ABSTRACT
In 1553, the fifth Duke and Duchess of Infantado celebrated their marriage. Over the next decade, they watched four sons and four daughters die as small children, and then arranged their eldest surviving daughter Ana’s marriages, first to her uncle, then to her first cousin. When three of Ana’s children (including her only son) died young, Ana arranged her eldest surviving daughter’s marriage and prayed for a grandson. It was not until 1614 that the duchy of Infantado welcomed a male heir who would survive to inherit the ancient title, and his success was short lived as both his sons in turn died as small children. The aristocracy constituted a tiny segment of the population who controlled a disproportionate amount of the land, wealth, and political power in early modern Spain, 2 but they could not control death. In a world where the premature death of children and their parents was a constant, how did noble men and women approach parenting and what did they invest in the task? What role did children play in the lives of noble families, and how did the expectations of these families affect early modern childhood? How did children fit into the larger economic, political, and religious roles that the nobility played in early modern Spain?
