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{{Short description|Court of a monarch, or at some periods an important nobleman}}
{{Other uses|Royal Court (disambiguation){{!}}Royal Court}}
{{Hatnote|For alternative meanings of the word "court", see [[Court (disambiguation)]].}}
[[File:Bartolomeu de Gusmao presenting his invention to the Court of John V.PNG|thumb|right|300px|[[Bartolomeu de Gusmão]] presenting his invention to the court of [[John V of Portugal]].]]
A '''royal court''', often called simply a '''court''' when the royal context is clear, is an extended [[royal household]] in a [[monarchy]], including all those who regularly attend on a [[monarch]], or another central figure. Hence, the word ''court'' may also be applied to the [[wikt:coterie|coterie]] of a senior member of the [[nobility]]. Royal courts may have their seat in a designated place, several specific places, or be a mobile, [[itinerant court]].

In the largest courts, the royal households, many thousands of individuals constituted the court. These [[courtier]]s included the monarch or noble's [[camarilla]] and [[retinue]], household, nobility, [[clergy]], those with [[court appointment]]s, [[bodyguard]]s, and may also include emissaries from other kingdoms or visitors to the court. [[Prince étranger|Foreign prince]]s and foreign nobility in [[exile]] may also seek refuge at a court.

[[Near East|Near Eastern]] and [[Far East|Far Eastern]] courts often included the [[harem]] and [[Concubinage|concubines]] as well as [[eunuch]]s who fulfilled a variety of functions. At times, the harem was walled off and separate from the rest of the residence of the monarch. In [[Asia]], concubines were often a more visible part of the court. Lower ranking [[Domestic worker|servants]] and bodyguards were not properly called courtiers, though they might be included as part of the court or royal household in the broadest definition. Entertainers and others may have been counted as part of the court.

==Patronage and courtly culture==
[[File:The 'Court of Lahore'..jpg|thumb|The [[Sikh Empire|Sikh]] 'Court of Lahore'.]]
A [[royal household]] is the highest-ranking example of [[patronage]]. A [[regent]] or [[viceroy]] may hold court during the minority or absence of the hereditary ruler, and even an elected [[head of state]] may develop a court-like entourage of unofficial, personally-chosen advisers and "companions". The French word ''compagnon'' and its English derivation "companion" literally mean a "sharer of the bread" at table, and a court is an extension of the great individual's household. Wherever members of the household and bureaucrats of the administration overlap in personnel, it is reasonable to speak of a "court", for example in [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid Persia]], [[Ming dynasty|Ming China]], [[Kingdom of Sicily|Norman Sicily]], the [[Pope|papacy]] before 1870 (see: [[papal household]]), and the [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian Empire]]. A group of individuals dependent on the patronage of a great man, classically in ancient Rome, forms part of the system of "clientage" that is discussed under [[vassal]].

[[File:LordMacartneyEmbassyToChina1793.jpg|thumb|200px|The [[Macartney Embassy]]. Lord Macartney salutes the [[Qianlong Emperor]], but refuses to [[kowtow]].]]
[[File:Gouden Koetsier 2011.jpg|thumb|200px|The Dutch court is known for old traditions.]]
Individual rulers differed greatly in tastes and interests, as well as in political skills and in constitutional situations. Accordingly, some founded elaborate courts based on new [[palace]]s, only to have their successors retreat to remote [[castle]]s or to practical administrative centers. Personal retreats might arise far away from official court centres.

[[Etiquette]] and [[hierarchy]] flourish in highly structured court settings, and may leave conservative traces over generations. Most courts featured a strict [[order of precedence]], often involving [[imperial, royal and noble ranks]], [[Order of chivalry|orders of chivalry]], and [[nobility]]. Some courts even featured [[Court uniform and dress in the United Kingdom|court uniforms]]. One of the major markers of a court is [[ceremony]]. Most monarchal courts included ceremonies concerning the [[investiture]] or [[coronation]] of the [[monarch]] and [[audience (meeting)|audiences]] with the monarch. Some courts had ceremonies around the waking and the sleeping of the monarch, called a [[levée (ceremony)|levée]]. [[Orders of chivalry]] as honorific orders became an important part of court culture starting in the 15th century.<ref>{{cite web|last=Velde|first=François Velde|title=Legitimacy and Orders of Knighthood|url=http://www.heraldica.org/topics/orders/legitim.htm#accepted|work=Heraldica|access-date=25 February 2015|date=25 February 2004}}</ref> They were the right of the [[monarch]], as the [[fount of honour]], to create and grant.

