Historian Uncovers Unusual Rewards for Victory in Late Medieval Spain

In 1483, a Castilian nobleman was rewarded for battlefield success not with gold, land, or a title, but with a queen’s dress.

As historian L. J. Andrew Villalon reveals in a recent article the Journal of Medieval Military History, the rulers of two Spanish kingdoms, Isabel I of Castile and Fernando II of Aragon, granted two of the most peculiar and enduring gifts in late medieval history. These were not just tokens of thanks but powerful instruments of royal favour: the garments worn by the queen and king on a sacred feast day, given annually and forever to the descendants of two military commanders.

Victory at a Pivotal Moment

The events took place in the early years of the Granada War (1481–1492), the final Christian campaign to retake the Iberian Peninsula from Muslim rule. In September 1483, Luis Fernández Puertocarrero, lord of Palma, intercepted a Moorish force near Utrera. Although outnumbered, his men captured or killed hundreds, including several commanders. On another front, Rodrigo Ponce de León, marqués of Cadiz, dealt a second blow to the retreating enemy and helped recover the town of Zahara.

In recognition of Puertocarrero’s success, Queen Isabel issued a royal charter on October 13, 1483, while she was in the northern city of Vitoria. Villalon translates the charter:

“Henceforward, ‘your legitimate wife,’ Doña Francisca Manrique ‘will be given the principal dress that I, the queen, and after me the queens who will reign over this our realm will wear on Santa María’s day in September of every year (the month when you won the said battle).’”

The gift would pass down through generations, tied to the family’s mayorazgo—a form of aristocratic inheritance that preserved estates intact. Isabel even instructed future queens to continue the tradition indefinitely.

Two months later, King Fernando followed with a nearly identical reward. On December 20, 1483, he granted the principal garments worn by the king on the same feast day to the marqués of Cadiz and his heirs. The grant reads:

From this day forward in every year forever hereafter you are to have by hereditary right the principal suit of clothing that I and after me the kings who will successively reign will wear on our persons every year on St. Mary’s day in September.

The Politics of Clothing

In 15th-century Castile, clothing was more than a matter of fashion. It was a form of political language. Queen Isabel, known for her personal piety, also understood the power of court display. She used garments to mark status, reward loyalty, and extend royal presence far beyond the court.

While gift-giving was common among European elites, Villalon argues that this case was particularly unusual:

What makes this instance somewhat unique are the circumstances surrounding the gift: to wit its having been conferred as the principal reward to a military commander for his victory in battle against the Moors. This as well as the fact that it was granted annually in perpetuity.

A Tradition that Endured

The practice did not end with Isabel and Fernando. In May 1562, King Philip II reaffirmed Queen Isabel’s original charter, restating its terms in full. This renewal came during a moment of personal crisis—Philip’s son and heir, Don Carlos, had recently suffered a life-threatening head injury—but even then, the obligations of monarchy continued.

These garments, given each year from the royal wardrobe to noble families, were more than ceremonial gifts. They were enduring signs of favour, legacy, and the close ties between military success and royal gratitude.

The article, “The Unusual Wages of Victory: A Queen’s Dress and a King’s Suit of Clothing (in Perpetuity),” by L. J. Andrew Villalon, appears in Journal of Medieval Military History XXII (2024). You can access the article via DeGruyterBrill.

Andrew Villalon, a Professor Emeritus at the University of Cincinnati and a former President of De Re Militari: The Society for Medieval Military History.

Top Image: 15th-century Wedding portrait of King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile – Wikimedia Commons