Das Bestiarium des Duc de Saint-Simon : zur 'humanimalen Sozialität' am französischen Königshof um 1700

Abstract

Summary The Bestiary of the Duke of Saint-Simon. „Humanimal Sociality“ at the Royal Court of France around 1700 The memoirs of Louis de Rouvroy, Duc de Saint-Simon (1675–1755), are among the most studied sources on French court life under King Louis XIV. Historians have, however, largely overlooked the presence of animals in the „Memoires“. Based on the empirical example of Saint-Simon’s account, the article aims at broadening our understanding of the early modern „court society“ (Norbert Elias) as a social figuration of interacting animate beings. While equine competences had had a decisive role in the courtly career of Saint-Simon’s father, the author of the memoirs confined himself largely to the role of an observer who documented the interactions at court that involved animals. In the duke’s critical view, the hunting practices of the king stood for his arbitrary, luxurious system of power, whereas the exchange of animal gifts between members of the court elite revealed patronage ties. Furthermore, Sa...