Ana de Mendoza y de la Cerda
Ana de Mendoza y de la Cerda was a notable figure in 16th-century Spain, recognized for her lineage as the daughter of Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, former viceroy of Aragon and Catalonia. Born into the influential Mendoza family, she was educated by her mother and aunt, reflecting a deviation from the more typical historical narratives of noblewomen who were primarily remembered through marriage contracts. Ana married Ruy Gómez de Silva and became closely involved in court life, where she formed friendships with key figures, including the Spanish royal family.
Throughout her life, Ana was not only a mother to ten children but also an active participant in cultural and religious affairs, founding several institutions and establishing a convent in Pastrana with the assistance of Teresa of Ávila. Following her husband's death, she faced legal challenges regarding her inheritance and was implicated in a political conspiracy that led to her imprisonment. Despite her confinement, Ana remained engaged with the outside world through correspondence until her death in 1592.
Ana de Mendoza's legacy is multifaceted; she is seen as a patron of the arts and has inspired various cultural works, including an opera by Giuseppe Verdi. Her story continues to captivate historians and the public alike, as her life illustrates the complexities of gender roles and power dynamics in her time.
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Subject Terms
Ana de Mendoza y de la Cerda
Spanish noblewoman
- Born: June 29, 1540
- Birthplace: Cifuentes, Guadalajara Province, Spain
- Died: February 2, 1592
- Place of death: Pastrana, Guadalajara Province, Spain
Ana de Mendoza was an intimate friend of the queen of Spain and a patron of the Discalced Carmelite nuns. After her husband’s death, she became involved in various courtly intrigues that led to her exile from court and eventual imprisonment at her estate at Pastrana.
Early Life
The only surviving legitimate offspring of Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, viceroy of Aragon and Catalonia, Ana de Mendoza y de la Cerda (AH-nah day men-DOH-zah ee day lah SEER-dah) was born into the wealthy and powerful Mendoza family. Although she was given the last name of Silva at baptism, according to historian James M. Boyden, she used the surnames de Mendoza and de la Cerda later in life, since their use was a condition of her assumption of the title of countess of Mélito. During her lifetime, she was commonly referred to as Ana de Mendoza, her paternal last name, or one of her noble titles.
In contrast to many Renaissance noblewomen who entered the historical record, Ana de Mendoza is not remembered solely because of her marriage contract. Historian Helen H. Reed suggests that the young Ana was educated by her mother, Catalina de Silva owner of a large library and a woman celebrated for her intelligence and her aunt María de Mendoza. In a marriage contract dated 1553, Ana was betrothed to Ruy Gómez de Silva, then an attendant to Prince Philip, heir to the Spanish throne.
Life’s Work
Since Ruy Gómez de Silva spent much of the next few years outside Spain accompanying Philip II to England and the Netherlands, Ana remained at the court in Spain in the company of her parents. Beginning with Gómez de Silva’s first trip and throughout her adulthood, Ana maintained an active epistolary life with her family members. When Philip II’s third wife, Isabel de Valois, arrived at court in 1560, Ana became her close friend. It is likely that Sofonisba Anguissola painted the famous portrait of Ana dressed as a shepherdess during this period. The canvas, portraying a young, beautiful woman wearing an eye patch, created an enduring and mysterious image of Ana de Mendoza; it is not known how (or whether) her eye was injured.
Like all nobles who resided at court, Ana was surrounded by lively social activities. In all likelihood, she attended jousts and other courtly festivals and, along with other noblewomen, maintained a busy schedule of visits. In addition to this whirl of activities, in the course of Ana’s marriage, she bore ten children; six survived their childhoods.
After the deaths of prince Carlos, heir to the throne, and his mother Isabel de Valois in 1568, Ana and her husband withdrew somewhat from life at court in favor of their estate in Pastrana. Philip II had rewarded Gómez de Silva with the title duke of Pastrana in 1572. During this period, the princess of Eboli founded a number of religious institutions, monasteries, and convents, as well as a Carmelite college, in and around Pastrana. At Ana’s request, the celebrated mystic and later saint Teresa of Ávila established a religious community at Pastana. On her husband’s death in 1573, like many Renaissance widows, Ana de Mendoza retreated to a convent. Not surprisingly, the princess of Eboli chose to enter the convent of the Discalced Carmelites, which she founded at Pastrana.
