Of a Princely Court in the Burgundian Netherlands, 1467-1503 Jun
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Court in the Market: The ‘Business’ of a Princely Court in the Burgundian Netherlands, 1467-1503 Jun Hee Cho Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2013 © 2013 Jun Hee Cho All rights reserved ABSTRACT Court in the Market: The ‘Business’ of a Princely Court in the Burgundian Netherlands, 1467-1503 Jun Hee Cho This dissertation examines the relations between court and commerce in Europe at the onset of the modern era. Focusing on one of the most powerful princely courts of the period, the court of Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy, which ruled over one of the most advanced economic regions in Europe, the greater Low Countries, it argues that the Burgundian court was, both in its institutional operations and its cultural aspirations, a commercial enterprise. Based primarily on fiscal accounts, corroborated with court correspondence, municipal records, official chronicles, and contemporary literary sources, this dissertation argues that the court was fully engaged in the commercial economy and furthermore that the culture of the court, in enacting the ideals of a largely imaginary feudal past, was also presenting the ideals of a commercial future. It uncovers courtiers who, despite their low rank yet because of their market expertise, were close to the duke and in charge of acquiring and maintaining the material goods that made possible the pageants and ceremonies so central to the self- representation of the Burgundian court. It exposes the wider network of court officials, urban merchants and artisans who, tied by marriage and business relationships, together produced and managed the ducal liveries, jewelries, tapestries and finances that realized the splendor of the court. It shows how the princely court adapted to and harnessed the commercial economy of the urban network, employing nominally feudal titles and structures. Furthermore, it reveals how courtly understandings of magnificence and honor were also demonstrations of commercial prowess and acknowledgements of commercial wealth, even as these discourses were framed in terms of chivalric ideals. The princely court was neither merely a predatory expropriator of urban wealth nor a rapacious consumer of luxury goods, but also an active participant in the commercial economy. By examining the ‘business’ of a princely court, this dissertation seeks to contribute to our understanding of the socio-cultural manifestations of state and market formation during the late medieval and early modern era. This study is one testimony of how Europeans sought to make sense of, and more importantly, to channel and control the tides of commercialization, utilizing the institutional and cultural frameworks they inherited from their past. The intertwined relationship between the princely court and the commercial economy in the Burgundian Netherlands draws our attention to the common processes, institutions and cultures that laid the groundwork for the modern state and the capitalist economy. Table of Contents List of Tables ii Acknowledgements iii Introduction The Burgundian Netherlands at the Crux of State and Market Formation in Early Modern Europe 1 Chapter 1. Towards a New Understanding of the Burgundian Court : A State, A Stage, An Enterprise 30 Chapter 2. Of Keepers and Stewards, or the ‘Courtier-cum-Entrepreneurs’ of the Burgundian Court 67 Chapter 3. Following and Attending the Court : Urban Merchants and Artisans in Court Business 109 Chapter 4. “So Great Riches, In so Little a Space” - Magnificence, Honor and Wealth in the Court Culture of the Burgundian Netherlands 156 Chapter 5. Epilogue Court and Commerce at the End of the Burgundian Era 204 Conclusion Reflections on the European ‘Cockpit’ of Court and Commerce 232 Bibliography 244 i List of Tables Table 1. The Transactions of Jean Nyvart, 1468-9. 76 Table 2. The Structure of the Burgundian Court, c. 1469. 103 ii Acknowledgements It is a great joy to express my gratitude to the many teachers and colleagues, people and institutions, family and friends that made this work possible. I owe my utmost gratitude to my advisor Martha Howell. It was in her seminar that seeds of this project were sown, and it was her steady guidance, warm encouragements, and unfailing support that brought this work to fruition. She has steered me through graduate studies, advised me in research abroad, led me through multiple drafts of my work, and has been an inspiration personally and academically. In my journey as a doctoral student, Martha has been an embodiment of generous scholarly motherhood. I am also deeply grateful to Adam Kosto. His attentive reading of my drafts and his critical interventions significantly improved my work. Through the graduate courses he offered, the professional and practical advice he provided, and the earnest and friendly manner of his interactions, he has been a model of professional scholarship. I would like to express my gratitude to