training by the ''Alcaide de los Donceles''. 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 Don Diego Hurtado de Mendoza y Figueroa, 1st Duke of the Infantado, or Diego Hurtado de Mendoza y Suarez de Figueroa (Guadalajara, Castile, 25 September 1417 – Manzanares el Real, Spain, 25 January 1479) was a Spanish noble. Biograph ...

and died during the

Granada War The Granada War was a series of military campaigns between 1482 and 1492 during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, against the Nasrid dynasty's Emirate of Granada. It ended with the defeat o ...

. Donceles lived in the Royal household during their adolescence. In the court of

Peter IV of Aragon Peter IV (Catalan: ''Pere IV d'Aragó;'' Aragonese; ''Pero IV d'Aragón;'' 5 September 1319 – 6 January 1387), called the Ceremonious (Catalan: ''El Cerimoniós''; Aragonese: ''el Ceremonioso''), was from 1336 until his death the king of ...

in 1356 there were 110 donceles of noble origin (Aragonese, Catalan and Valencian). In the Crown of Castile there were both noble ''donceles'' and other ''pajes'' and ''criados'' who were often not noble. Both ''pajes'' and ''donceles'' received military training by the ''Alcaide de los Donceles'', a post created by

Alfonso XI of Castile Alfonso XI (11 August 131126 March 1350), called the Avenger (''el Justiciero''), was King of Castile and León. He was the son of Ferdinand IV of Castile and his wife Constance of Portugal. Upon his father's death in 1312, several disputes ...

around 1340. In the times of the '' Reyes Católicos'', this kind of royal servant was known as '' contino'', thus named because of their ''continuous'' availability. Their tasks were varied, mostly administrative, and they received a fixed salary.

References

{{reflist Medieval royalty 15th century in Spain