Ceremony and Space: Contact between the Nobles and the Monarch from the 16th to the 18th Century in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

Authors
Katarzyna Kuras
Pages
45-72
Abstract

The aim of this article is a presentation of the role and importance of contacts of Polish nobles and monarchs in the vast context of the ceremonial used in the everyday life at the court and the organisation of the space of the Royal Castle of Warsaw (and other residences). It seems that due to a lack of clear factors sacralising the power of the Polish elective king, access to the monarch was relatively simple and not very restricted mainly by the labile etiquette at the Polish court in the 16th and 17th centuries, much different from the French or Spanish ceremonial. On the other hand the organisation of the space in the Royal residences had to emphasize the position of the king by creating some barriers separating the monarch and the nobles.

Keywords
Royal Castle of Warsaw, Polish court, Polish nobles, Early Modern Age.