Diplomacy as a „Part-Time“ Service? Johann Marcus Count Clary and Aldringen as an Imperial Resident to Saxony at the End of the 17th Century (a paper given at the International conference Splendid Encounters IV in Budapest in September 2015) (original) (raw)
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Cosmopolitanism and the Career Path of Diplomats in Early Modern Germany
Much has been written on cosmopolitanism and early modern states in the context of the seventeenth-century revival of this ancient idea. Philosophers and theorists like Leibniz, Saint-Pierre, Rousseau and Kant tried to show that perpetual peace was only possible if the ideal of a supranational state (in the form of a confederation, for example) would replace the different European nations, which constantly made war on each other 1 . These theoretical peace projects, of course, also possessed a political dimension. Yet, the more important question for our knowledge of early modern international relations is: what did the practice of early modern diplomacy actually look like? To answer this question we should ask the following ones: To what extent were diplomats themselves cosmopolitans? Why? What was the influence of the cosmopolitan peace theories elaborated by Leibniz, Kant, Rousseau and others, on their professional practices? If the careers of the most famous ambassadors have received extensive treatment in the scholarly literature, the life and actions of most diplomatic actors such as agents, residents,
CALL FOR PAPERS: THE PERFORMANCE OF DIPLOMACY IN THE EARLY MODERN WORLD - An International Symposium
Diplomacy is a performance. The stage is set on the streets and palaces that centre upon the spaces of political power. The audience is made up of the prince and the court, the pope and the curia, the emperor and the diet, the doge and the senate, the sultan and his viziers. The cast is composed of the diplomats, each grasping for attention, each vying to out-do the other. They follow a plot formed of ceremony and etiquette that defines the spheres of interaction and elevates the smallest issues in precedence and protocol to the status of grave insults and greater rivalries. As this conference will explore, diplomacy as 'spectacle' is no mere metaphor for political interaction, but an elevation of how it was practiced as performance. No other activity in the early modern world allowed for such a cultural exchange to flow, artistic endeavour to be patronised, or expense to be lavished on the aggrandisement of events, entertainments, and festivities. Indeed, these efforts were orchestrated: the ambassadors themselves were both impresarii and lead actors. Ceremonial entries, banquets, masquerade balls, commissions of music or dramatic pieces, naumachie, and festivities of all kinds provided diplomats with the means to display their own value and merit, influence others, and to obtain prestige and standing as a mode to succeed in their negotiations and missions. Comprehending the ambassador as a cultural mediator is more than just conceiving of the diplomatic agent as a conduit of exchange: it is instead the recognition of the power of diplomatic activity to transform culture through the process of mediation, and more, the appreciation of the sphere of diplomatic mediation as a most fertile ground for cultural invention and innovation, the legacies of which are still felt today.
This paper examines the previously unknown diplomatic mission of Hermann Jakob Count Czernin von Chudenitz in Warsaw in 1695. Neither Polish nor Czech nor Austrian historians paid any attention to it. Based on this, however, it is possible to demonstrate perfectly how tense the relations between Emperor Leopold I and the Polish King John III Sobieski, who, at the end of their lives, were officially allies in the Holy League. The author first briefly introduces this mission and then, using it as an example, attempts to show how the travels of the imperial ambassadors of that time were organised and also unveils other additional aspects of the diplomatic service. Above all he reconstructed the court of Count Czernin, who was surrounded by over 80 people, and also located the place of his accommodation in Warsaw and showed which apartment the Count possessed as an ambassador. Finally, he examined the question of the financial costs of this stay, and documented the fact that the ambassador had to pay many expenses from his own pocket, and that this mission had cost him cca. 50,000 guldens. U p till now neither in the Czech nor in the Polish nor in the Austrian historiography has any work in regard to the diplomatic mission of Hermann Jakob Czernin von Chudenitz to Poland in 1695 originated. In the Czech environment this is not surprising, because until recently almost no one there was actually dealing with the diplomacy of the early modern period and this situation has only improved during the last five years by the publication of the results of the systematic research work that was carried 1 This study originated as a part of the solution of the GA ČR's standard project No. 13–12939S entitled Bohemian and Moravian Nobility in the Habsburg Diplomatic Service (1640–1740). At this point I would like to note that the final form of this study originated with the assistance of several friends and colleagues. The results of his research of personal correspondence from the 1690's were kindly provided to me by Petr Maťa from Vienna, for which I thank him very much. I am also grateful to Vítězslav Prchal (for the data obtained from the Viennese archives concerning the funding of Czernin's mission) and to both the reviewers of this article (for the other recommended literature).
Diplomats and Diplomacy in the Early Modern Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (XVII Century)
Eastern European History Review, 2021
Il Comitato redazionale e scienti co è lieto di presentare al pubblico la rivista scienti ca Eastern European History Review. Con un carattere internazionale e interdisciplinare, una cadenza annuale e una fruibilità open access la rivista focalizza i propri interessi sulle dinamiche occorse nell'Europa Orientale durante tutta l'età moderna (XIV-XIX). Eastern European History Review è espressione del Centro Studi dell'Università della Tuscia CESPoM (Centro Studi sull'età dei Sobieski e della Polonia Moderna) nato nel per intuizione del Prof. Gaetano Platania, Direttore Emerito della Rivista. L'iniziativa editoriale che presentiamo nasce dall'evidente mancanza in Italia di una rivista scienti ca relativa alla storia dell'Europa centro-orientale in Età Moderna, nonostante la penisola abbia giocato un ruolo fondamentale per la Storia e la Cultura di una parte integrante del continente, a torto considerata come lontana e periferica. Consapevoli di questo, il Comitato ha posto quale obiettivo primario della Eastern European History Review quello di off rire uno spazio di ri essione e di discussione su temi che appartengono alla storia dell'Europa centro-orientale, e insieme alle relazioni-politiche e culturali-che questa vasta area del Vecchio Continente ha avuto con l'occidente d'Europa, e l'Italia in particolare, incoraggiando il dialogo tra studiosi e esperti di settore, e tra diff erenti approcci della ricerca scienti ca. Il Comitato Redazionale e Scienti co EASTERN EUROPEAN HISTORY REVIEW: THE JOURNAL e Editorial and Scienti c Board are proud delighted to present the Eastern European History Review under the aegis of Sette Città Editore. e Eastern European History Review is an international and interdisciplinary annually online and open access peer-reviewed journal about studies on Ceantral and Eastern Europe in the Modern Age (XIV-XIX). e Journal is also the expression of the Study Center CESPoM (Centro Studi sull'età dei Sobieski e della Polonia Moderna-Center Study on the Age of Sobieski and Modern Poland) of the University of Tuscia, born in , from an idea of Prof. Gaetano Platania, today Director Emeritus of this journal. It publishes articles with signi cant approaches and original interpretations in all research elds concerning Central and Eastern Europe, with speci c attention to the History sciences. e editorial initiative we present comes from the obvious lack of a journal, in Italy, concerning the history of Central and Eastern Europe during the Modern Age, this despite its fundamental role in the history and culture of that part of the continent, wrongly considered distant and peripheral. Quite the contrary is true, in fact. Main objective of the journal is to create a space for re ection and discussion on topics pertaining to Central and Eastern Europe, but also relations with Continental Europe, encouraging dialogue between scholars and experts in the eld, and between diff erent approaches of scienti c research.