Court Studies Seminar Series

Interdisciplinary in approach, this seminar series will explore the political and cultural significance of courts in the Early Modern period, broadly defined. The intention is to connect the many scholars working on related fields at Oxford, and to hear from speakers on subjects including diplomacy, hunting, patronage, dynastic marriage, court entertainment, and cultural transfer between nations, confessions, and courts; throughout Europe and globally.

Seminars will take place on alternate Mondays, odd weeks, at 16:30 in the Memorial Room, Jesus College, unless otherwise specified.

This series is open to all members of the Oxford community and the public.
Type: Seminar Series
Series organiser: Hanna Sinclair (Jesus College, Oxford)
Timing: Mondays at 16:30, Weeks 1, 2, 3, 5 & 7, unless otherwise specified
Organising department: Faculty of History

Talks:

Monday 28 April 2025

The Court of Tunis: Negotiating Kingship in the Sixteenth-Century Maghreb
Date: 28 April 2025, 16:30 - 17:30
Speaker : Rubén González Cuerva (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas)
Venue: Jesus College, Turl Street OX1 3DW
Venue Details: Memorial Room
Organisers: TBA
Hosts: TBA

Friday 9 May 2025

Troubled Life Stories: Complaint Culture, Life Writing, and Urban Experiences in Eighteenth-Century Copenhagen (Co-convened with the Oxford Scandinavian Studies Network)
Date: 9 May 2025, 16:30 - 17:30
Speaker : Ulrik Langen (University of Copenhagen)
Venue: Jesus College, Turl Street OX1 3DW
Venue Details: Ship Street Centre
Organisers: TBA
Hosts: TBA

Monday 12 May 2025

The Queen’s Court: Materiality and Colour at Early Modern Scandinavian Courts
Date: 12 May 2025, 16:30 - 17:30
Speaker : Dustin Neighbors (University of Helsinki)
Venue: Jesus College, Turl Street OX1 3DW
Venue Details: Memorial Room
Organisers: TBA
Hosts: TBA

Monday 26 May 2025

The Royal Court and the Sejm in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the Seventeenth Century
Date: 26 May 2025, 16:30 - 17:30
Speaker : Katarzyna Kosior (Northumbria University)
Venue: Jesus College, Turl Street OX1 3DW
Venue Details: Memorial Room
Organisers: TBA
Hosts: TBA

Monday 9 June 2025

Court Factions and Crown Authority: Contesting the Status of Burgundy within the Holy Roman Empire at the Court of Emperor Friedrich III of Habsburg (Co-convened with the Oxford Early Modern Central European Seminar Series)
Date: 9 June 2025, 16:30 - 17:30
Speaker : Richard Schlag (Jesus College, Oxford)
Organisers: TBA
Hosts: TBA

Editors: Laura Spence, Belinda Clark