Dries Raeymaekers – författare

Proximity to the monarch was a vital asset in the struggle for power and influence in medieval and early modern courts. The concept of ‘access to the ruler’ has therefore grown into a dominant theme in scholarship on pre-modern dynasties. Still, many questions remain concerning the mechanisms of access and their impact on politics. Bringing together new research on European and Asian cases, the ten chapters in this volume focus on the ways in which ‘access’ was articulated, regulated, negotiated, and performed. By taking into account the full complexity of hierarchies, ceremonial rites, spaces and artefacts that characterized the dynastic court, The Key to Power? forces us to rethink power relations in the late medieval and early modern world.Contributors are: Christina Antenhofer, Ronald G. Asch, Florence Berland, Mark Hengerer, Neil Murphy, Fabian Persson, Jonathan Spangler, Michael Talbot, Steven Thiry, and Audrey Truschke.

This volume focuses on the various Habsburg courts and households among the two branches of the dynasty that arose following the division of the territories originally held by Charles V. The authors trace the connections between these courtly communities regardless of their standing or composition, exposing the underlying network they formed. By cutting across the traditional division in the historiography between the Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs and also examining the roles played by the courts and households of lesser known members of the dynasty, this volume determines to what degree the organization followed a particular model and to what extent individuals were able to move between courts in pursuit of career opportunities and advancement.Contributors: Alejandro Lopez Alvarez (Universidad Autonoma de Madrid), Carlos Javier Carlos Morales (Universidad Autonoma de Madrid), Olivier Chaline (Universite Paris IV-Sorbonne), Alicia Esteban Estringana (Universidad de Alcala), Jose Eloy Hortal Munoz (Universidad Rey Juan Carlos), Birgit Houben (University of Antwerp), Katrin Keller (Universitat Wien), Jose Martinez Millan (Universidad Autonoma de Madrid), Manuel Rivero (Universidad Autonoma de Madrid), Astrid von Schlachta (Universitat Regensburg), Werner Thomas (KU Leuven)