Although King John is remembered for his political and military failures, he also resided over a magnificent court. Power and Pleasure reconstructs life at the court of King John and explores how his court produced both pleasure and soft power.
Much work exists on courts of the late medieval and early modern periods, but the jump in record keeping under John allows a detailed reconstruction of court life for an earlier period. Power and Pleasure: Court Life under King John, 1199-1216 examines the many facets of John's court, exploring hunting, feasting, castles, landscapes, material luxury, chivalry, sexual coercion, and religious activities. It explains how John mishandled his use of soft power, just as he failed to exploit his financial and military advantages, and why he received so little political benefit from his magnificent court. John's court is viewed in comparison to other courts of the time, and in previous and subsequent centuries.
Author(s): Hugh M. Thomas
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Year: 2020
Language: English
Pages: xiv+269
Cover
Power and Pleasure: Court Life under King John, 1199–1216
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Contents
List of Illustrations
List of Abbreviations
1: Introduction
1.1 King John, Royal Courts, and Historiography
1.2 Goals of This Book
1.2.1 Reconstruction of Court Life
1.2.2 Analysis of Court Life, Soft Power, and John’s Successes and Failures
1.2.3 The Court as a Site of Pleasure and Self-Gratification
1.3 The Structure of John’s Court
1.4 Sources
1.5 The Structure of the Book
2: Hunting and Falconry
2.1 Introduction
2.2 The Size, Importance, and Cost of the Royal Hunting Establishment
2.3 The Royal Forest, Money, and Hunting
2.4 The Forms of Royal Hunting and the King and Queen’s Involvement
2.5 Pleasure in the Service of Power: The Instrumental Purposes of Hunting
2.6 Hunting, the Malleability of Social Meaning, and Criticism of and Resistance to the King
2.7 Power in the Service of Pleasure: The Delights of Hunting
3: Luxury and Material Culture at Court
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Textiles, Furs, and Clothing
3.3 Gold and Silver Plate and Jewellery
3.4 The Royal Regalia
3.5 The Uses of Luxury Goods
3.6 Lavish Display and Royal Authority
3.7 Luxury and the Reinforcement of Hierarchy
3.8 The Regalia and the Special Status of the King and Queen
3.9 Giving Robes and Other Luxury Items
3.10 Was Luxury Politically Dangerous?
3.11 Luxury and Pleasure
3.12 The Importance of Things
4: Aspects of Court Culture
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Art and Music
4.3 Entertainers and Exotic Animals
4.4 Books and Learning
4.5 Games and Gambling
4.6 Chivalry and the Embrace of Martial Splendour
4.7 Sex, Courtly Love, Coercion, and Rebellion
4.8 Power, Pleasure, and Self-Gratification
5: Religious Practices at Court
5.1 Introduction
5.2 John’s Personal Religion and Religious Life at Court
5.3 The Projection of a Pious Image
5.4 The Failure to Successfully Create an Imageof Sacral Kingship
5.5 Pleasure, Piety, and Power
6: Food and Feasting
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Eating Well
6.3 Spices, Cooking, and Cuisine
6.4 Wine
6.5 Feasting at John’s Court
6.6 Etiquette, Lordship, and Deference
6.7 Food, Drink, Feasting, and Power
6.8 Food, Feasting, and the Contestation of Power
6.9 Food, Drink, Feasting, and Pleasure
7: Places and Spaces
7.1 Introduction
7.2 New Ways of Thinking about Castles and Palaces
7.3 Castles and Palaces, Tents and Pavilions
7.4 Aesthetic Landscapes
7.5 Landscapes, Utility, and Beauty
7.6 Itineration and Its Motives
7.7 Meetings with Magnates
7.8 Riding in Splendour
7.9 Processions and the Royal Entry
7.10 Power, Contestation, and Pleasure
8: King John and the Wielding of Soft Power
8.1 Introduction
8.2 John and His Relations with the Powerful
8.3 Symbolic Communication
8.4 Gifts
8.5 Administrative Kingship and Soft Power
8.6 How Successful Was John at Managing Soft Power?
9: John’s Court in a Comparative Context: A Preliminary Sketch
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Comparisons across Space
9.3 Comparisons across Time
Conclusion
Appendix 1: Royal Hunting Expenses
Bibliography
Index
