ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the traditional forms of festivals through which the king displayed his authority and established contact with key political figures. It analyses the development of court festivals in the second half of the sixteenth century, paying particular attention to their religious dimension. The chapter examines their subversive character and the misunderstanding which they prompted among contemporaries. The king's policy of promoting political reintegration was undermined by the way in which the nobles at court behaved towards each other. It was also misunderstood by contemporaries. Festivals and royal ceremonies played an essential role in the renewal of the mechanisms which supported the monarchy. Court festivals were thus both an occasion for negotiations through which the prince could reach an understanding with the actors on the political stage, and the vehicle whereby different facets of royal authority were expressed.
