The Burgundian-Habsburg court as a military institution from Charles the Bold to Philip II (original) (raw)

I. Olivier de la Marche and the introduction of the Burgundian ceremonial in Spain Early in 1548 the emperor Charles V, who was staying at that time in Augsburg, sent the duke of Alba with a set of instructions to his son Philip, the acting regent of the Spanish realms. In his instructions, Charles urged Philip, among other things, to introduce the 'ceremonial of the court of Burgundy' into Spain. After half a year of preparations this order was put into practice on 15 August, so coinciding with the elaborately celebrated feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. 2 To obey the emperor's wishes, Philip and his courtiers needed a blueprint. They found one in the Estat et Maison du duc Charles de Burgoigne, written three quarters of a century earlier by Olivier de la Marche on request of the English king Edward IV. 3 In fact, evidence suggests that de la Marche's text was widely read in the Iberian Peninsula. Its Spanish translation has been transmitted to us in several printed versions and in a huge number of manuscripts, nearly all dating from the mid sixteenth century or later. At that time, the introduction of the 'Burgundian ceremonial' thus must have made a great impact upon Philip's court. 4 Seen in this respect, Olivier de Marche not only directed affairs at the courts of the three successive Burgundian dukes he served during his lifetime as great master of their households (maître de l'hôtel) or as captain of their guardsmen, 5 but 1 Steven Gunn and Atheun Janse commented on an earlier version this article. Their suggestions have greatly enhanced the quality of this article. Obviously all remaining errors are mine.