Conflict soon developed between Ana and other members of the religious community, apparently because of the patron’s failure to follow the strict seclusion required of the Discalced Carmelites. Largely as a result of this disagreement, Teresa and her nuns abandoned the convent at Pastrana in the dead of night. At the same time, royal authorities insisted that the princess leave the convent in order to administer her estates for her children.
Because of this mandate, Ana returned to the court in Madrid in 1576. While at court, she actively negotiated marriage contracts for her children and attempted to protect their inheritance after the remarriage of her father. Her maneuvering might have affected several importance historical events, especially the Spanish position in the Netherlands and the question of succession to the Portuguese throne in 1578. Although her inheritance was seemingly ensured after her father’s posthumous child was stillborn in 1578, Ana was forced to enter into a lengthy legal battle when her uncle contested a woman’s right to inherit entailed property.
On her return to Madrid, Ana established a friendship with Antonio Pérez, a friend of her deceased husband and Philip II’s secretary. Despite the courtly gossip that detailed an amorous affair between the two, historians remain divided as to whether this was actually the case. Whatever the nature of their relationship, Ana was implicated in Pérez’s successful plot to murder Juan de Escobedo, secretary to Philip II’s half brother Don Juan of Austria. Although Ana’s precise role in the conspiracy to eliminate Escobedo has not come to light, in 1579, a year after the murder, both the princess of Eboli and Antonio Pérez were arrested.
From the date of the princess’s arrest until her death in 1592, she lived under increasingly restrictive imprisonment. Nevertheless, as Reed amply demonstrates through the princess’s correspondence, her confinement restricted neither her written contact with the world at large nor her active defense of her family’s legal position. By 1592, the princess was walled into one room at her palace at Pastrana, where she died in February of that year.
Significance
Since one of Ana’s most vital social roles was motherhood, an important portion of her significance lies in the positions her offspring attained in Spanish society and government. One son, Diego de Silva y Mendoza, served as viceroy of Portugal, and his sibling Rodrigo assumed the title of duke of Pastrana. A third son, Pedro, entered the church and became bishop of Sigüenza. Furthermore, scholars are still discovering the details of Ana de Mendoza’s role as a patron of both religious orders and the arts.
Yet the murky events surrounding the princess’s exile from court have most determined her place in history. Although historians often represent the princess of Eboli as an unscrupulous courtesan, more recent historiography portrays Ana de Mendoza as a highly educated woman constrained and ultimately punished because of the gender expectations of her era. Ana’s most enduring fame, however, results from creative endeavors inspired by her life circumstances. The nineteenth century Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi made her a character in his opera Don Carlos (1867). She is also a frequent character in novels, both in Spanish and in English. Largely as a result of this legacy, her palace at Pastrana remains a popular tourist attraction in Spain.
Bibliography
Boyden, James M. The Courtier and the King: Ruy Gómez de Silva, Philip II, and the Court of Spain. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995. Emphasizes Ana de Mendoza’s role as wife to Gómez de Silva. Also delves into the princess of Eboli’s lineage and its impact on her spouse. Mentions monastic foundations at Pastrana. Includes bibliographical references and an index.
Elliott, John Huxtable. Imperial Spain, 1469-1716. 1963. Reprint. New York: Penguin Books, 1990. Highly detailed overview of Spain’s empire. Focuses on the Eboli faction at court in opposition to the duke of Alva.
Kamen, Henry. Philip of Spain. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1997. References to Ana de Mendoza center on her role in the Pérez plot. Maintains that Ana’s relationship with Pérez was political, not romantic.
Parker, Geoffrey. Philip II. 4th ed. Chicago: Open Court, 2002. Implicates Ana de Mendoza as an active participant in Pérez’s plot. Includes bibliographical references and an index.
Reed, Helen H. “Mother Love in the Renaissance: The Princess of Eboli’s Letters to Her Favorite Son.” In Power and Gender in Renaissance Spain: Eight Women of the Mendoza Family, 1450-1650, edited by Helen Nader. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2004. Discusses Ana de Mendoza, with emphasis on her familial relationships, particularly with her son Diego. Includes citations from Eboli’s correspondence. Other chapters in the greater work provide valuable context for the princess of Eboli’s life through analysis of other prominent female members of her family.
Weber, Alison. “Saint Teresa’s Problematic Patrons.” Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies 29, no. 2 (Spring, 1999): 357-379. Describes disagreements between Teresa of Ávila and her patrons, including the particularly stormy relationship with Ana de Mendoza.