Constanza Marquez, maidservant of doña Elvira
I was born in 1285 into a minor noble family that has served the Lara family for generations. My father manages their estate in Rabanera del Pinar. I spent my childhood in this beautiful place. Thanks to my father's noble origins and the resources of the Lara family, I received a good education at the convent school for girls at the Cistercian convent of Las Huelgas in Burgos. Here I was taught not only courtly manners and care of the home, soul and body, but also how to read and write a little, and I picked up the basics of Latin. Here I gained an interest in music, art and literature.
My mother and later the nuns taught me to sew, which I use a lot in making clothes not only for myself. In the convent school I also acquired the basics of tablet weaving and weaving on a ridge strike.
My mistress embroiders beautifully and I hope to learn this skill from her in time.
I have only been accompanying Doña Elvira for a short time as one of her maids, and I am in charge of taking care of her bath and hair. I help with the selection of ointments, make-up, perfumes and medicines when needed, as I learned during medical studies at the convent school.
With the permission of my mistress and family, in May of the summer of 1312, I married the commander of her bodyguard, Martin Estevez, who is also a member of the expedition to Aachen and on to the Kingdom of Bohemia.
