<p>G&oacute;mez Manrique (c.1412-c.1490) had a long and active life, engaging in military activity as a typical medieval knight before becoming a diplomat and statesman. He was deeply involved in the political turbulence of fifteenth-century Castile, playing an important role in bringing together Fernando of Aragon and the infanta Isabel of Castile whose marriage sealed the union of these two kingdoms. Although Don G&oacute;mez has long rested in the shadow of his more famous nephew, Jorge, he produced a larger and more varied corpus of verse: courtly love poetry, elegies, moral and political poetry, verse dialogues with friends, consolatory poems and the first play by a known author in Spanish. This study focuses on the social, economic and political context in which the poet lived and draws comparisons with some other poets who were his contemporaries.</p><p>Gis&egrave;le Earle studied at the University of Oxford and King&rsquo;s College, London, and is now an independent researcher.</p>