Íñigo López de Mendoza, Lord of Hita and Buitrago, was granted the titles of conde del Real and marqués de Santillana by King Juan II of Castile after the Battle of Olmedo (1445). He is best known by the second title, marqués de Santillana. He belonged to one of the great families that were promoted to the circles of power after the murder of Pedro I by his illegitimate half brother, Enrique de Trastámara (Enrique II), during the second half of the fourteenth century.

When he was five years old López de Mendoza lost his father, Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, admiral of Castile under Enrique III. He was raised by his mother, Leonor de la Vega, and his grandmother Mencía de Cisneros. Among the boy's tutors was one of the most powerful men of Castile...