The
Catholic Monarchs is the joint title used in history for
Queen Isabella I of
Castile and
King Ferdinand II of
Aragon. They were both from the
House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being both descended from
John I of Castile; on marriage they were given a papal dispensation to deal with
consanguinity by
Sixtus IV. They married on October 19, 1469, in the city of
Valladolid; Isabella was eighteen years old and Ferdinand a year younger; this marriage united both kingdoms under one crown. It is generally accepted by most scholars (
John Elliott being an English-speaking example) that the unification of
Spain can essentially be traced back to the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella. Some newer historical opinions propose that under their rule, what later became Spain was still a union of two crowns rather than a unitary state, as to a large degree Castile and Aragon remained separate kingdoms, with most of their own separate institutions, for decades to come. The court of Ferdinand and Isabella was constantly on the move, in order to bolster local support for the crown from local
feudal lords.