Loading...
Catherine's tears : Diplomatic corporeality, affective performance, and gender at the sixteenth-century French court
Broomhall, Susan
Broomhall, Susan
Author
Abstract
CATHERINE DE’ MEDICI’S tears were a significant part of diplomatic interactions and the subject of intense study by foreign political agents at court. In courtly receptions and formal audiences, both words and gesture were considered vital aspects of the political messages being conveyed. These presentations were complemented by other sources of information and observation gathered by diplomats in the courtly environment in order to understand the character, corporeal and affective behaviour, and thus meanings of the performances, of their French hosts. Moreover, as I will explore, diplomatic political agents considered the emotional and social, as well as political, implications of Catherine’s tears for them. Their perceptions were founded upon understandings about the power of female tears to permeate their own bodies in complex ways.
Keywords
Date
2019
Type
Book chapter
Journal
Book
Fluid bodies and bodily fluids in premodern Europe : Bodies, blood, and tears in literature, theology, and art
Volume
Issue
Page Range
55-72
Article Number
ACU Department
Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry
Faculty of Theology and Philosophy
Faculty of Theology and Philosophy
Collections
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
License
All rights reserved
File Access
Controlled