He lived between 1490 and 1535, and is thought to be from Segovia, as he appears in the heading of a power of attorney document dated in this city. There is no other documentary evidence about his life. He was the compiler of the 'Cancionero general', an anthology of lyrical poetry in Castilian Spanish of the late-medieval and early Renaissance periods, during the reigns of Henry IV and the Catholic Monarchs. The collection was compiled starting from 1490, and was printed for the first time in 1511 in Valencia. It makes the innovation of ordering the poems by subject and genre. It was reprinted many times, until its contents were changed in 1535, from which it is concluded that its first editor, Hernando del Castillo, had died around this time.
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Cancionero general
Hernando del Castillo compiled one of the most complete collections of chansonnier poetry in the 15th century.
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Copy of the "Cancionero General"
This collection of verse consists of works by poets who were contemporaries of Hernando del Castillo and moved in Valencian circles, where they dealt with a wide range of issues.
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Spanish National Library (Madrid)