{"product_id":"philip-ii-of-spain","title":"PHILIP II OF SPAIN.","description":"\u003cp\u003ePhilip II of Spain (also known as Philip  the prudent ) reigned from 1556 to 1598, also serving as .jure uxoris ruler of England from his marriage to Mary Tudor in 1554, until her death in November 1558 a few weeks after this royal grant of privileges was issued. He was the son of Emperor Charles V, completed the building the palace of El Escorial and his reign saw the conquest of the Incas and the Philippines, bringing territories in every continent then known to Europeans under his direct control and ushering in the Spanish  Golden Age  of power and influence. The rule of Ferdinand and Isabella and Charles V are often seen as the very heights of European empire building in the Renaissance, but Philip II pushed this further, holding back the Ottoman advances into Eastern Europe and the Italian coastline, while also extending Spain s hold over the Americas and annexing Portugal and thus their wide ranging overseas colonies and maritime empire. In fact, the presence of the stylised sun and moon, and inscription  sol lucet  in his armorial device in the right-hand of the bas-de-page of the frontispiece here alludes to the observation of his contemporaries, that only he could truly say  sol mihi semper lucet  ( the sun always shines on me ). \u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cbr\u003e\n Unlike the common Spanish royal grants of arms, this is a grant of extensive royal privileges including autonomous legal and juridical authority (.Carta de Privilegio Real), for the town of Heute, Castile-la-Mancha, and its inhabitants. Its style of decoration and scribal achievements can be closely located to the royal scribes and illuminators of the Castilian capital of Valladolid   Philip II s birthplace and the main site of his court. Huete   sited to the south-west of Madrid, as part of a ring of settlements that surround that city, including the sixteenth-century royal winter palace of Aranjuez   was well known to Philip II, and within his circle of immediate influence. An attractive and interesting ms. from the centre of Spanish royal power at its highest grandeur.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"PHILIP II OF SPAIN.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57859657105743,"sku":"L3864","price":4750.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1016\/2425\/0703\/files\/L3864-2-1.jpg?v=1781793708","url":"https:\/\/sokol-books-ltd.myshopify.com\/products\/philip-ii-of-spain","provider":"Sokol Books Ltd","version":"1.0","type":"link"}