Buzási Enikő szerk.: In Europe' Princely Courts, Ádám Mányoki, Actors and venues of a portraitist's career (A Magyar Nemzeti Galéria kiadványai 2003/1)

János Kalmár: POWER AND THE PRINCELY COURT IN EARLY 18th-CENTURY EUROPE

saddlers, farriers, rifle-makers, veterinarians, and carriage and sedan-chair makers. Among his subordinates were also the trumpeters and riders heading the processions. When the ruler went for a ride, it was always the master of the horse who helped him into the saddle. On trips he always rode in the ruler's carriage, as an escort. At these times the master of the horse was expected to remain in the place normally occupied by the grand chamberlain, in the immediate vicinity of the ruler.

55 Social composition of the court The most distinguished aristocratic families vied for these four highest court offices, particularly because in the Holy Roman Empire, the highest officers in the household also had very influential administrative roles. The imperial grand steward, for example, was generally the first privy councillor, or president of the Privy Council.

56 The actual duties performed by the medieval court offices gave rise to such overlapping spheres of authority, which were then maintained in early modern times because they ensured a close, smooth relationship between the ruler and the central governing offices, Caspar Luyken: Imperial lady-in-waiting in Abraham a Santa Clara's work "Neu eröffnete Welt-Galleria". Engraving, 1703 Wien, Osterreichische Nationalbibliothek making the operation of the latter more simple and relatively comfortable. Because this advisory body dealt primarily with questions of foreign affairs, and because the ambassadors, residents, and agents met most frequently in the court, it was to the advantage of these high-ranking governmental officials to take part in every aspect of court life on the highest level.

57 Of course, the imperial/royal household - to an increasingly greater degree in the early modern period also served to reflect the dignity of the ruler, and the greatness and honour he bestowed on his country or dynasty. This above all manifested itself in the significant increase in the size of the court. Although differences in financial resources naturally resulted in huge variations in the size of the various rulers' households, everywhere the numbers grew dramatically: from the beginning of the 16

th to the end of the 18

th century the population of the royal households nearly tripled.

58 This was certainly in part because of staff increases, but also because musicians and theatre-related personnel, who had meanwhile grown in importance, were also taken into account, as were members of the newly established guards regiments. The ruler's wife also had her own smaller household, which was still her due following her husband's death. Furthermore - in some courts - the royal princes also maintained a household.

59 In order to keep track of the make-up of the staff and its large and changing number, as well as the complicated system of dignitaries, the German-speaking world began publishing court schematisms in the 18

th century, based on the French Almanach royal of 1699.

60 In 1576 the imperial household (Habsburg) numbered 530, one hundred years later this figure had doubled, and by the middle of the 18

th century the number reached 2000. The Bavarian princely household consisted of 160 people in 1508, in 1600 the number had risen to 540, and by the mid-18

th century there were about 1500 members. The Prussian household numbered 450 in the mid-16

th century, while there were more than 1000 by the mid-18

th century. The largest household in all of Europe was by far that of Louis XIV in Versailles, which numbered nearly 10 000. Naturally the household expenses also grew proportionately. At the turn of the 17-18

th century, fifty-five percent of the elector of Bavaria's expenses went to maintaining his household.

61 From the second half of the 17

th century, one tool frequently used to increase the ruler's display of power was the donation of the so-called titular court offices. This phenomena is especially apparent among the chamberlains: while the number of real chamberlains remained at around fifty, the number of titular chamberlains grew steadily - and just like the real chamberlains, they were expected to pay 200 ducats each to the grand chamberlain at the time of their appointment.

62 In the Habsburg Monarchy, the real positions could be claimed by members of distinguished