From the empress to the ambassador: The "Spanish Faction" and the labyrinths of the Imperial Court of Prague, 1575-1585
Since Charles V’s abdication in 1556, the House of Austria was divided into two branches. Philip II of Spain intended to create around his relatives in the Holy Empire a group of courtiers and counsellors linked to the Spanish monarchy through ties of loyalty and service. That “Spanish Faction” need...
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2015 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universidad Autónoma de Madrid |
| Repositorio: | Biblos-e Archivo. Repositorio Institucional de la UAM |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:repositorio.uam.es:10486/667405 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/10486/667405 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Felipe II María de Austria Rodolfo II Casa de Austria Guillén de San Clemente Historia |
| Sumario: | Since Charles V’s abdication in 1556, the House of Austria was divided into two branches. Philip II of Spain intended to create around his relatives in the Holy Empire a group of courtiers and counsellors linked to the Spanish monarchy through ties of loyalty and service. That “Spanish Faction” needed a prestigious patron to act as a broker. Empress Mary of Austria, sister of Philip II, wife of Maximilian II and mother of Rudolf II played the role of mediator. When she decided to return to Spain in 1581, her absence meant a cataclysm for the Spanish network in the Empire. The new ambassador, Guillén de San Clemente, introduced a significant change: since then, ambassadors enjoyed greater authority and autonomy to win and reward courtiers for serving to the Spanish King, but the limitations linked to ambassadors’ lower rank led to significant consequences in the management of affairs |
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