Regal ceremonies and diplomatic practices. Contributions from the travel narratives from the 15th century (original) (raw)
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e-journal of Portuguese History, vol. 17, n.1, 2019
Diplomatic correspondence and the information transmitted through letters of instruction, which gave diplomats the necessary support for the performance of their duties, have become a highly important subject in the study of medieval diplomacy. In documents of this type, we can find some quite remarkable and valuable information about what could or could not be said in diplomatic contexts, outlining the rituals, attitudes, and procedures that a diplomat was required to adopt in the course of his international mission. Together with the letters of instruction, diplomats also carried with them letters of credence (commonly known as credentials). These were the documents that the various monarchs gave to their legitimate representatives, and which were designed to be presented at the courts visited by each diplomatic mission. These letters were essential for guaranteeing the correct conduct of negotiations, since, besides presenting the diplomats and expressing the wish that they be afforded credence in their role, these documents also explained the purpose of their missions. Thus, letters of instruction and credence are fundamental tools that enable historians to complete the picture of external relations through the description that they provide of other aspects of communication and symbolic representation, which sometimes tend to go unnoticed in different types of documents. In order to better understand certain fundamental aspects of this analysis, we complemented the information obtained from the aforementioned documentation with data from other documentary sources that indicate some of the protocols that were used in dealings with princes and kings of other realms, as well as the specific characteristics that some of the royal counsellors should have. Keywords Letter of instruction; letter of credence; diplomacy; ambassador; protocol; Middle Ages Resumo A correspondência e troca de informações, através das cartas de instrução que davam o suporte necessário à atuação de um diplomata, constitui um tema da maior 1 A first version of this work was presented at Splendid
2019
EnglishDiplomatic correspondence and the information transmitted through letters of instruction, which gavediplomatsthe necessary support for the performance of their duties, have become a highly important subject in the study of medieval diplomacy. In documents of this type, we can find some quite remarkable and valuable information about what could or could not be said in diplomatic contexts, outlining the rituals, attitudes, and procedures that a diplomat was required to adopt in the course of his international mission. Together with the letters of instruction, diplomats also carried with them letters of credence (commonly known ascredentials). These werethe documents that the various monarchs gave to their legitimate representatives, and which were designed to be presented at the courts visited by each diplomatic mission. These letters were essential for guaranteeing the correct conduct of negotiations, since, besides presenting the diplomats and expressing the wish that they be...
On The Way To The Empire: The Portuguese Diplomacy Of The Late Middle Ages
Studia Historica. Historia Medieval 42(1), 2024
At the end of the Middle Ages, the kings of Portugal broadened their network of diplomatic contacts while several navigators, on their behalf, were exploring the Atlantic. In this work, based on empirical research on 15 th-century embassies and ambassadors, the outlines of the Portuguese diplomacy of that time are presented, giving an account of who the interlocutors were, characterising the ways in which connections were established, addressing the importance of writing and the typology of the documents involved in the contacts, socially characterising the representatives of the monarchs and looking at the relevance of the ceremonies and rituals in these connections. It is intended, therefore, to point out what the external relations of the kings of Portugal of this period had in common with the diplomacy of the medieval West in general and to identify the specificities of the Portuguese case.
Legatio, 2020
Grand viziers acted as the utmost important figure in the Ottoman bureaucratic administration throughout the early modern era. Conducting relations with foreign countries and, hence, conforming to the rules of an established diplomatic practice in the process were among their duties. The present study, therefore, aims at highlighting the underrated procedure of grand vizierial audiences through selected cases from the first half of the seventeenth century. In this respect, dispatches and final reports of certain representatives of major European monarchs in Istanbul are brought to light along with complementary data from Ottoman fiscal records of the time. The reception of foreign diplomats by the grand vizier – which presents its own intricacies and follows its own set of rules – is hence laid under scrutiny to understand how a physical language of diplomacy was created. Accordingly, welcoming receptions by the grand viziers will be studied instead of focusing on the negotiation audiences between the grand viziers and the incoming embassies. Comparisons with the imperial audiences will also be useful both in underlining the differentiation of this physical language from the one employed in the audiences with the sultan and also in evaluating the diplomatic function of the grand vizier within the framework of Ottoman foreign relations. In this respect, the first receptions by the grand vizier were intended to welcome foreign embassies and played a crucial part in their diplomatic mission since the date for the sultanic audience was arranged herein. Moreover, exchange of gifts between the grand vizier and the emissaries, serving of refreshments and avoidance of any politically consequential issue during the meeting were the main elements of the grand vizierial receptions.