List of illustrations; List of tables; Acknowledgements; Abbreviations; Part I. Prelude: 1. Introduction; 2. The household on the eve of the early modern age; Part II. Contours: 3. Numbers and costs; 4. Status and income; Part III. Court Life: 5. A calendar of court life; 6. Ceremony and order at court: an unending pursuit; Part IV. Power: 7. Levels and forms of power at court; 8. The court as focus of the realm; Part V. Epilogue: 9. Conclusions and conjectures; Manuscript sources; Printed sources; Bibliography; Index.
A comparative study of the courts of Vienna and Paris-Versailles, 1550–1780.
Jeroen Duindam is Lecturer in History, Universiteit Utrecht, The Netherlands.
'This is a radical interpretation of the power of the two courts,
and it gives us some fascinating insights into the nature of early
modern rule.' H-France
'A skilful and well-documented account of court life … Duindam is
to be congratulated on an important work.' History
'… a major contribution to the history of each court and the
associated governments as well as to comparative history.' The
American Historical Review
'What was needed if we were to understand what courts were really
about was a solid empirical base derived from the widest possible
range of original sources … [the author] has produced it; and the
result will change court studies profoundly … For that of Vienna,
this book is a new starting point. For that of Versailles, it is
much more a turning point. Saint-Simon's spell has at last been
broken.' William Doyle, University of Bristol
'A skilful and well-documented account of court life, which draws
on very extensive research … There are valuable sections on numbers
and costs, status and income, and on the calendar of court life;
and contrasts between the two courts help underline what was
specific to each … Duindam is to be congratulated on an important
work …' The Historical Association and Blackwell Publishing Ltd
'… an up-to-date and detailed comparison … Duindam paints a
fascinating portrait of court life in the late-seventeenth and
early-eighteenth centuries …' H-Net Review
'… no future scholar of Vienna or Versailles will be able to ignore
his carefully researched book. Comparatists are well advised to
study it closely. This publication - like that of Elias before him
- will provide the impetus for much new scholarship in the
historiography of the early modern European court.' H-Net
Review
'Duindam offers a fascinating discussion of the calendar of court
life and of the role of ceremony and its attendant ritual. … by
having offered such a comprehensive and informed guide to life at
two of the most important European courts. Duindam has performed a
real service. His work will be the essential starting point for all
scholars of the court and it will have much to offer students of
the early modern period in general.' European History Quarterly
'It is the fruit of many years of painstaking work in French and
Austrian archives, strongly supported by an impressive quality of
printed evidence and secondary material. The subject is both
excellent and timely.' German History
'… ambitious … The author is to be congratulated for a first book
that represents a tour de force of scholarship across two centuries
of documents …' Australian History Yearbook
'… Jeroen Duindam's Vienna and Versailles certainly deserves pride
of place … it will provide a point of reference for years to come.
An immense amount of source material from Austrian and French
archives as well as contemporary memoirs has been digested,
resulting in a book so rich in detail that, at first glance, it
indeed seems to be mainly descriptive. Read more carefully,
however, it quickly becomes clear that important discussions of the
current state of thinking on princely households are embedded in
this wealth of information. They yield important insights into the
working of the early modern court and refute many rash conclusions
which have found their way into secondary literature … Duindam is
very successful in rewriting important aspects of the cultural and
social history of the early modern court … Duindam conveys the
ambiguities of life at court, the uncertainties about ceremonial
rules, salaries, and ranks, and the constant quarrels and disputes
which must have made the existence of a courtier far from
agreeable. He also lays bare the difficulties of dealing with the
surviving evidence. Vienna and Versailles is therefore a timely
reminder in the current vogue for court studies that our knowledge
of royal households is more limited and the reality of court life
more complex than we often concede.' German Historical Institute
Bulletin
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