The Preparation of Embassies and the Protocols Followed by Royal Portuguese Ambassadors in the Late Middle Ages (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
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.
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.
Portuguese Notaries in late Medieval Iberian Diplomacy
VIGIL MONTES, Néstor (dir.), Comunicación política y diplomacia en la Baja Edad Media, Évora: Publicações do CIDEHUS, 2019
What role did the notaries play in diplomacy during the Middle Ages? Naturally, the legal contracts that report the diplomatic activity between states have to be registered properly, thus the importance of writing to diplomacy is unquestionable. In this paper we will focus on the period between the 14th and the 15th centuries in the Iberian Peninsula, paying special attention to the relationships between the Kingdom of Portugal and that of Castile. By analysing different types of sources produced by notaries, we aim to present a brief analysis of the participation of these agents and of their activities in the diplomatic history of Medieval Iberia, looking at their activities in regard to their crafts, courses and careers, as well as to lay down a common profile for these agents.
Diplomatics: The Science of Reading Medieval Documents. A Handbook, Milano 2024
Writing a manual, we all know, is no easy task and that fact, which applies toallscientificdisciplines,iseventruerforDiplomatics,asciencewhose aim is the critical analysis of medieval documents in order to determine their value, in both the public and the private dimension, as a historical record. Thattaskismadeevenmoredifficultwhenthedecisionistakentouse the language of countries that have no tradition in this field of studies, notably English-speaking ones: the useful and up-to-date thematic bibliography at the end of this book reveals that the only manual in English that exists today-Diplomatics. New Uses for an Old Science by Lucia Duranti-is actually aimed exclusively at archivists and not at specialists. Diplomatics,likeanyfieldof investigation,hasitsownveryprecisetechnical terminology, a set of words and expressions that are not always immediately and easily translatable, as evidenced by the Vocabulaire international de la Diplomatique, edited by Maria Milagros Cárcel Ortí, in which numerous lexemes lack an equivalent in the English language. The author must therefore be given credit for having brilliantly overcome the numerous obstacles encountered along the way, starting, as he himself states in the Introduction, with the choice of a "Latin handbook, the famous and traditional Diplomatica Generalis by Paulius Rabikauskas S.I., because of its clearness and completeness, and because it is written in a 'neutral' language (i.e. not in any particular modern European language)." Anapproachthatatfirstglancemighthaveseemedrisky,butwhichinstead proved to be a highly successful one. The result is a clear and agile guide that presents "the sequence of the chapters and the arguments in Rabikauskas' handbook." And yet it would be wrong and overly simplistic to consider it a simple, albeit commendable, translation the author's contribution is indeed considerable, updating and enhancing as it does the 13 chapters of which it is comprised, thanks to his experience. Finally, we cannot fail to mention the elaborate set of excellent photographic reproductions of the documentation kept in the Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan-a treasure chest of unparalleled gems-which accompany each topic covered and provide beautiful illustrations of it. Itis,then,alongoverduetextbookthatfillsasignificantgapinDiplomatic studiesandfinallyprovidestheEnglish-speakingpublicwithanopportunity to learn about the fascinating world of medieval documentation. Marta Calleri 8 Diplomatics: the Science of Reading Medieval Documents 10 Diplomatics: the Science of Reading Medieval Documents Chapter I. What is Diplomatics? Diplomatics is the science of studying documents, especially medieval documents. "Diplomatics" has nothing to do with diplomacy. The word comesfrom"diploma,"meaningacertified,juridicalwrittentext;theterm diploma was used for a particular kind of document in the late Roman empire. The discipline of diplomatics was born in France in the seventeenth century. At that time there were "diplomatic wars" (bella diplomatica) over propertiestestifiedtobydocuments(diplomata), whose authenticity or lack thereof was verified through paleographical examination. In 1681, Jean Mabillonwrotethefirsttreatiseondiplomatics,entitlingit"Derediplomatica," and thereby coining the name of the new discipline, which analyzed medieval documents written in Latin. In the following centuries, diplomatics developed in all European continental countries and entered the universities, where a systematic structure was created for the discipline. It became the science of acts, documents, and documentary records. In German its name is Urkundenlehre, that is, "science of documents"; in Romance languages the terms are derived from Latin: the French diplomatique, Italian diplomatica, Spanish diplomática, etc. In the past as well as the present, in Europeanuniversitiestheobjectsof studyforthedisciplinehavebeenthe same: public and private documents, their external and internal characteristics, chronology, transmission, registration, modern editions, and so on. What about diplomatics in the English-speaking world? Of course a discipline regarding documents, a "diplomatics," developed there as well, but the structure of the discipline was not a systematic one, about all kinds of documents and their nature. Rather, it had a historical bent and a chronological structure, focusing only on British medieval documents that pertained to Great Britain, medieval British kings, and medieval British chanceries. This is an essential point. While in continental Europe diplomatics is the theoretical general science of the medieval document, in the English-speaking tradition, diplomatics pays much (and valuable) attention to British chanceries, but little or no attention to other countries, and little or no attention to the general characteristics of documents. Diplomatics so interpreted is almost a 12 Diplomatics: the Science of Reading Medieval Documents 15 I. What is Diplomatics? 18 Diplomatics: the Science of Reading Medieval Documents
During the Seventeenth century, the Republic of Lucca, as a small state, needed to seek protection especially from Spain, which was the actual ruler of the Italian peninsula; for this reason it was important to have a resident ambassador in Madrid. Connections and friendships were essential for the ambassador to obtain precious information on what was happening around Europe and to negotiate matters in the interest of his Republic (and even in his own) at the court of His Catholic Majesty. The case study, which I present, is the embassy of Lorenzo Cenami in Madrid in the second half of the 17th century (1662-1674) and is based on both public sources and private ones, the latter held in the Cenami family archives. This paper has two aims. Firstly, it intends to reconstruct the network of people with whom the diplomat interacts: other diplomats, members of Consejos and Junta de gobierno, people connected with king Philip IV, and then with the queen Gobernadora Mariana of Austria and with the child king Charles II. Secondly, it will focus on how the ambassador constructs this large network of relationships: making his moves, in the various shifts of balance within the court during twelve years, requires not only a good knowledge of who are the prominent people, but also recurrent interactions through frequent visits, formal and informal meetings, and a vast use of the practice of gift giving.
in: Clio@Themis, 2020
This paper examines the development, by late medieval ius commune jurists, of a notion of diplomatic representation which is rooted in the doctrine of private law agency. In particular, it endeavours to study the basis and limits of ambassadors' negotiating powers, by analysing some issues relating to procuration and the ratification of treaties. The conclusion illustrates the persistence of the central role of this notion of diplomatic representation in the discussion of the matter right up until the late eighteenth century, thus allowing us to appreciate the importance of the contribution made by late medieval ius commune to the early modern discussion of the status of the ambassador.