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Article Excerpt
COURTS HAVE LONG BEEN A popular subject among a certain reading public. The love affairs of kings, queens and royal mistresses--what the French aptly sum up as histoire d'alcove--have been the stuff of popular historiography for centuries; but a court needs also to be considered as an institution, significant politically, socially and culturally. Politically, it was the centre of decision-making; socially, it attracted all those people looking for advancement for themselves and their relatives by capturing some morsel of royal largesse; culturally, it promoted innovation and excellence, notably in the visual arts, often as a means of projecting the monarch's image to the world at large. In recent years a number of historians have focused their attention on the court in a number of countries, notably Britain and Spain. The subject is now well-established and has prompted the creation in Britain of a Society for Court Studies with its own scholarly journal. The court of France has not been neglected, but much of the attention has focused on Louis XIV's court at Versailles (r.1643-1715)--a huge gathering of nobles and ladies, revolving around the royal person, and controlled by a rigid code of etiquette. This image is far removed from the French court as it existed during the Renaissance, say between 1483 (when Charles VIII came to the throne) and 1589 (the beginning of the reign of Henry IV). It was then a motley crowd of people who sometimes stayed put, but were more often moving across the kingdom and largely unaware of etiquette. The king was surprisingly accessible to his subjects. A royal edict of 1530 showed how easy it was for anyone to enter his lodging:
Because of the great flow of people who each day come into our lodging when we are there, several thefts have taken place of ornaments from our chapel, of silver plate and of clothes belonging to us and to others by people who by virtue of being decently dressed are allowed to enter everywhere without being observed, and likewise by others who, by claiming acquaintance with some members of our suite penetrate everywhere.
Yet the court was not just a free-for-all; it did have a structure. Its heart was the king's household, which was divided into a number of departments catering for his physical and spiritual needs. The queen and other members of the royal family had households of their own. The principal departments were the hotel, which fed the king and his entourage, the chambre or royal bedchamber, and the chapel. The hub was the chamber where the privy council met. The gentlemen of the chamber were the king's constant companions, enjoying free access to his presence, but as they served in rotation they were not all present simultaneously. Some were sent abroad as ambassadors and could be absent for long periods. Their activities conferred on the chamber a special cultural significance, as they brought back impressions gathered abroad.
In addition to its several departments, including those concerned with the royal hunts, the court had a military establishment made up of units created at different times, the oldest being the Scottish guard, founded by Charles VII (1422-61). There were also three companies of archers, each one a hundred strong, the Cent-suisses (Hundred Swiss) established by Charles VIII, and Deux cents gentilshommes de l'hotel divided into two companies. All these troops were mounted except the Swiss, who escorted the king on public ceremonies. Law and order at court was maintained by the prevot de l'hotel and his archers. Many people who were not part of the court came on business, including councillors, chancery staff, notaries and secretaries. There were also guests, such as princes of the blood, foreign princes, prelates and foreign diplomats who often had large suites of their own. Numerous hangers-on included merchants and artisans, who were exempt from tolls and guild regulations as long as they served only the crown. There were also the camp followers, called filles de joie...
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