Noble court

:For alternative meanings of the word "court", see: Court (disambiguation).

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A royal or noble court, as an instrument of government broader than a court of justice, comprises an extended household centered on a patron whose rule may govern law or be governed by it. A regent or viceroy may hold court during the minority or absence of a hereditary ruler, and even an elected head of state may develop a court-like entourage of unofficial, personally-chosen advisors and "companions", a position first raised to semi-official status in the entourage of Alexander the Great, based on Persian conventions (Fox 1973). The English and French "companion" connotes a "sharer of the bread" at table, and indeed the court is an extension of the great individual's household; wherever members of the household and bureaucrats of the administration overlap in personnel, it is sensible to speak of a "court", whether in Achaemenid Persia, Ming China, Norman Sicily, the Papacy before 1870 (see Curia) or the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A group of individuals dependent on the patronage of a great man, classically in ancient Rome, forms part of the system of "clientage" that is discussed under vassal.

Related Topics:
Government - Court of justice - Law - Regent - Viceroy - Head of state - Entourage - Alexander the Great - Persian - Achaemenid Persia - Ming China - Norman Sicily - Papacy - Curia - Austro-Hungarian Empire - Vassal

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After the collapse of the Roman Empire in the West, a true court culture can be recognized in the entourage of the Ostrogoth Theodoric the Great and in the court of Charlemagne. In the Roman East, a brilliant court continued to surround the Byzantine emperors.

Related Topics:
Theodoric the Great - Charlemagne - Byzantine emperors

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In Western Europe, consolidation of power of local magnates and of kings in fixed administrative centres from the mid-13th century led to the creation of a distinct court culture that was the centre of intellectual and artistic patronage rivalling the abbots and bishops, in addition to its role as the apex of a rudimentary political bureaucracy that rivalled the courts of counts and dukes. The dynamics of hierarchy welded the court cultures together.

Related Topics:
Abbot - Bishop - Hierarchy

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Local courts proliferated in the splintered polities of mediaeval Europe and remained in early modern times in Germany and in Italy. Such courts became known for intrigue and power politics, some also gained prominence as centres and collective patrons of art and culture.

Related Topics:
Europe - Early modern times - Germany - Italy - Power - Art - Culture

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As political executive functions generally moved to more democratic bases, noble courts have seen their function reduced once more to that of a noble household, concentrating on personal service to the household head, ceremonial and perhaps some residual politico-advisory functions. If republican zeal has banished an area's erstwhile ruling nobility, courts may survive in exile.

Related Topics:
Democratic - Household - Ceremonial - Republic - Nobility - Exile

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Individual rulers differed greatly in tastes and interests, as well as in political skills and in constitutional situations. Accordingly, some founded elaborate courts based on new palaces, only to have their successors retreat to remote castles or to practical administrative centres. Personal retreats might arise far away from official court centres.

Related Topics:
Palace - Castle

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Etiquette and hierarchy flourish in highly-structured court settings and may leave conservative traces over generations.

Related Topics:
Etiquette - Hierarchy

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