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 Count Henry III of Nassau-Dillenburg-Dietz (12 January 1483 – 14 September 1538), Lord (from 1530 Baron) of Breda, Lord of the Lek, of Dietz, etc. was a count of the House of Nassau. He was born in Siegen, the son of Count John V of Nassau- ...

in 1524, a marriage which encouraged by the reigning monarch,

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

, who was actively working on a plan to make the nobility of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and the

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

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 from the Habsburg Netherlands 1554 deaths