The Political Communication of the Hungarian King and the Estates at the Ceremonies of the Diet between 1687 and 1765

Abstract

The oration was a significant constituent of the ceremonies on the diets. In Hungarian political culture, the most luxurious ceremony was the reception of the King/Queen in the Diet (highest legislative body of the kingdom), which often meant the first meeting of the King/Queen and the His/Her subjects, since the seat of the Habsburg rulers had been in Vienna. The ceremonial entrance consisted of four stations. Firstly, one of the Catholic bishops held a speech in Wolfsthal, an Austrian village close to the Hungarian border, then the Archbishop of Esztergom welcomed the ruler at Köpcsény, at the border of the kingdom. The town clerk of Pressburg held his speech at the Vienna gate of Pressburg, and then at the castle the Archbishop of Esztergom received the ruler in the name of the clergy. The King, the Court Chancellor of Hungary and—in name of the estates—the Archbishop of Esztergom held orations at the official opening of the Diet, which was signed by the deliverance of the royal propositions, in which the ruler, exercising His/Her royal rights, prescribed the issues negotiated at the Diet. Historians have at their disposal texts of speeches (more often fragments, or short notes), which are used for content analysis of the symbolism and topicality in the communication of the king and the estates is possible. Through the analysis of these celebratory speeches, the paper illustrates some aspects of the dialogue between the ruler and the estates, and presents their reflection upon the political situation and the political language, rhetorical techniques and compositional elements they used. The political language is considered with a focus on the rulers’ depiction of the speakers, and on the usage of the rhetorical figures.