ABSTRACT
A certain tendency towards generalities and vagueness can be observed in the collection of documents, agreements, and proceedings concerning the marriage. The formulation of the marriage contract represented the conclusion of a detailed negotiation which regulated a marriage as full of specificities as that of the two cousins, the Archduke of Austria and the Spanish Infanta. Once the marriage contract was signed in Augsburg in April 1548, the ritual process of the wedding ceremony began. As Giovanni Betta claimed, Maria had governed the whole kingdom alone. Therefore, Maximilian’s departure from Spain in September 1550 did not result in any visible changes in governance. Provision had already been made in the instructions of 1548 for the possibility of one of the two spouses being left alone in charge of the government. Maria's generosity and largesse did not contradict her full awareness of the economic mechanisms and the need to secure sufficient funds to maintain her authority.
