Die den kaiserlichen hoff frequentierenden frauen bottschaffterinnen

While women’s agency in the context of early modern diplomacy have recently come into focus, little attention has been paid to the fact that they were also involved in the system of European status competition. Using examples from Vienna and Rome, the paper shows that diplomatic ceremonial was by no means a ‘male affair’, as it has long been perceived. Rather, the wives of the House of Habsburg were an integral part of diplomatic ceremonial, as were the wives of ambassadors of other European rulers, with their own audiences and representative tasks. Subsequently, it will be discussed how these audiences were also used for the symbolic communication of power relations. This was based on the fact that ambassadors and ambassadresses as a couple not only embodied the sending ruler but also the dynasty and thus the ruling couple

Archaeology · Diplomacy · Political science · Politics · Ruler · Social science · Sociology · Symbolic communication · European Political History Analysis · Historical Art and Culture Studies · Historical Influence and Diplomacy · History · Law