==History==

===Early history===
The earliest developed courts were probably in the [[Akkadian Empire]], [[Ancient Egypt]], and [[Shang dynasty]]. However, there is evidence of courts as described in the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]]<ref>{{cite book|last1=Radner|first1=Karen|author-link = Karen Radner |title=The Oxford Handbook of Cuneiform Culture|date=22 September 2011|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford, UK|isbn=978-0-19-955730-1|pages=358–379}}</ref> and [[Zhou dynasty]].<ref>ChinaKnowledge.de encyclopedia, {{cite web|url=http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Zhou/zhou-admin.html |title=Chinese History - Zhou dynasty government and administration |access-date=2012-12-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130531215622/http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Zhou/zhou-admin.html |archive-date=2013-05-31 }}. Alternatively, the sequence was translated as '''prince, lord, elder, master, chieftain''': Brooks 1997:3 n.9.</ref>  Two of the earliest titles referring to the concept of a courtier were likely the ''ša rēsi'' and ''mazzāz pāni'' of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Groß|first1=Melanie|last2=Pirngruber|first2=Reinhard|title=On Courtiers in the Neo-Assyrian Empire: ša rēsi and mazzāz pāni|journal=Imperium and Officium Working Papers (IOWP)|date=September 2014|url=http://iowp.univie.ac.at/sites/default/files/IOWP_groß:pirngruber_courtiers.pdf|access-date=24 February 2015}}</ref> In Ancient Egypt, there is a title translated as [[High steward (Ancient Egypt)|high steward]] or great overseer of the house.<ref>Stephen Quirke: ''Titles and bureaux of Egypt 1850–1700 BC'', London 2004, {{ISBN|0-9547218-0-2}}, pp. 50–51, 61</ref> The royal courts influenced by the court of the Neo-Assyrian Empire such as those of the [[Median Empire]] and the [[Achaemenid Empire]] would also have identifiable developed courts with [[court appointment]]s and other features associated with later courts.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Dandamayev|first1=Muhammad|title=COURTS AND COURTIERS i. In the Median and Achaemenid periods|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/courts-and-courtiers-i|website=Encyclopædia Iranica|access-date=24 February 2015}}</ref>

[[File:Medes and Persians at eastern stairs of the Apadana, Persepolis.JPG|thumb|One of the series of the reliefs of the Persian and Median dignitaries at [[Apadana]] stairs of [[Persepolis]], all with weapons, but in a casual air—a rare depiction of an ancient court ceremony.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/persepolis|title=PERSEPOLIS – Encyclopaedia Iranica|last=electricpulp.com|website=www.iranicaonline.org|access-date=19 March 2018}}</ref>]]
The imperial court of the Achaemenid Empire at [[Persepolis]] and [[Pasargadae]] is the earliest identifiable complex court with all of the definitive features of a royal court such as a household, [[court appointment]]s, courtiers, and court ceremony.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Brosius|first1=Maria|chapter=New out of old? Court and court ceremonies in Achaemenid Persia|editor1-last=Spawforth|editor1-first=A. J. S.|title=The Court and Court Society in Ancient Monarchies|date=2007|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge UK|isbn=978-0-521-87448-9|pages=1–57}}<!--|access-date=24 February 2015--></ref> Though [[Alexander the Great]] had an entourage and the rudimentary elements of a court, it was not until after he conquered Persia that he took many of the more complex Achaemenid court customs back to the [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Kingdom of Macedonia]], developing a royal court that would later influence the courts of [[Hellenistic Greece]] and the [[Roman Empire]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Spawforth|first1=Tony|chapter=The court of Alexander the Great between Europe and Asia|editor1-last=Spawforth|editor1-first=A. J. S.|title=The Court and Court Society in Ancient Monarchies|date=2007|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge UK|isbn=978-0-521-87448-9|pages=93–97}}<!--|access-date=24 February 2015--></ref>

The [[Sasanian Empire]] adopting and developing the earlier court culture and customs of the Achaemenid Empire would also influence again the development of the complex court and court customs of the Roman Empire and [[Byzantine Empire]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Canepa|first1=Matthew|title=The Two Eyes of the Earth: Art and Ritual of Kingship between Rome and Sasanian Iran|date=2 February 2010|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0520257276}}<!--|access-date=24 February 2015--></ref>

