«Admirables efectos de la Providencia…». Fiesta y Poder con motivo de Coronaciones en El Sacro Imperio Romano

Abstract

The Hapsburg coronation ceremonies offered ideal opportunities to display splendour and political power. Both  the ritualized official act of the coronation and the concomitant festivities were widely used as instruments of political propaganda; they served to legitimize the pretensions of the heirs to the throne and to reinforce the solidarity of subjects with their sovereign. Thus theatre and festivities were important media of political communication and social interaction in courtly life. On the occasion of coronations of members of the Hapsburg family, numerous festivities were organized not only at the imperial court in Vienna, but also in the cities where the coronation took place and at friendly or allied courts. The coronations generated a large number and variety of festivities that reflected the current constellations of power in Europe and the diplomatic strategies of the monarchs and their representatives.