Englishwomen at Madrid and Brussels in the 17th century: women’s patronage and English Catholic exiles overseas

Abstract

The article presents an attempt to reconstruct a communication network of Jane Dormer, Duchess of Feria). A lady at the court of Mary I of England and a wife of a Spanish grand, she was a powerful patroness of English Catholic exiles and helped them enter the Habsburg patronage network. The analysis of political activities of the Duchess of Feria (which included exchange of political information and patronage) compared with that of other women patronesses, first of all, Anne Percy, Countess of Northumberland made it possible to define parameters of women’s patronage. It has been shown that connections to the court of Mary I of England that was partially integrated into the system of Habsburg courts made it easier for the former Marian courtiers to find patrons within transnational clientele of the Habsburgs