Edited by Maurits Ebben, Margriet Lacy-Bruijn and Rolof van Hövell tot Westerflier.
Alba: General and Servant to the Crown is beautifully illustrated with contemporary paintings and works of art, drawn from collections around the world. Each of its fifteen chapters is dedicated to developing a new understanding of a sometimes misunderstood figure in European history.
http://www.karwansaraypublishers.com/alba/
Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Third Duke of Alba, is one of the most formidable and controversial figures of the sixteenth century. He has been depicted as a great hero, an indefatigable defender of the Catholic faith and a true buttress of the Spanish monarchy, but also as a terrifying man, the dark suppressor of the revolt in the Low Countries.
During his long and fascinating life Alba revealed wide-ranging skills and interests. A successful soldier, he was also a distinguished courtier and an influential diplomat serving his monarchs, Charles V and Philip II, without fail. Moreover, he was a maecenas and an avid art collector.
A new understanding of a complex man
Alba loyally served the kings of Spain, Charles V and his successor Philip II, as he performed the three-part task they had set themselves: defending Christian Europe against the Muslim Turks, championing the Catholic Church in its fight against the heretics, and gaining supremacy within European Christianity. What should not be overlooked here is the fact that of the 59 years that he actively served the kings of Spain, Alba spent a mere six in the Low Countries. Were this to be disregarded, his versatility would receive insufficient attention. He was successful as a courtier but also as a diplomat, as is demonstrated by the results of the negotiations that he conducted with Paul IV (peace treaty of Rome) and the French (Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis). Alba’s long, fascinating life, full of ups and downs and turbulent times, marks him as one of the key protagonists in 16th century European history. Using a variety of sources, including previously unexamined data, sixteen leading historians from eight countries present newly developed insights and offer a nuanced image of the Grand Duque. Adopting different perspectives, they shed new light on this intriguing and influential leader, thus showing that Alba continues to be deserving of study and discussion.
Edited by Maurits Ebben, Margriet Lacy-Bruijn and Rolof van Hövell tot Westerflier, Alba: General and Servant to the Crown is beautifully illustrated with contemporary paintings and works of art, drawn from collections around the world. Each of its fifteen chapters are dedicated to developing a new understanding of a sometimes misunderstood figure in European history.
Includes an extensive introduction and the following chapters:
Introduction: The Grand Duke of Alba (1507-82) Admiration, Condemnation, and Fascination: The Road to New Insights (Maurits Ebben, the Netherlands)
1.Alba: Statesman and Diplomat (Henry Kamen, The United Kingdom)
2.Alba Cunctator? (René Quatrefages, France)
3.The Duke of Alba in the Court of Charles V and Philip II (José Mart’nez Millán, Spain)
4.The Duke of Alba: Governor of the Netherlands in Times of War (Gustaaf Janssens, Belgium)
5.Alba and Religion (Werner Thomas, Belgium)
6.The Manifestation of His Magnificence: The Third Duke of Alba and the Arts (Rosemarie Mulcahy, Ireland)
7.The Third Duke of Alba: Collector and Patron of the Arts (Almudena Pérez de Tudela, Spain)
8.Government and Administration of the House of Alba in the Sixteenth Century (José Manuel Calderón Ortega, Spain)
9.The Duke of Alba in the Holy Roman Empire (Friedrich Edelmayer, Austria)
10.Il Capo dei Capi: The Duke of Alba in Italy (M.J. Rodríguez-Salgado, The United Kingdom)
11.The Duke of Alba and the Low Countries, 1520-73 (Raymond Fagel, the Netherlands)
12.Alba in Portugal: Conquest and Government, 1580-82 (Rafael Valladares, Spain)
13.Alba’s Reputation in the Early Modern Low Countries (Judith Pollmann, the Netherlands and Monica Stensland, Norway)
14.Salamander of War, Venerable Old Nobleman: The Literary Construction of the Duke of Alba in the Spanish Golden Age (Yolanda Rodríguez Pérez, the Netherlands)
15.Alba’s First Biographer: Juan Antonio de Vera y Figueroa, Count of La Roca, 1583-1658 (Maurits Ebben, the Netherlands)
Alba, General and Servant to the Crown
Edited by Maurits Ebben, Margriet Lacy-Bruijn and Rolof van Hövell tot Westerflier
ISBN: 978-94-90258-08-5
Includes:• 464 pages, 27 x 20 cm
• Includes indexes of persons and places, plus an extensive bibliography
• More than 120 color photographs
• Linen binding and a full-colour dust jacket