The [[Byzantine bureaucracy and aristocracy|imperial court]] of the Byzantine Empire at [[Constantinople]] would eventually contain at least a thousand courtiers.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Byzantine Court Culture from 829 to 1204|last1 = Kazhdan|first1 = Alexander P.|publisher = Harvard University Press|year = 1995|isbn = 9780884023081|pages = 175|last2 = McCormick|first2 = Michael|editor-first = Henry|editor-last = Maguire|chapter = The Social World of the Byzantine Court|chapter-url = http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic450602.files/McCormickM1997.pdf}}</ref> The court's systems became prevalent in other courts such as those in the [[Balkans|Balkan]] states, the [[Ottoman Empire]], and [[Russia]].<ref>{{Cite book|title = New approaches to Balkan studies|last = Angelov|first = Dimiter G.|publisher = Brassey's|year = 2003|isbn = 1574887246|pages = 3, 11|chapter = Byzantinism: The Imaginary and Real Heritage of Byzantium in Southeastern Europe}}</ref> [[Byzantinism]] is a term that was coined for this spread of the Byzantine system in the 19th century.<ref>{{Cite book|title = New approaches to Balkan studies|last = Angelov|first = Dimiter G.|publisher = Brassey's|year = 2003|isbn = 1574887246|pages = 8|chapter = Byzantinism: The Imaginary and Real Heritage of Byzantium in Southeastern Europe}}</ref>

[[File:Xu Xianqing part12.jpg|thumb|left|Imperial court conference, Ming dynasty]]
===East Asia===
The imperial courts of [[Emperor of China|Chinese emperors]], known as {{transl|zh|cháotíng}} ({{lang|zh-Hant|朝廷}}), were among the largest and most complex of all. The [[Han dynasty]], [[Jin dynasty (266–420)|Western Jin dynasty]], and [[Tang dynasty]] occupied the large palace complex at [[Weiyang Palace]] located near [[Chang'an]], and the later [[Ming dynasty]] and [[Qing dynasty]] occupied the whole [[Forbidden City]] and other parts of [[Beijing]], the present capital city of [[China]]. By the [[Sui dynasty]], the functions of the imperial household and the imperial government were clearly divided.

During the [[Heian period]], [[Emperor of Japan|Japanese emperors]] and [[Imperial House of Japan|their families]] developed an exquisitely refined court that played an important role in their culture.

===Medieval and modern Europe===
After the collapse of the [[Roman Empire]] in the West, a true court culture can be recognised in the entourage of the [[Ostrogoth]] [[Theodoric the Great]] and in the court of [[Charlemagne]]. In the Roman East, a brilliant court continued to surround the [[Byzantine emperors]].

In [[Western Europe]], consolidation of power of local magnates and of kings in fixed administrative centres from the mid-13th century led to the creation of a distinct court culture that was the centre of intellectual and artistic patronage rivaling the [[abbot]]s and [[bishop]]s, in addition to its role as the apex of a rudimentary political bureaucracy that rivaled the courts of counts and dukes. The dynamics of hierarchy welded the court cultures together. Many early courts in Western Europe were [[itinerant court]]s that traveled from place to place.

Local courts proliferated in the splintered polities of [[medieval Europe]] and remained in [[Early Modern Europe|early modern times]] in Germany and in Italy. Such courts became known for intrigue and [[power (sociology)|power politics]]; some also gained prominence as centres and collective patrons of [[art]] and [[culture]]. In medieval Spain ([[Crown of Castile|Castile]]), provincial courts were created. Minor noblemen and ''burguesie'' allied to create a system to oppose the monarchy on many policy issues.  They were called "las Cortes de Castilla". These courts are the root of the current Spanish [[congress]] and [[senate]].

The courts of [[Burgundian State|Valois Burgundy]] and the [[Kingdom of Portugal]] were particularly influential over the development of court culture and pageantry in Europe. The court of [[Philip the Good]], [[Duke of Burgundy]] was considered one of the most splendid in Europe and would influence the development of court life later on for all of France and Europe.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Oosterwijk|first1=A Van|title=Staging the Court of Burgundy (Studies in Medieval and Early Renaissance Art History)|date=1 February 2013|publisher=Brepols Publishers|isbn=978-1905375820}}<!--|access-date=24 February 2015--></ref> Later, [[Aliénor de Poitiers]] of the Burgundian court would write one of the seminal books on court etiquette, ''Les honneurs de la cour'' (''Honours of the Court'').

