Mencía de Mendoza y Fonseca (30 November 1508 - 4 January 1554) was a Dutch culture patron. She was a leading figure of the Renaissance in the Netherlands and known for her progressive opinions of the education of women.

Life

Mencía was the daughter of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar y Mendoza, 1st Marquis of Cenete and María de Fonseca y Toledo. She married firstly Henry III of Nassau-Breda in 1524, a marriage which encouraged by the reigning monarch, Charles V, who was actively working on a plan to make the nobility of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

mix. Together, they ultimately had one son who was born in March 1527, and would only live a few hours after his birth. Her second marriage was to

Ferdinand, Duke of Calabria Ferdinand, Duke of Calabria (Spanish: ''Fernando de Aragón, Duque de Calabria'') (15 December 1488 – 20 October 1550) was a Neapolitan prince who played a significant role in the Mediterranean politics of the Crown of Aragon in the early 16t ...

in 1542. The marriage was Mencía's second, and Ferdinand's third. The couple became renowned for their patronage in literary and artistic works.

References

Sources

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External links

* Matty Klatter, Mendoza y Fonseca, Mencía de, in: Digitaal Vrouwenlexicon van Nederland. URL: http://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/vrouwenlexicon/lemmata/data/MenciadeMendoza 3/01/2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mendoza, Mencía de 1508 births People of the Habsburg Netherlands 1554 deaths Dutch people of Spanish descent