«Where there are Ladies, there are Love Affairs» Illicit Relations in the Court of Philip II: the Case of Don Gonzalo Chacón and Doña Luisa de Castro

Abstract

In this article we intend to analyze the illicit relationships that some ladies in waiting maintained with gentlemen in the courtly space during Philip II’s Reign. Through the cases concerning doña Luisa de Castro–whose history is the central piece of this contribution– and doña Magdalena de Guzmán, we can analyze the feminine strategies in these «dishonor» cases. We are going to make a thematically, and not chronologically, approach to better understand the implications and strategies displayed; so, we are going to pay attention to the beginning of the relationships, the obstacles they suffered and how, once the scandal was notorious in the courtly space, these women and their entourage displayed a good number of strategies to afford themselves and honorable solution.

Keywords

• corte de felipe ii
• damas
• galanteo
• estrategias femeninas