The line graph in Figure 5, “Publication trends for romances and other literature translated from Spanish into English,” tracks the trends in publication of Spanish literature in England from 1473 to 1640, based on STC numbers. The graph shows that all Spanish–English translations, all literature translations, and all romance translations dramatically spiked after 1580, in the backdrop of England's first major military clashes with Spanish forces, first major ventures in global exploration, and first colonial endeavors in North America. At the turn of the seventeenth century, the total number of all categories, including romance translations, dipped. The trend in romance translation never recovered from its post-war dip. I infer, therefore, that the increase in English printing of Spanish romances was a unique phenomenon, likely connected to the comingled English fascination and perturbation with Spanish conquest, and spurred on by the first Anglo-Spanish War.

If war had brought Iberian culture to the fore of the English political consciousness, it had also lent an uncanny timeliness to reading tales of love and arms. Figure 6, “Genre breakdown of printed translations from Spanish into English, 1473–1640,” presents a genre breakdown of Spanish–English translations from 1473 to 1640. From 1473 to 1640, 345 Spanish titles were printed in England (including reprints); of these titles, 14.78 percent (45 titles) were romances.

Figure 7, “Language and genre breakdown of literature translations printed in English, 1473–1640” tracks the number of literature translations from Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Latin, separated by genre. Unsurprisingly, French titles predominated the market for foreign romances with a total of 62 titles, including reprints. At 45 titles, Spanish romances comprised the second largest category, though French was also the intermediary language for 17 of these works. In fact, during the second half of the sixteenth century, the period when romances started to gain renewed popularity, more Spanish-authored romances were published in English than French-authored romances, once again highlighting a ready connection between romance and Spain, particularly during the period of the Spanish Monarchy's most concentrated global expansion.

Somewhat surprising, however, is the relative scarcity of Italian romances on the English print market. From 1473 to 1640, there were only four Italian romance titles printed in English, all of them editions of Orlando furioso (1516).