This volume focuses on the various Habsburg courts and households among the two branches of the dynasty that arose following the division of the territories originally held by Charles V. The authors trace the connections between these courtly communities regardless of their standing or composition, exposing the underlying network they formed. By cutting across the traditional division in the historiography between the Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs and also examining the roles played by the courts and households of lesser known members of the dynasty, this volume determines to what degree the organization followed a particular model and to what extent individuals were able to move between courts in pursuit of career opportunities and advancement.

Contributors: Alejandro Lopez Alvarez (Universidad Autonoma de Madrid), Carlos Javier Carlos Morales (Universidad Autonoma de Madrid), Olivier Chaline (Universite Paris IV Sorbonne), Alicia Esteban Estringana (Universidad de Alcala), Jose Eloy Hortal Munoz (Universidad Rey Juan Carlos), Birgit Houben (University of Antwerp), Katrin Keller (Universitat Wien), Jose Martinez Millan (Universidad Autonoma de Madrid), Manuel Rivero (Universidad Autonoma de Madrid), Astrid von Schlachta (Universitat Regensburg), Werner Thomas (KU Leuven)"

Dynastic marriages mattered in early modern Europe: the creation of alliances and the outbreak of wars were tied to continental dynastic politics. Dynastic marriages mattered in early modern Europe. The creation of alliances and the outbreak of wars were tied to continental dynastic politics. This book combines cultural definitions of politics with a wider exploration of institutional, military, diplomatic and economic concerns with a view to providing a more comprehensive understanding of dynastic marriage negotiations. It covers a period from the signing of the Treaty of London in 1604 until afterthe Anglo-French and Anglo-Spanish peace treaties (1629-30). Stuart Marriage Diplomacy explores how the search for a bride for Princes Henry and Charles started a long process of protracted consultations between the key players of Europe: Spain, Italy, France, Rome, Brussels and the United Provinces. It shows the interconnections between these courts, thus advancing a 'continental turn' in the analysis of Stuart politics in the early seventeenth century, and considers how reason of state was often considered as more crucial than religion or economic concerns in the outcome of the Stuart-Habsburg and Stuart-Bourbon marriage negotiations. It also reveals the extent to which the interactions between Europe and non-European actors in both the Atlantic and the East contributed to a redefinition of European identity. It will engage not only scholars and students of early modern Europe but, more generally,those interested in the history of European courts and royalty. VALENTINA CALDARI is Departmental Lecturer in Early Modern History at Balliol College, University of Oxford. SARA J. WOLFSON is Senior Lecturer in Early Modern History at Canterbury Christ Church University. CONTRIBUTORS: Paul Arblaster, Valentina Caldari, David Coast, Thomas Cogswell, Robert Cross, Andrea De Meo, Kelsey Flynn, Ruben Gonzalez Cuerva, Melinda J. Gough, Helmer Helmers, Jose Eloy Hortal Munoz, Adam Marks, Steve Murdoch, Michael Questier, Manuel Rivero, Porfirio Sanz Camanes, Edmond Smith, R. Malcolm Smuts, Peter H. Wilson, Sara J. Wolfson