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Abstract
This dissertation examines the life of Sir Robert Dudley (1574-1649), son of the Earl of Leicester, whose status at birth was uncertain. He was interested in shipbuilding and navigation and led a voyage to the West Indies. Although he was treated as a member of the aristocracy and welcomed at the court of Queen Elizabeth, when his attempt to establish his legitimacy failed decisively, he left England and his wife and daughters. Arriving in France with his cousin, the couple converted to Catholicism and married. Dudley may have sought patronage from the Vatican. He gained the patronage of the Grand Duke of Florence and moved to Tuscany, where he used his shipbuilding and nautical skills for the benefit of the Medici Dukes. He also became Grand Chamberlain to three Grand Duchesses. This dissertation considers notions of identity that composed Dudley's life—Elizabethan courtier, aristocrat, naval architect, Catholic—and the ways in which using those identities enabled him to gain a place in the Medici court and entrench himself and his family in Florence.
