"In Pilgrimage to Patronage, Elizabeth R. Wright traces how Lope de Vega Carpio (1562-1635), early modern Spain's most famous and prolific playwright, deployed publications and public appearances to gain powerful benefactors in the court of Philip III. Specifically, Wright asks how the quest for influential sponsors shaped Lope's literary practice, and how, in turn, his extraordinary popularity and success as a playwright changed the court's patterns of artistic patronage. Recent studies have shed new light on how Philip III and his favorite, the duke of Lerma, fused art and politics as they ruled, making this an opportune time to ask these questions.". "With these insights in mind, Wright concentrates on Lope's ambitious string of non-dramatic publications that sought the protection of well-connected or wealthy dedicatees in order to enhance the writer's profile at court. In addition, she reads and analyzes Lope's public appearances in fetes, poetic jousts, and royal weddings."--BOOK JACKET.