Household and court society

This international conference will focus on research into the household, which has been mainly studied as the core of the monarch‘s court, with an emphasis on identifying individuals who were close to the monarch/sovereign on a daily basis. At the same time, the household has been defined by historians as a subsystem of the court. In conjunction with these conclusions, the challenge remains to understand the household in an interdisciplinary context so as to create space for comparing the results of historical scholarship and particularly archaeological findings. In archaeology, we find the theme of the household immanently present in the investigations of human dwellings and activities. At the same time, the theme offers comparisons with several other disciplines and fields as the household formed not only a foundational space for its members, individuals, and families but also provided a space for a range of activities and skills that primarily covered basic human needs. On the other hand, it shaped the future of the household’s members, especially in terms of social or gender roles. Moreover, the sovereign’s household included both the noble and the low-born, and various personal-social ties were formed not only between family members but also between tutors, nannies, etc. Written sources from various genres were produced for the functioning of households, as well as everyday objects that were used for practical utility, comfort, or entertainment. The theme of the household in the directions of research not only clearly permeates the courtly environment but also offers intersections with research on all social strata of society, both in the Middle Ages and in the modern period.