The new fashion in courtly culture during Philip III´s reign triggered a high demand for image
creation and artistic representation, pieces of art that in turn constitute better way to understand
the aforementioned changes. This is true for some of Luis de Góngora’s poems, which are
dedicated to Margaret of Austria´s ladies-in-waiting at the beginning of the 17th century. Of
particular significance is his insistence in presenting the ladies as seraphs, or human seraphs,
immediately echoed by courtly poets such as the Count of Villamediana or Hurtado de
Mendoza, to designate by antonomasia the ladies-in-waiting of the sovereign. The poems by
Góngora and his imitators frivolously encapsulate the hopes of advancement at court from the
ingratiation or courtship with the queen´s ladies, having evolved to a distinguished society of
human seraphs, or coveted preys of amatory falconry, that convey to their suitors the regal mercy
in the concrete form of dowries, appointments, or titles.