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
François Marot: King Louis XIV of France initiates the first knights of St. Louis in the castle of Versailles in 1693 Versailles, Musée national du Château tion of the system of institutions changed the image of the ruler: the earlier patriarchal judge - and attentive father to his people - was replaced by a power ever present in the form of his employees. Since a certain degree of expertise was required to carry out the duties of each office, the demand for employees with university/academic degrees or perhaps doctorates in law grew. 75 This meant that not only the educated noblemen, but learned members of the middle class also had a chance. 76 In France the latter comprised a layer of society known as the noblesse de robe. 77 Beginning in the second half of the 17 th century, a major portion of the court's members came from among the state officials and other employees of middle-class origins. In western and central Europe, the nobility, who represented 1 to 3 percent of the population, comprised 10 to 25 percent of the court in this region. 78 Court ceremony It was necessary to at least make it appear that the political weight of the nobility had been compensated for. Officials in the royal court, who truly had no power, could be consoled by the fact that they had the exclusive privilege of being near the ruler. They strove for the outside world to be conscious of this special right: court ceremony served this aim. It was a complicated "sluice system," 79 which only allowed through those who knew the refined customs, behaviour and language, and etiquette; those lacking in "court skills" had no chance of getting near the ruler. The mastery of these skills clearly distinguished the court nobility from those who did not belong among them. 80 Every service performed in court required great discipline: there was no room for spontaneity in the strict system of rank and clearly defined etiquette. Every aspect of court life was performed according to strict protocol. 81 Of course there was ceremony in the past - both ecclesiastical and political - but from the middle of the 17 th century its role grew - along with the size of the royal household - moving "masses" of people. From this point on it governed not only the procedure of formal events, but also everyday life at court. 82 Beginning in the 16 th century, the impact of European ritual, taking its roots in the ceremony of the lateMedieval court of the Dukes of Burgundy, could be felt in the Spanish court. It was later transmitted (in the form of Spanish ritual) to the imperial court via Habsburg relatives. The southern German, Catholic princely courts also adopted these rituals, while the northern German principalities preferred French ceremony, which from the second half of the 17 th century was becoming increasingly popular and more or less omnipresent. In the middle of the 18 th century the Viennese court decided to compromise: the imperial
