Representations of the monarchy and peace-making in the royal tour of France (1564-1566)
In January 1564, Charles IX and Catherine de MĂ©dicis embarked on a two-year progress around France. Their motivation was to confirm the authority of the young king and to enforce the Edict of Amboise, which compelled his subjects to show religious toleration following the civil war of 1562-1563. Royal entries were a principal medium through which city councils, on behalf of the people, communicated their views to Charles. As he walked in procession through urban centres, the king was presented with specially-created triumphal arches, paintings and recitals. The imagery in these scenes, which could be illusory or clear-cut, is invaluable when it comes to understanding the interbellum of 1563-1567. This thesis examines the functions and artistic content of these ceremonies, particularly in Troyes, Lyon and Toulouse, in order to reveal how Charles was perceived as a monarch and whether the edict was well-received. The work draws on festival books that detail the scenes, which hitherto have been an untapped resource, and emblem books to elucidate the contemporary meaning behind the images. City council records, local memoirs and correspondence from figures at court have been used to reconstruct the local and
Briggs, Linda
DC France
Representations of the monarchy and peace-making in the royal tour of France (1564-1566). In January 1564, Charles IX and Catherine de MĂ©dicis embarked on a two-year progress around France. Their motivation was to confirm the authority of the young king and to enforce the Edict of Amboise, which compelled his subjects to show religious toleration following the civil war of 1562-1563. Royal entries were a principal medium through which city councils, on behalf of the people, communicated their views to Charles. As he walked in procession through urban centres, the king was presented with specially-created triumphal arches, paintings and recitals. The imagery in these scenes, which could be illusory or clear-cut, is invaluable when it comes to understanding the interbellum of 1563-1567. This thesis examines the functions and artistic content of these ceremonies, particularly in Troyes, Lyon and Toulouse, in order to reveal how Charles was perceived as a monarch and whether the edict was well-received. The work draws on festival books that detail the scenes, which hitherto have been an untapped resource, and emblem books to elucidate the contemporary meaning behind the images. City council records, local memoirs and correspondence from figures at court have been used to reconstruct the local and
representations monarchy peace making royal tour france charles embark year progress around france motivation confirm authority young king enforce edict compel subject show religious toleration follow civil_war royal entry principal medium city council behalf people communicate view charles walk procession urban_centre king present specially created triumphal painting imagery scene could illusory clear_cut invaluable come examines function artistic content ceremony particularly order_reveal charles perceive monarch whether edict well received work draw festival book detail scene hitherto untapped resource book elucidate contemporary meaning behind image city council record local memoir correspondence figure court use reconstruct local