Reform and hospital models in Castile: the case of the Fernández de Velasco family (1374–1517)

Abstract

The aim of this article is to reassess the types of care initiatives offered by the Fernández de Velasco family on their manor estates in the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries. Starting in the mid fifteenth century, the family put in place a series of measures that may be grouped together as part of the hospital reform taking place throughout other contexts across Europe. The changes implemented were based on lesser-known hospital strategies, as well as on the emulation of family and regional models. I analyze the role of the nobility in the transformations of health and charitable systems of this period, which have traditionally been closely identified with municipal authorities, the monarchy and the state in large cities. Through reflections on Castile and the Fernández de Velasco lineage, my work aims to enrich the definition of such concepts as “reform” and “hospital models.”.