Court Etiquette: normative texts and customs

Although the word etiquette has today taken on an accepted meaning that might appear clear and well defined, it quickly becomes clear that this notion is far from self-evident. In addition to the fact that people often confuse “ceremonial”, “protocol” and “etiquette”, the latter term was only used rarely at the time, and often with very different meanings. Whether in Richelet”s dictionary or Furetière’s, the lexicographers took it in what was essentially a legal sense. In fact, in France, the word related to elements of judicial procedure. However, the dictionary of the Académie Française (starting with its 1718 edition and in the last definition it gives of the word) recalls the familiar use of this word in Spain [1] in the sense of “what must be done daily in the King’s Household, and in the principal ceremonies”.
Bernard Hours in his study on the court of Louis XV describes the historical authenticity and origins of French etiquette [2]. It goes back to the Burgundian court of Philippe le Bon in the 15^th century when “it referred to a written formula setting out the timetable of the prince and his court.” [3]. From then on, there was an effort to retain the customs in order to perpetuate them. As situations developed, so did etiquette and each new code was recorded to establish a precedent.

This line of research aims to formalise the unwritten customs of the French court. In fact, in contrast to the many systematic studies carried out particularly on the Hapsburg court in Madrid and those on the court in Vienna, French etiquette has always been universally viewed according to the customs and rituals of the court. The main objective here is to understand the evolution of etiquette as it developed, improved and declined. To address these issues, several themes and lines of enquiry must be considered:

• The definition of etiquette;
• The origins and emergence of etiquette;
• The nature of etiquette in relation to court ritual;
• The circumstances in which etiquette was applied (large household, ceremonial occasions, rituals) and etiquette according to topography, and vice versa;
• Etiquette as a political tool, or a means to control or civilise
• Who determines or arbitrates on matters of etiquette?
• Are courtisans the protagonists, driving force or victims of etiquette?
• A Europe-wide expansion of etiquette.

Team

Scientific directors: Mathieu da Vinha (Centre de recherche du château de Versailles) and Raphaël Masson (château de Versailles).

Committee: Alice Camus (CRCV) ; Delphine Carrangeot (université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, centre de recherche ESR-DYPAC) ; Nicole Lallement (CRCV) ; Bénédicte Lecarpentier-Bertrand (université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne) ; Pauline Lemaigre-Gaffier, (université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, centre de recherche ESR-DYPAC) ; Benjamin Ringot (CRCV).

Project Team: Marie Carlin (CRCV) ; Samuel Halopau (CRCV) ; Sandrine Jauneau (CRCV) ; Alexandra Pioch (CRCV) ; Isabelle Pluvieux (CRCV).

Productions

• An online corpus raisonné (in French) on the sources of etiquette in the French court, bringing together transcriptions from the great normative texts from Henri II to Louis XV: Rules of the Royal Household (1551-1625); Code of the King’s Officers (1585-1735); Nicolas de Sainctot’s memoires (1602-1702).

• International symposium « Rituels et cérémonies de cour, de l’Empire romain à l’âge baroque », 9, 10 and 11 October 2014 at Versailles and Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.

• Online database enabling comparisons between the norm and customary practices (normative sources and chronicles) for a better understanding of the different seasons of the court.

• Online publications in the Bulletin du Centre de recherche du château de Versailles (in French):
   Félix Labrador Arroyo, « Les massiers dans la Maison du roi de la monarchie espagnole »
   José Eloy Hortal Muñoz, « Les gardes royales des monarques Habsbourg hispaniques et l’étiquette : la lutte pour la proximité avec le souverain »
   Mathieu Caron, « L’étiquette dans les palais du Premier Empire : enjeux mobiliers et représentation(s) »
   David Brégaint, « Civilizing the ‘Viking’. A pedagogy for etiquette and courtly behaviour in 13^th century Norway »
   Elisa García Prieto, « Modeler le comportement de la reine par l’étiquette. La Maison d’Anne d’Autriche, quatrième reine consort de Philippe II (1570-1580)»
   Éric Hassler, « Définir et élaborer l’étiquette. Les réflexions du duc Léopold de Lorraine (1679-1729) sur la mise en place d’un nouveau cérémonial de cour au début du XVIIIe siècle »
   Krisztina Kulcsár, « “Da parente”: A Special Form of the Vienna Court Ceremony in the Mid-Eighteenth Century. The Example of the Visits of Saxon-Polish Princes »
   Vincenzo Lagioia, « L’ “étiquette royale” : Marguerite-Louise d’Orléans à l’épreuve de Florence »
   Alice Camus, « Être reçu en audience chez le roi »
   Hugh Murray Baillie, « L’étiquette et la distribution des appartements officiels dans les palais baroques »

• Publication of a document listing a selection of sources and a bibliography relating to Etiquette (non-exhaustive):

End notes