Becoming a Queen in Early Modern Europe: East and West (Queenship and Power)

Queens of Poland are conspicuously absent from the study of European queenship - an absence which, together with early modern Poland's marginal place in the historiography, results in a picture of European royal culture that can only be lopsided and incomplete. Katarzyna Kosior cuts through persistent stereotypes of an East-West dichotomy and a culturally isolated early modern Poland to offer a groundbreaking comparative study of royal ceremony in Poland and France. The ceremonies of becoming a Jagiellonian or Valois queen, analysed in their larger European context, illuminate the connections that bound together monarchical Europe. These ceremonies are a gateway to a fuller understanding of European royal culture, demonstrating that it is impossible to make claims about European queenship without considering eastern Europe Acknowledgements 7 Contents 9 Abbreviations in Footnotes 11 Chapter 1: Introduction: East and West 13 Polish and French Politics and Culture 23 Politics of French and Polish Royal Marriages 27 Chapter 2: Royal Weddings: Protocol, Identity, and Emotion 35 The Framework of Royal Weddings 40 Contracts and Trousseaus 43 Weddings 55 Chapter 3: Coronation: Consort to Royal Power 72 Ordines Coronationis 76 Coronation Sites 78 Coronation Processions 81 Coronation Space 86 Participation of the Nobility and Clergy 88 Liturgy 91 The Value of Coronation 103 Chapter 4: Political Culture and the Rhetoric of Queenship 109 Royal Entries 113 Financing Celebrations 116 Cities, Nobility, and Political Culture 124 Rhetoric of Queenship 128 Chapter 5: Conception, Childbirth, and Motherhood: Performing a Royal Family 149 Conception 153 Childbirth 158 Child Loss 171 Political Motherhood 174 Chapter 6: Conclusion 183 Appendix A: ‘List of Catherine of Austria’s Trousseau’ 190 Necklaces 190 Pendants 191 Rings 193 Medals 193 Chains 194 Belts 195 Silver Utensils for Dining 196 Silver for the Chamber and for the Use of Nobility and Officials 197 Silver for the Chapel 198 Silver for the Chambers 198 Garments Lined with Fur 199 Inner Garments Which Are Called Italian 199 Collars 201 Ornaments for the Head, Called Scophios in Italian 201 24 tapestries 202 Coverlets 202 Altar Cloths 203 Things for the Bed 204 Carriages and Saddles 204 Carriage Harnesses 205 Carriage Coverings 205 Appendix B: ‘The Manner of Queen Barbara’s Coronation’ 207 Translation 209 Appendix C: ‘Speech welcoming Queen Anna to Kazimierz’ 213 Translation 214 Appendix D: ‘Piotr Boratyński’s Third Speech...’ 215 Appendix E: ‘Libel Against the Second Marriage of King Sigismund August’ 223 Bibliography 226 Manuscript Sources 226 Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) 226 British Library (BL) 226 Kórnicka Library 226 Raczyński Library 226 The Central Archives for Historical Records in Warsaw (AGAD) 227 The National Archives in Krakow 227 The Polish National Library Special Collections 227 The Princes Czartoryski Library 227 Printed Primary Sources 227 Secondary Sources 232 Index 257 Front Matter ....Pages i-xii Introduction: East and West (Katarzyna Kosior)....Pages 1-22 Royal Weddings: Protocol, Identity, and Emotion (Katarzyna Kosior)....Pages 23-59 Coronation: Consort to Royal Power (Katarzyna Kosior)....Pages 61-97 Political Culture and the Rhetoric of Queenship (Katarzyna Kosior)....Pages 99-138 Conception, Childbirth, and Motherhood: Performing a Royal Family (Katarzyna Kosior)....Pages 139-172 Conclusion (Katarzyna Kosior)....Pages 173-179 Back Matter ....Pages 181-256