Patronage was a significant condition of publication in Elizabethan and early Stuart times. The interrelated families of the Earl of Leicester, Sir Philip Sidney and the Earl of Pembroke performed the functions of patronage most productively, patriotically intent as they were on fostering the growth of humane letters in England. By the end of the third decade, the patronage system was in decline, as one can judge by the case of Ben Jonson, who, even with his reputation as the most excellent poet of the age, found it increasingly difficult to make ends meet. During the Civil Wars and throughout the Commonwealth years, aristocratic patronage faded, and authors were obliged to make the best deals they could directly with the booksellers. Aristocratic patronage was renewed at the Restoration and remained an important factor in the business of bringing out a work of literature, supplemented by increasingly strong market forces that could be effectively directed by an astute bookseller.