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Who was Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester, in Edmund Spenser’s career?
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Edmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser, oil painting by an unknown artist; in the collection of Pembroke College, Cambridge, England.
By 1580, the poet Edmund Spenser was serving Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester, a highly influential figure at the court of Queen Elizabeth I.1
Leicester’s role in Spenser’s career was significant as he provided a connection to a prominent literary circle. Through his service to Leicester, Spenser became associated with the circle led by Leicester’s nephew, Sir Philip Sidney. This connection was pivotal, as Spenser dedicated his seminal work, The Shepheardes Calender, to Sidney, who subsequently praised the poet in his own critical work, The Defence of Poesie.1