ABSTRACT
That Henry and Philip Sidney responded generously to Robinson’s offerings demonstrates how seriously they took their patronage responsibilities. Numerous other dedications and panegyrics reveal that the Sidneys, as well as their relatives the Dudleys and the Herberts, played prominent roles in the system of literary patronage. The Sidneys and their relatives supported “letters” in this broad sense in three main ways. First, family members patronized not just individual writers, but also stationers and presses that produced numerous works. Secondly, the family fostered scholarship in the universities, not only by supporting particular works of science or theology but also by nurturing scholarly exchange and influencing literary production in more indirect ways. Finally, the Sidneys and their relatives patronized dramatic performances, writers, and companies. Literary patronage consequently began to encompass the wider range of texts related to the many public roles played by courtier families, and extended to other activities and institutions whereby they could further religio-political or cultural agendas.
