European and English courtly culture and history reappraised through the prism of the court as theatre. In the past half-century, court history has lost the air of frivolity that once relegated it to the margins of serious historical study and has rightfully taken a central part in the study of European states and societies in the age of personal monarchy. Yet it has been approached from so many different angles and appropriated to so many different models that it can be hard to put all our new understandings together to achieve a proper perspective on the functions of the court as a whole. This collection of essays uses the idea of the court as a stage for social and political interaction to re-integrate different styles of court history, focusing on courts in England and the Low Countries from the age of Richard II and Albert of Bavaria to that of Elizabeth I and Philip II. Themes studied include the relationship between court politics and cultural change, the social and political functions of court office-holding, the military, judicial and propagandist roles of the court, the economic relationships between courts and cities and the wider social and political significance of court rituals and traditions.

About the Author
Mario Damen is Senior Lecturer in Medieval History at the University of Amsterdam.

Reviews
presents a direct, refreshing and thought-provoking approach to the subject. * ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW *
An unusually coherent collection and one that builds a bridge between English and Dutch scholarship. THE RICARDIAN Will do much to illuminate our study of the social and political contexts of the dramatic and ceremonial culture of these late medieval courts. * YEAR'S WORK IN ENGLISH STUDIES *



Book Information
ISBN 9781843831914
Author Steven Gunn
Format Hardback
Page Count 216
Imprint The Boydell Press
Publisher Boydell & Brewer Ltd
Weight(grams) 1g