Celebrations at Court: Ephemeral Objects, Materials, and Machinery in the Early Modern Period

A rich and immersive insight into the spectacular courtly festival culture of 16th and 17th century Europe

Court celebrations constituted elaborate and flamboyant spectacles intended to showcase cultural sophistication, military power and technical expertise. Through carefully staged displays of marvel, feast and horror, they were performative articulations of power. By reiterating local traditions, such events reinforced and consolidated local belonging. Addressed both to rival rulers and to society at large, these celebrations functioned as strategic demonstrations of dynastic legitimacy and national abundance — economically, intellectually, and in terms of artisanal production.

Through thirteen richly illustrated chapters, this book maps key historical celebrations and the political circumstances surrounding them, while drawing on a diverse range of written sources—from pyrotechnics manuals to cookery books—to emphasize the material culture and technological foundations behind these celebrations. Celebrations at Court situates local European material culture within broader, transcultural contexts and offers new insights into the history of ideas and mentalities of the period.

Distributed for Aarhus University Press