International Conference : Animals at Court

International Conference – Munich, 8-10 December

Whoever does research on courts encounters, if only peripherally, animals: from horses to hounds, falcons to fleas. Animals at court included animals for food production and consumption; for transport; for the hunt; for equestrian sports; for defence; for companionship; or simply for exhibition as exotica. Animals had symbolic functions too, as indicators of power and rank for princes and courtiers (in crests and coats of arms, for example the double-headed eagle of Austria), and as representations of life at court (as in La Fontaine’s phrase Peuple cameleon, people singe du maitre). A growing curiosity about the history of animals invites further study and an interdisciplinary approach to animals at court.

This Conference will be the first conference of the German branch of the London-based Society for Court Studies, from 8th to 10th December 2016

Organizers : Historisches Seminar der LMU München/ Society for Court Studies

Scientific coordinators: Dr. Nadir Weber (Universität Konstanz) and prof. Dr. Mark Hengerer (Ludwig-Maximilian University)

See the Preliminary program (PDF).

More informations here.