Philip II of Spain has inspired artistic and cultural works for over four centuries, as the most powerful ruler in the Europe of his day, and subsequently a central figure in the "Black Legend" of Spanish power. The following list covers representations of him in drama, opera, film, novels, and verse. A small selection of the many artistic portrayals of Philip is shown in gallery form.
King Philip's in his closet with the Fleece about his neck
(Don John of Austria is armed upon the deck.)
The walls are hung with velvet that is black and soft as sin,
And little dwarfs creep out of it and little dwarfs creep in.
He holds a crystal phial that has colours like the moon,
He touches, and it tingles, and he trembles very soon,
And his face is as a fungus of a leprous white and grey
Like plants in the high houses that are shuttered from the day,
And death is in the phial, and the end of noble work,
But Don John of Austria has fired upon the Turk. [18]
Not longe time since I sawe a cowe
Did Flaunders represente
Upon whose backe King Philup rode
As being malecontnt.
The Queene of England giving hay
Wheareon the cow did feede,
As one that was her greatest helpe
In her distresse and neede.
The Prince of Orange milkt the cowe
And made his purse the payle.
The cow did shyt in Monsieur's hand
While he did hold her tayle. [29]
In Civilization II and Civilization VI , Philip II leads the Spanish. [30]
Elizabeth I was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last monarch of the House of Tudor.
Mary I, also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain as the wife of King Philip II from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She is best known for her vigorous attempt to reverse the English Reformation, which had begun during the reign of her father, King Henry VIII. Her attempt to restore to the Church the property confiscated in the previous two reigns was largely thwarted by Parliament, but during her five-year reign, Mary had over 280 religious dissenters burned at the stake in the Marian persecutions.
Philip II, also known as Philip the Prudent, was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He was also jure uxoris King of England and Ireland from his marriage to Queen Mary I in 1554 until her death in 1558. He was also Duke of Milan from 1540. From 1555, he was Lord of the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands.
El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, or Monasterio de El Escorial, is a historical residence of the King of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, 2.06 kilometres (1.28 mi) up the valley from the town of El Escorial and about 45 kilometres (28 mi) northwest of the Spanish capital Madrid. Built between 1563 and 1584 by order of King Philip II, El Escorial is the largest Renaissance building in the world. It is one of the Spanish royal sites and functions as a monastery, basilica, royal palace, pantheon, library, museum, university, school, and hospital.
Don John of Austria was the illegitimate son of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Charles V met his son only once, recognizing him in a codicil to his will. John became a military leader in the service of his half-brother, King Philip II of Spain, Charles V's heir, and is best known for his role as the admiral of the Holy League fleet at the Battle of Lepanto.
Anthonis Mor, also known as Anthonis Mor van Dashorst and Antonio Moro, was a Netherlandish portrait painter, much in demand by the courts of Europe. He has also been referred to as Antoon, Anthonius, Anthonis or Mor van Dashorst, and as Antonio Moro, António Mouro, Anthony More, etc., but signed most of his portraits as Anthonis Mor.
Elisabeth of France, or Elisabeth of Valois, was Queen of Spain as the third wife of Philip II of Spain. She was the eldest daughter of Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici.
The Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) was an intermittent conflict between the Habsburg Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of England that was never formally declared. It began with England's military expedition in 1585 to what was then the Spanish Netherlands under the command of the Earl of Leicester, in support of the Dutch rebellion against Spanish Habsburg rule.
Thomas Stucley, also written Stukeley or Stukley and known as the Lusty Stucley, was an English mercenary who fought in France, Ireland, and at the Battle of Lepanto (1571) and was killed at the Battle of Alcazar (1578) fighting the army of Morocco. He was a Roman Catholic recusant and a rebel against the Protestant Queen Elizabeth I.
Alonso Sánchez Coello was an Iberian portrait painter of the Spanish and Portuguese Renaissance. He is mainly known for his portrait paintings executed in a style which combines the objectivity of the Flemish tradition with the sensuality of Venetian painting. He was court painter to Philip II.
The Spanish Armada was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by the Alonso de Guzmán, Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aristocrat without previous naval experience appointed by Philip II of Spain. His orders were to sail up the English Channel, join with the Duke of Parma in Flanders, and escort an invasion force that would land in England and overthrow Elizabeth I. Its purpose was to reinstate Catholicism in England, end support for the Dutch Republic, and prevent attacks by English and Dutch privateers against Spanish interests in the Americas.
Juan Pantoja de La Cruz was a Spanish painter, one of the best representatives of the Spanish school of court painters. He worked for Philip II and Philip III. The Museo del Prado contains examples of his severe portraiture style.
Anna of Austria was Queen of Spain by marriage to her uncle, King Philip II of Spain. During her last days of life she was also briefly Queen of Portugal.
The Armada Portrait of Elizabeth I of England is the name of any of three surviving versions of an allegorical panel painting depicting the Tudor queen surrounded by symbols of royal majesty against a backdrop representing the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588.
The portraiture of Queen Elizabeth I (1533–1603) spans the evolution of English royal portraits in the early modern period (1400/1500-1800), from the earliest representations of simple likenesses to the later complex imagery used to convey the power and aspirations of the state, as well as of the monarch at its head.
The 2nd Spanish Armada also known as the Spanish Armada of 1596 was a naval operation that took place during the Anglo–Spanish War. Another invasion of England or Ireland was attempted in the autumn of 1596 by King Philip II of Spain. In an attempt at revenge for the English sack of Cadiz in 1596, Philip immediately ordered a counter strike in the hope of assisting the Irish rebels in rebellion against the English crown. The strategy was to open a new front in the war, forcing English troops away from France and the Netherlands, where they were also fighting.
A Column of Fire is a 2017 novel by British author Ken Follett, first published on 12 September 2017. It is the third book in the Kingsbridge Series, and serves as a sequel to 1989's The Pillars of the Earth and 2007's World Without End.
Jooris van der Straeten, known as Jorge de la Rúa in Spain and in France as Georges van der Straeten, was a Flemish portrait and history painter. Originally from Ghent, he travelled abroad and became portrait painter to the ruling houses in Portugal, Spain and France. A polyglot, van der Straeten was a versatile courtier, who worked primarily as a portraitist for queens.
Jacopo da Trezzo was an Italian Renaissance sculptor of medals and jeweller, who after beginning his career in Milan moved to employment by the Spanish Habsburgs in 1554. He spent the rest of his career working for the Spanish court, beginning by visiting England in 1554–55 during the marriage of Philip II of Spain and Mary I of England, which lasted from 1554 to her death in 1558.
Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland made a state visit to the Kingdom of Spain from 17 to 21 October 1988. It was the first official visit by a British monarch to Spain, and came two years after King Juan Carlos I made the first official visit by a Spanish monarch in 80 years to the United Kingdom. It was the Queen's only official visit to Spain; relations between the two kingdoms had been fraught by Britain's presence in Gibraltar.