Primogenitura, continuidad dinástica y legitimitad institucional en Castilla a principios del siglo XV: Catalina de Trastámara, Princesa de Asturias (1422-†1424)

This article deals with the figure of Catalina of Trastámara, or of Castile, eldest child of Juan II and Maria of Aragon. For the first time, her brief life and her role in the complex political framework of the early years of her father’s personal reign are analyzed. This will include a thorough look at the ceremonial, institutional, representative and propagandistic aspects the monarchy set forth to legitimize her status as heiress to the Castilian throne as well as at the time of the king’s premature death. The study is based on a solid critical apparatus of various chronicle sources and a wide range of rarely utilized archival records.En este trabajo se aborda la figura de Catalina de Trastámara, o de Castilla, primogénita de Juan II y María de Aragón. Junto a su breve andadura vital, se analiza por vez primera el papel que la joven princesa desempeñó en el complejo marco político de los primeros años del gobierno pesonal de su padre, profundizando también en los aspectos ceremoniales, institucionales, representativos y propagandísticos que la monarquuía puso en marcha a la hora de legitimar su condición de heredera al trono castellano y posteriormente en el momento de su prematuro fallecimiento. Todo ello, sustentado en un sólido aparato crítico de diferentes fuentes cronísticas y una amplia documentación de archivo hasta ahora apenas tratada.This article deals with the figure of Catalina of Trastámara, or of Castile, eldest child of Juan II and Maria of Aragon. For the first time, her brief life and her role in the complex political framework of the early years of her father’s personal reign are analyzed. This will include a thorough look at the ceremonial, institutional, representative and propagandistic aspects the monarchy set forth to legitimize her status as heiress to the Castilian throne as well as at the time of the king’s premature death. The study is based on a solid critical apparatus of various chronicle sources and a wide range of rarely utilized archival records