Infanzones

members of the middle and petty nobility in Castile and Aragon from the tenth to the 15th century. As a caste they came into being during the early stages of the Reconquista and became a significant force during the 11th and 12th centuries. They were not subject to taxation but were obliged to serve in the king’s forces. The kings of Castile and Aragon, in an effort to curtail the power of the nobility, willingly incorporated townspeople into the infanzones. On the territory that Spain recaptured from the Arabs, it was frequently the colonists from the northern areas of Spain who became infanzones. During the 13th through 15th centuries the term (title) infanzones gradually went out of use, and “hidalgo” became the term for anyone with knightly rank.