Introduction

The geographically small kingdom of Navarre was situated in northern Spain, controlling the route from Iberia through the Pyrenees, and bordered by both Aragon and Castile.

In the 14th century the kingdom of Navarre reached its highest splendour, especially during the reign of Carlos III (1387–1425). This monarch and his father, King Carlos II (r. 1349–1387), built up a court rich in luxury and magnificence, through the acquisition of large quantities of sumptuous objects, to set the scene for manifesting regal power. In the 14th and 15th centuries the strengthening of monarchical power went hand-in-hand with the appearance of new forms of political propaganda exalting the superiority of the sovereign. As J. V. García Marsilla observed, ‘the king not only needed to be powerful but to seem powerful, too’. This led to great care being taken over the king’s image, which had to be striking at all times, and particularly at public events, such as tournaments, courtly banquets, royal accessions or coronations, as well as royal births, marriages and funerals.

The monarchs of Navarre took great pains to enhance the visual aspects of their power, spending huge sums of money on their wardrobes and employing the most renowned tailors to design and make their costumes. Documentary sources record great quantities of wool, silk, linen and cotton fabrics, destined for household textiles and clothing for the members of the royal family and the court. These garments included those for daily use as well as outfits for use at royal ceremonies where the king’s political propaganda was staged.

Both Carlos II and Carlos III, princes of French blood but sovereigns of an Iberian kingdom, enabled Navarre to take part in international meetings, receptions, feasts and celebrations, in the fashions of the leading courts at the time to which they were related: the Valois, Orleans, Anjou, Berry, Bourgogne, Bourbon, Aragon and Trastámara, among others.

A notion common to all contemporary monarchies was the conviction that luxury and magnificence were essential to evincing the grandeur of the royal family, and the ceremonies involving the monarch were ideal occasions for their lavish display.