Power and Pleasure : Court Life under King John, 1199-1216.

Power and Pleasure : Court Life under King John, 1199-1216.

Although King John is remembered for his political and military failures, he also resided over a magnificent court. This book uses records of his reign to reconstruct his life at court, and explore how it produced both pleasure and soft power for the king.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Thomas, Hugh M.
Format: eBook
Language:English
Published: Oxford : Oxford University Press USA - OSO, 2021.
Subjects:
John, > King of England, > 1167-1216.
John, > King of England, > 1167-1216
To 1500
Courts and courtiers
England > Court and courtiers > History > To 1500.
Great Britain > History > John, 1199-1216.
England
Great Britain
History
Online Access:Click for online access
Table of Contents:
  • 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

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