Pamela Smith who, through her innovative works, first introduced me to new methods in social and cultural history. She kindly chaired my defense committee and provided important suggestions for reframing my work. I am thankful to Carl Wennerlind for his kind-hearted and clear-eyed comments on my work, from my prospectus to my defense, gently prodding me to clarify my use of concepts and arguments that engage economic history. Samantha Kelly of Rutgers University kindly served on my defense committee and provided valuable comments in situating my work in a longer perspective and broader context. iii At Columbia University, I have benefitted from a vibrant intellectual community that has fostered both my research and teaching. Matthew Jones provided insightful comments on my prospectus and, through his undergraduate and graduate classes, taught me how to combine research and teaching in stimulating ways. Seminars and oral fields with Isser Woloch and Euan Cameron taught me to be both attentive to the details of the sources and aware of the broader historiographical debates. Deborah Valenze, Lisa Tiersten and Herbert Sloan provided me with experiences and exemplars of teaching. The valuable experience of teaching the Core Curriculum also enriched my own work. And the many workshops and seminars year round provided venues to be exposed to new approaches and exchange ideas with many faculty and visiting scholars. My graduate studies at Columbia would not have been possible without the close companionship of my dear colleagues and friends, Michael Heil, Deborah Hamer, and Ariel Rubin. Also, through the various stages of graduate studies, I was thankful to meet ever kind and helpful colleagues, such as Ellen Wurtzel, Megan Williams, Erik Goldner, Rahul Govind, Kira von Ostenfeld, Sarah Raskin, Ariel Duncan, Ezra Siller, Nathan Perl- Rosenthal, Jared Manasek, Chiara Tessaris, Eileen Ryan, Adam Bronson, Timothy Yang, Hannah Barker, Kyoungjin Bae and many more. For my research in Europe, I am grateful for the kind help that was extended by many scholars. Walter Prevenier from the very beginning of my doctoral studies has been most kind and generous in sharing his knowledge and providing advice, and it has been a privilege to receive his help. Marc Boone kindly sponsored my stay at the University of Ghent and graciously provided me access to the resources of the department and even his iv own library. At Ghent, I also had the fortune and pleasure of being welcomed by a community of scholars who generously shared their researches with this foreigner making his first steps in Belgium. Peter Stabel, Jan Dumolyn, Jelle Haemers, Jonas Braekevelt, Bert Verwerft, and Daniel Lievois all freely provided me with help, and I have benefited from their work. I am especially grateful for the wonderful friendship with Frederik Buylaert and Tjamke Snijders, who even before I met them in Belgium, were sharing with me their experiences of having studied in the U.S. and with whom I could share the joys and toils of historical research and personal life. In Brussels, Erik Spindler was a dear colleague and cherished friend, and I was fortunate to receive help from fellow researchers, Chloé Deligne, David Kusman, Katherine Wilson, and Laura Crombie. Finally, I am indebted to the generosity of the staff in the libraries and archives in Lille and Brussels who kindly guided me and answered my many inquiries. The financial support of many institutions made my study and research possible. The Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies enabled me to begin and complete my graduate studies abroad. At Columbia University, the Hofstadter Fellowship of the history department, the Alice Hanson Jones Fellowship for Economics and History and the Dissertation Writing Fellowship of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences supported my studies. The Mellon Fellowship in Humanities for Dissertation Research in Original Sources, administered by the Council on Library and Information Resources, and the Columbia University International Travel Grant was crucial in allowing me to spend a year and a half in Europe to conduct research, while the Shawn Fellowship for Historical Research provided me the opportunity to return for follow-up research. v My studies began at Seoul National University in South Korea, and the intellectual nourishment and academic training I received from my professors there have been the foundations of my own work. I am especially indebted to Kyung-chul Jou who guided and supported me through my graduate studies and kindled my interest in the early modern world. I also enjoyed the company of compatriots studying interesting and diverse fields at Columbia University, and I thank Jangwook Huh, Kyoungwoo Lee, Dongyup Lee, Kunsoo Park, Yonggyu Lee, Jeongsok Song and others for their friendship. Above all, the unconditional love and faith of my dear parents, Sung-Ki Cho and Sang-Ran Ahn, made this quest possible. My greatest debt and deepest thanks go to them, and this work is dedicated to them.