„AD MAIOREM GENTIS GLORIAM“ JAN ADOLF ZE SCHWARZENBERKU A ŘÁD ZLATÉHO ROUNA
"AD MAIOREM GENTIS GLORIAM" JOHN ADOLF OF SCHWARZENBERG AND THE ORDER OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE

Author(s): Kristýna Bauerová
Subject(s): Diplomatic history, Political history, 17th Century
Published by: Masarykova univerzita nakladatelství
Keywords: Jan Adolf of Schwarzenberg; Order of the Golden Fleece;
Summary/Abstract: Using modern theoretical perspectives of historical anthropology and the concept of symbolic communication, this study focuses on the ceremony awarding Jan Adolf of Schwarzenberg the Order of the Golden Fleece that took place on the 1st December 1650 in Brussels. The study’s aim is to reconstruct the proceedings consisting of separate ritual steps related to being accepted to one of the most prestigious orders of the Early Modern Period. The substantial part of the study is concerned with the interpretation of chronologically ordered parts of the performance that are considered according to their symbolical contents. The study also attempts to reconstruct Jan Adolf of Schwarzenberg’s nets of noble communicants who helped him to be awarded the longed-for Order of the Golden Fleece by the means of sending an intercession to the Spanish king or the emperor. Last but not least, the author of the study intends to outline the symbolic meaning of surviving congratulatory documents on the occasion of the awarding and letters of thanks that the count sent to his communicants. On the basis of the analysis of the previously mentioned documents, it is obvious that they did not only retain the memory of the exceptional honour for future generations but they served also to increase Jan Adolf of Schwarzenberg’s honourable status in the eyes of his contemporaries.

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