Ordinances and Reform of the Royal Household at the beginning of the Reign of Pedro IV

Abstract

First, this article focuses on the numerous ordinances of the royal household published under the reign of Pedro the Ceremonious. Those texts define the running of the household in order to reform it. Published on behalf of the king and presented as its own plan, they tend to keep silent about the intervention of his advisers. Next, the study considers Pedro IV’s first steps towards that kind of reforms. In 1336, his uncles strongly criticise the young king’s household and entourage. First opposed to any criticism, Pedro IV finally accepts it and starts reforming his household, controlling his servants and his expenses, and defining better each official’s task. The great Ordenacions de casa i cort from 1344 seem to be part of this process.