This monographic issue is based on the contributions presented at two academic meetings marked by a common denominator, that of reflecting on courtly factions as a means to analyse early modern politics. In brief, to what extent can we change our perception of how power was managed and decisions taken if we start from the informal groups surrounding the sovereign ? We collect here the results of the panel The Spanish Factions : Fifth Column or Political Party in Early Modern Courts ?, held in Modena in June 2014 as part of the 45th Annual Meeting of the Association for Spanish and Portuguese Historical Studies. In addition, we include selected texts from the congress A Europe of Courts, a Europe of Factions, held in Rome in November 2014. In the first part, the essays question the existence of Spanish factions (which is to say funded by or loyal to the King of Spain) in various European courts and consider the ways in which they developed their activities. In the second part, specific case-studies are taken into account in order to demonstrate the inner workings of a faction and its evolution under female leadership. The discussion forms part of the Marie Curie Action FP7-MC-IEF 328536, which thus has its results partly published and opens opportunities for discussion within the academic community.

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