Mencía de Mendoza


Mencía de Mendoza y Fonseca 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

She was the daughter of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar y Mendoza, 1st Marquis of Cenete and María de Fonseca y Toledo and married in 1524 to Henry III of Nassau-Breda and in 1541 to Ferdinand, Duke of Calabria, the eldest and surviving son of king Frederick IV of Naples.