Philip Sidney’s arcadia was influenced by

The correct option is The Spanish romance of Montemayor.

Sir Philip Sidney's Arcadia is a seminal work of Elizabethan prose fiction that was heavily shaped by continental European pastoral romance traditions. The connection can be understood through the following key points:
1. The Prototype of Pastoral Romance: The Spanish writer Jorge de Montemayor published Los siete libros de la Diana (commonly known as Diana) around 1559. It is widely celebrated as the first Spanish pastoral romance and became an immediate literary sensation across Europe.
2. Direct Literary Influence: Sidney drew extensively on Montemayor's Diana for the narrative structure of Arcadia. Specifically, he adopted the practice of embedding lyrical poetry (eclogues) within a continuous prose narrative, a hallmark style of Montemayor's work.
3. Thematic and Plot Elements: The complex webs of romantic entanglements, the disguises, and the philosophical discussions on love and constancy in Sidney's work reflect the themes popularized by the Spanish romance tradition.
4. Other Options: While Sidney was highly educated and aware of Arthurian legends and Italian art, the primary genre-defining blueprint for his pastoral prose romance was the Spanish pastoral tradition spearheaded by Montemayor.