[4] Its membership was the tenants-in-chief (i.e. the baronage, including bishops and abbots) along with the great officers of state and of the royal household, such as the chancellor, constable, treasurer or chamberlain, marshal, and steward.
[6] The powers and functions of the great council and the small curia were identical since they were considered the same institution meeting under different circumstances.
[7] The small curia regis then is "the very distant ancestor of the modern executive, the Cabinet acting for the authority of the crown."
Over time, in addition to King's appointments, certain higher dignitaries were assumed to belong to the Council owing to their functions.
The earliest form of the Royal Council in Spain was created in 1385 by King John after the disaster at the Battle of Aljubarrota.