Palatium : Court Residences as places of exchange in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe 1400 - 1700

Topics and Work Packages

The PALATIUM networking programme is structured in six different work packages (WP). Three of these concentrate on particular problems in time and place (WP 1-2-3); the other three aim at developing the theoretical and methodological framework (WPM 1-2-3). Within each work package a number of thematic colloquia (WP) and methodological workshops (WPM) are organized (see the Events pages).

WP 1-2-3

The first three work packages address problems of exchange and influence between various courts within different geographical or chronological areas:

WP1 – Valois, Burgundy and Tudor (1400-1550): Exchanges and Influences?

This WP addresses the enduring myth of the Burgundian court ceremonial and architecture by mapping the late fourteenth-century Valois context and by addressing the unsolved question of local influence in the new “Burgundian” lands acquired in the fifteenth century (i.e. the area of today’s Netherlands, Belgium, Northern France, Luxemburg and the Rhineland). In a comparative perspective, the courts of the last monarchs of the English house of York and of the early Tudors and Stewarts are looked at: the architecture shows features of possible French/Netherlandish/Burgundian origin, while its ceremonial equally obviously has “local” features. Similarly, the same questions must be answered regarding the Portuguese court.
          > First event : Paris colloquium "Princes, Princesses" (2011)
          > Second event: Bamberg colloquium "The Interior" (2013)

WP2 – Habsburg Spheres (1500-1650): Exchanges and Influences?

The interaction between ceremonial and architecture in the Habsburg World has been studied for the Flemish residences and the Spanish, both inextricably linked; however, the relationship with the courts in Central Europe is so far only sketchily known. This working party, with the ongoing research on the Hofburg in Vienna as its pivot, focuses on the palaces of the Burgundian-Spanish and Austrian lines of the Habsburgs in a comparative perspective. Relations with the palaces of the viceroys of the Spanish empire (in Italy, Portugal but also in the Americas and the East); the confrontation of “Habsburg” with “Valois” and “Tudor” in their sixteenth-century incarnation; and with the Ottoman palace as a rival imperial model are also addressed.
          > First event : Madrid colloquium "Felix Austria" (2010)
          > Second event: Prague colloquium "Looking for Leisure" (2014)

WP3 – Network of Courts (1500-1700)

A dominant factor in international court life was the rivalry between Spain and France. The centuries-old quarrel between the Habsburg and the Valois/Bourbon monarchies about their seniority and precedence encouraged both sides to create a distinction in all kinds of aspects of courtly etiquette, ceremonies, and the architectural setting of court life. Other courts were obliged to take sides. Thus the architecture of the “satellite” courts at the “periphery” of the dominant rivals represents the alliances and ambitions of the European courtly elite. Princely courts such as the court of Orange in the 17th century, the courts in the Holy Roman Empire (e.g. the Palatine electors/Saxony/Bavaria), families linked with the imperial courts (e.g. lords of Hradec), the Italian courts (e.g. the Gonzaga, Savoy and Farnese linked with Habsburg; the Este linked with Valois), the courts of the Jagiellon dynasty, must all come to terms with the dominant models, known through their ambassadors, as do the royal dynasties of Denmark, Scotland, Poland and Portugal. This working party, which indeed covers the whole of Europe, aims at examining this complex network of courts.
         > First event: Copenhagen colloquium "Beyond Scylla and Charybdis" (2012)
         > Second event: Lisbon colloquium "European Courts" (2013)
 

WPM 1-2-3

The following three work packages are more methodological in nature and are specifically meant to attract specialists in court studies (historians, art historians) who are ready to work with architectural historians in an interdisciplinary perspective, and to help develop new research methods or tools:

WPM1 – “Examples”, “Models”, “Influences”: the “Connectivity” between the European Court Residences

This WPM will attempt to broaden the historical approach in a transdisciplinary manner (e.g. network theory) to help examine the network of courts across Europe, as well as the connections within each court.
          > First event: Antwerp workshop "Culture of Access" (2012)

WPM2 – Heuristics in an Interdisciplinary Perspective

The source material of the architectural historian is by definition diverse, but in this particular field the range of methods needed can be daunting (e.g. ambassador’s reports as a source for close reading; household and construction accounts as a source for quantitative analysis; festive representation: patterns of visual culture). A particular problem, key to the whole project, is the (non-linear) relationship between the court ordinance and the spatial structure of the residence. Another, recently developed, field of interest is the relationship between the court residence and visual media (e.g. medallions).
           > First event : Brussels workshop "Material Resources" (2010)
           > Second event : Sintra workshop "Inventories and Courtly Spaces" (2012)
           > Third event: Kalmar workshop "Making Room for Order" (2014)

WPM3 – Reconstructing the Palace as Virtual Heritage

Digital reconstructions have proven their usefulness in visualizing but also in clarifying data and research results (e.g. construction phases, ceremonial use). This working party will be open to researchers interested in the development of interactive 3D models (e.g. based on VRML or X3D standard), interactive websites and other mixed media forms of presentation as tools for representing palaces, with the specific aim of developing user-friendly ways of presenting the research in this field to the larger community.
           > First event: Leuven workshop "Virtual Palaces, Part I" (2011)
           > Second event: Munich workshop "Virtual Palaces, Part II" (2012)
 

Thematic Conferences

In addition to the six work packages described above, the PALATIUM programme also includes three larger conferences that are devoted to broader themes and that aim to bring together the expertises gained through the different work packages:
          > First event: Vienna conference "The Habsburgs" (2011)
          > Second event: Venice conference "Making Space for Festival" (2013)
          > Final event: Munich symposium "Court Residences" (2015)