ABSTRACT
In the Libro de los Estados, Juan Manuel noted with disparagement the numerous caballeros who were promoted to the ranks of the higher nobility by the Castilian monarchs. During the reign of Fernando III, the Leonese nobles were added to the group of confirmers in 1230, but the size of the Castilian column remained the same as it had during his grandfather’s reign. By contrast, between the reigns of Alfonso X and Alfonso XI the number of nobles confirming royal privileges grew more than ever before. Royal successions tended to result in an accumulation of confirmers rather than the substitution of individuals. In 1272, a series of nobles, including Diego Lopez V de Haro, Gutierre Suarez de Meneses, Gonzalez de Cisneros, and Diego Lopez de Salcedo, were listed in the column of the Castilian nobility for the first time.
