Royal and princely courts: ancient, medieval and early modern

HISTORICAL TRIPOS Part I 2014
Paper 1
Option ii
THEMES AND SOURCES
Royal and Princely courts: Ancient, Medieval and Early Modern
Write an essay of 3000-5000 words (the word count is for text and does not include
footnotes and bibliography) on ONE of the following questions. Your essay must be
typewritten and should be provided with footnotes and a bibliography giving references,
in a consistent format, to the primary sources and secondary literature used.
For further details on presentation (including how to count statistical graphs and
tables) please consult the Faculty Style Guide. Please also read carefully the Themes
and Sources Guidelines, and the Themes and Sources Information Sheet on long
essays, all of which are available on the Faculty website.
Indicate the question number and copy in full the wording of the question at the start of
your submission.
Unless your question requires otherwise, you may concentrate on any particular period or
region within the scope of the course.
All essays should be related to the issues discussed in the classes. You should, make use
of the primary sources n your course folder and any other sources your course director or
essay supervisor advises you to consult.
If you choose a topic from Section B, you must formulate a specific essay title within the
general theme identified by the topic heading and then obtain approval for that title form
the course director before the end of Easter Full Term (Friday 14 th June 2013).
TWO copies of your essay and ONE electronic copy (preferably on CD) must be
submitted to the Themes and Sources secretary in the Faculty Office on Friday,
17 th January 2014.
Section A: Essay questions
1 To what extent do visual representations and expressions of Roman imperial
power coincide with the literary accounts
2 From 324 AD there were ‘Two Romes’ (Rome and Constantinople). What
impact did this have on imperial power and the role of the imperial court
3 Was the Carolingian promotion of culture and learning primarily Christian in
its inspiration

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4 How would you account for the particular emphases of the learning and fine
arts cultivated by the Renaissance princes of Italy
5 To what extent is it appropriate to speak of ‘court politics’ in England between
c.1370 and 1509 Answer with reference to one or more English courts.
6 To what extent were the Tudor courts of England European Renaissance courts
7 To what extent did the reception of foreign ambassadors at the Ottoman court
shape western perceptions of the Ottoman Empire in the early modern period
8 What was the role of the courts of George I and George II in either the
political or the cultural life of eighteenth-century Britain
Section B: Topics
9 The royal offices and government.
10 Patronage of the arts and learning.
11 Palaces.
12 Princes and religion.
13 Ceremonial.
14 Diplomacy.
15 Royal and princely women.
16 Court politics.