The Princely Court Medieval Courts and Culture in North-West Europe, 1270-1380

by Vale, Malcolm

• ISBN13: 9780198205296
• ISBN10: 0198205295
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-02-14
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

In this engaging work, Malcolm Vale sets out to recapture the splendor of court culture in Western Europe during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Exploring the time between the death of St Louis and the rise of Burgundian power in the Low Countries, he illuminates a period in the history of princes and court life previously overshadowed by that of the courts of the dukes of Burgundy. The result is a fascinating evaluation of the nature and role of the court in European history, and a celebration of a forgotten age.

Author Biography

Malcolm Vale is Fellow and Tutor in Modern History at St. John's College, Oxford.

Table of Contents

List of Tables	ix
List of Figures	xi
List of Appendices	xii
List of Maps	xiv
List of Plates	xv
List of Abbreviations	xviii
Introduction	1	(14)
PART ONE The Material Foundations of Court Life
Court and Household	15	(19)
Organization and Structures	34	(35)
The household and its structures	34	(8)
Household ordinances	42	(14)
Hall, chamber, and household	56	(13)
Consumption and Expenditure	69	(67)
Economics and accountancy	69	(11)
Daily needs and expenditure	80	(13)
Liveries: status, function, and expenditure	93	(43)
The Travelling Court	136	(29)
Transport and logistics	137	(16)
Residences and lodgings	153	(12)
PART TWO Culture
Court Life and Court Culture	165	(82)
Luxury, display, and the arts	165	(5)
Courtly pursuits	170	(30)
Ritual and ceremony	200	(47)
Art at Court: Investment in Culture?	247	(48)
Court art and court style	247	(13)
The structures of court patronage	260	(22)
A francophone culture?	282	(13)
Conclusion	295	(6)
Tables and figures	301	(44)
Appendices	345	(32)
Maps	377	(6)
Bibliography	383	(24)
Index	407