Court life would reach its apogee of culture, complexity and etiquette at the courts of [[Palace of Versailles|Versailles]] under [[Louis XIV|Louis XIV of France]] and the [[Hofburg]] under the [[House of Habsburg|Habsburgs]].

As [[Executive (government)|political executive]] functions are assumed by [[democracy|democratic]] or [[republic]]an institutions, the function of noble courts is reduced once more to that of noble households, concentrating on personal service to the household head, [[ceremony|ceremonial]] and perhaps some residual politico-advisory functions. If [[republic]]an zeal has banished an area's erstwhile ruling [[nobility]], courts may survive in [[exile]]. Traces of royal court practices remain in present-day institutions like privy councils and governmental cabinets.

===Africa===
{{Main|Monarchy in Africa}}
[[File:Luxor temple38.JPG|thumb|right|A [[colonnade]] in Pharaoh [[Amenhotep III]]'s royal court at [[Luxor]].]]
A series of [[Pharaoh]]s ruled [[Ancient Egypt]] over the course of three millennia ({{circa|3150 BC}} to 31 BC), until it was conquered by the [[Roman Empire]]. In the same time period several kingdoms with their own royal courts flourished in the nearby [[Nubia]] region, with at least one of them, that of the so-called [[A-Group]] culture, apparently influencing the customs of Egypt itself. From the 6th to 19th centuries, Egypt was variously part of the [[Byzantine Empire]], Islamic Empire, [[Mamluk]] Sultanate, [[Ottoman Empire]] and [[British Empire]] with a distant monarch. The [[Sultanate of Egypt]] was a short lived protectorate of the [[United Kingdom]] from 1914 until 1922, when it became the [[Kingdom of Egypt]] and Sultan [[Fuad I of Egypt|Fuad I]] changed his title to King. After the [[Egyptian Revolution of 1952]] the monarchy was dissolved and Egypt became a republic.

In the [[Horn of Africa]], the [[Kingdom of Aksum]] and later the [[Zagwe dynasty]], [[Ethiopian Empire]] (1270–1974), and [[Aussa Sultanate]] all had royal courts. Various [[Somali aristocratic and court titles|Somali Sultanates]] also existed, including the [[Adal Sultanate]] (led by the [[Walashma dynasty]] of the [[Ifat Sultanate]]), [[Sultanate of Mogadishu]], [[Ajuran Sultanate]], Warsangali Sultanate, [[Geledi Sultanate]], [[Majeerteen Sultanate]] and [[Sultanate of Hobyo]].

The kingship system has been an integral part of the more centralised African societies for millennia. This is especially true in the [[Sahelian kingdoms|West African sahel]], where royal courts have been in existence since at least the era of the 9th century [[Takrur]] and [[Ghana empire]]s. The ruler of the 13th century [[Mali empire]], [[Mansa Musa]], brought a large number of his courtiers with him on the Islamic [[Hajj]] pilgrimage to [[Mecca]]. Today, the courts of the [[Ashanti people|Ashanti]] [[Nana (title)|nana]]s in modern [[Ghana]], the [[Mandé peoples|Mande]] members of the [[Soninke people#Social organisation and politics|Tunkalemmu]] caste  in Mali, the [[Bamum people|Bamum]] [[sultan]]s of [[Cameroon]], the [[Kanem Empire|Kanem]] [[shaykh]]s of [[Chad]], the [[Hausa people|Hausa]] [[emir]]s of northern [[Nigeria]], the [[inkosi]]s of the [[Southern African]] [[Zulu people|Zulus]] and [[Xhosa people|Xhosas]], and the [[Oba (ruler)|oba]]s and [[Oba (ruler)#Aristocratic titles among the Yoruba|baale]]s of [[Yorubaland]], amongst others, continue the pageantry and court lifestyle traditions once common to the continent.

