Documentary Resources

Prosocour Database (networks and sociability)

This database is part of the “Networks and sociability at courtof France, 17th-18th centuries” research programme led by the Centre de recherche du château de Versailles, under the direction of its Director, Mathieu da Vinha.

Access directly to the Prosocour Database (in French).

This evolving database consists primarily of a list of the offices of all the royal households of the French court and their members. As the project progresses, data is added regarding the chronological record of such offices, the succession of their holders, biographical information and the different types of connections between individuals, etc.

The purpose of this tool is thus to capture and analyse prosopographic data in order to better understand the networks that were woven at court, the mechanisms of social ascension and the hierarchy of the royal households.

The chronological field covered span from the personal reign of Louis XIV (1661) to the end of the Louis XVI period (1792).

The research data management solution Polaris OS, developed by MyScienceWork, has been chosen by the CRCV to set up the navigation, research and analysis platform.

This database has been accessible online since 2024.

Launch press release (in French)

Publication

  • Ringot (Benjamin), « Le Who’s Who de la cour », Carnets de Versailles, October 2024-March 2025, p. 09-11.
Le Who’s Who de la cour (in French)

Presentations at symposia, study days and seminars

  • Desbourdes (Delphine), “De la Touraine à Versailles : carrières et réseaux des Amboisiens officiers commensaux du roi (1650-1750)”, symposium Servir le château (Rencontres d’archéologie et d’histoire en Périgord) (Périgueux), September 27, 2024.
  • Da Vinha (Mathieu), “Prosocour : base sur les réseaux et la sociabilité à la cour de France aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles”, study day Databases on 18th Century France: Cooperation and Exchanges (université de Trèves, online), September 5 and 23, 2024.
  • Ringot (Benjamin), “Autour du service domestique (I) : présentation de la base de données Prosocour sur les officiers des maisons royales et princières à la cour de France (fin XVIIe-fin XVIIIe siècle)”, seminar Versailles une histoire en perspective (université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines – Laboratoire DYPAC), November 7, 2022.

Press

Exclusive patronage

In late 2024, the K11 Craft & Guild Foundation (KCG) chose to support the database by becoming its exclusive patron, thus enabling its development and influence, including through research on French craftsmen working for the crown.

Founded by Dr Adrian Cheng in 2018, the KCG is a registered charity based in Hong Kong. KCG whose aim is to conserve and rejuvenate fast-disappearing Chinese crafts whilst undertaking both national and international cultural projects. Its mission is to ensure that Chinese culture and aesthetics adapt to the contemporary world by promoting research, education and interdisciplinary collaboration around traditional Chinese artistic and cultural pursuits.

Dr Adrian Cheng, , cultural entrepreneur and founder of the K11 Art Foundation and of Culture for Tomorrow, created the KCG to promote the preservation and dissemination of Chinese culture. By focusing on cultural creativity, social innovation and sustainable practices, the KCG aims to Create Shared Value (CSV) for society, by positively impacting local communities and educating the next generation of craftsmen and of guardians of cultural heritage.

Patronage press release (in French)

Database team “Prosocour”

Contributors from the CRCV

  • Bastien Coulon, Research Officer, Centre de recherche du château de Versailles;
  • Mathieu da Vinha, Director, Centre de recherche du château de Versailles;
  • Delphine Desbourdes, Research Officer, Centre de recherche du château de Versailles;
  • Jehanne Fleury, External researcher (since July 2021);
  • Sandrine Jauneau, Research Officer, Centre de recherche du château de Versailles;
  • Nicole Lallement, Documentary Studies officer, Centre de recherche du château de Versailles (until Dec. 2020);
  • Flavie Leroux, Research Officer, Centre de recherche du château de Versailles;
  • Cyril Pasquier, Research Officer, Centre de recherche du château de Versailles;
  • Isabelle Pluvieux, Head of Department, in charge of the databases, Centre de recherche du château de Versailles;
  • Benjamin Ringot, Training manager, Centre de recherche du château de Versailles.

Interns CRCV

  • Jehanne Fleury, intern, École nationale des Chartes (March-end of June 2021);
  • Cloé Véron, intern, CY Cergy Paris Université (January-July 2023);
  • Mathilde Deroin, intern, École des hautes études en sciences sociales (March-July 2024).

External contributors

The project “Prosocour” is firmly based on a collaborative work ethic, using collective intelligence in pursuit of research. This policy has established a model based on openness and cooperation involving active contributions from external contributors – researchers, archivists, genealogists, connoisseurs and enthusiasts – who fall into two different categories according to their level of involvement in the project:

>  External contributors: bring data that enriches the “Prosocour”. knowledge base. These sourced contributions are then validated and entered by the team at the Research Centre, thus diversifying and broadening the scope of the study, and strengthening the representativeness of the results obtained.

  • External contributors team: Thierry Caillaud; Jean Catherine; Lucy Crockett-Fresson; Éric de Fontgalland; Isabelle Lefebvre.

>  External contributors-data enterers: bring data and help to enter it directly in “Prosocour”. By actively contributing in this way, they help to speed up the process of entering data and strengthen the feeling of being part of a collective initiative.

  • External contributors-data enterers:
  • Isabelle Coquillard, holder of a PhD from l’université Paris Nanterre, associate member of the Laboratoire MéMo, enters data about doctors based on her research into the doctor regents of the Paris faculty of medicine of the 18th century;
  • Jehanne Fleury, doctoral student at l’université Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, external researcher at the Centre de recherche du château de Versailles, enters data on the topic of royal female households from duchesse de Bourgogne to Marie-Antoinette.

This collaborative approach means that “Prosocour” is a federative project that promotes dialogue and scientific co-construction, where pooling of effort and resources is one of the keys to obtaining reliable, relevant results.

Website produced with the support of:
Château de Versailles
Conseil général des Yvelines
©CRCV