===Americas===
{{Main|Maya rulers}}

==Court structure and organization==
===Court officials===
[[File:Triboulet gravure de J. A. Beauce et Rouget 385x500.jpg|thumb|right|180px|"Triboulet", illustration for the theater play "Le Roi S'Amuse" ("The King Takes His Amusement") by [[Victor Hugo]]. Gravure by J. A. Beaucé (1818–1875) and Georges Rouget (1781–1869).]]
Court officials or office-bearers (one type of [[courtier]]) derived their positions and retained their titles from their original duties within the courtly household. With time, such duties often became archaic. However, titles survived involving the ghosts of arcane duties. These styles generally dated back to the days when a noble household had practical and mundane concerns as well as high politics and culture. Such [[court appointment]]s each have their own histories. They might include but are not limited to:

{{Columns-list|colwidth=22em|
* [[Almoner]]
* [[Butler]]
* [[Chamberlain (office)|Chamberlain]]
* [[Chancellor]]
* [[Chapelmaster]]
* [[Chaplain]]
* [[Cofferer]]
* [[Confessor]]
* [[Constable]]
* [[Cup-bearer]]
* [[Steward (office)|Dapifer]]
* [[Doorward]]
* [[Eunuch]]
* [[Falconry|Falconer]]
* [[Gentleman of the Bedchamber]]
* [[Gentleman Usher]]
* [[Grand Master (order)|Grandmaster]]
* [[Great Officers of the Crown of France|Great officers]]
* [[Groom of the Stool]]
* [[Herald]]
* [[Intendant]]
* [[Jester|The Royal Fool]]
* [[Keeper of the seal]]
* [[King of arms]]
* [[Knight]]/[[Earl Marshal]]
* [[Lady-in-waiting]]
* [[Maid of Honour]]
* [[Majordomo]]
* [[Master of ceremonies#Monarchies|Master of Ceremonies]]
* [[Master of the Horse]]
* [[Master of the hunt (disambiguation)|Master of the Hunt]]
* [[Page (servant)|Page]]
* [[Pantler of Scotland|Panter]] or [[Grand Panetier of France|Grand Panetier]]
* [[Royal Secretary|Secretary]]
* [[Pursuivant]]
* [[Seneschal]]
* [[Stolnik]]
* [[Standard bearer]]
* [[Steward (office)|Steward]]
}}

===Court seats===
Earlier courts in medieval Western Europe were [[itinerant court]]s, but courts were often held in a fixed place. One of the criteria of Norbert Elias' concept of a court society is that it existed in space.{{clarify|date=November 2017}}{{sfn|Elias|1983}}{{page needed|date=May 2019}} The [[German language|German]] word ''Hof'', meaning an enclosed [[courtyard]], can also apply to a rural farmstead with outbuildings and walls forming the perimeter. It has also been used for the [[Seat (legal entity)|palatial seat]] where the court was held. Thus ''Hof'' or "court" can become transferred to the building itself. For example, the grand residence [[Hampton Court Palace]] on the [[River Thames]] above London was where [[Thomas Wolsey]] held court as Catholic cardinal (built after the Italian ideal for a cardinal's palace) until his fall and its confiscation by [[Henry VIII]]. [[William III of England|William III]] and [[Mary II of England|Mary II]] also held court there, 1689–94. Though it is built round two main courts, the structure itself is no longer the seat of a court in the sense of this article.

As an example, ambassadors to the United Kingdom are still accredited to the  [[Court of St. James's]], and courtiers of the monarchy may still have offices in [[St James's Palace]], London. The present monarch, however, holds court at [[Buckingham Palace]], where dignitaries are received. [[File:Appearance of Catherine II by Benois.jpg|thumb|275px|[[Catherine the Great]] and her court]]
[[File:Siamese envoys at Versailles.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Ambassador [[Kosa Pan]] and [[Siamese embassy to France (1686)|Siamese envoys]] pay their respect to [[Louis XIV]] at his court in [[Palace of Versailles|Versailles]].]]

Some former seats of power (see [[official residence]]):

* The [[Haute Cour of Jerusalem|Haute Cour]] (High Court) was the feudal council of the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]].
* [[Alhambra]] in Granada, seat of the last Muslim dynasty in current Spain
* [[Ālī Qāpū|Ali Qapu Palace]], imperial palace of the later [[Safavid dynasty|Safavid emperors]] in [[Isfahan]], [[Iran]]. 
* The [[Forbidden City]], imperial palace complex of the [[Ming dynasty|Ming]] and [[Qing dynasty|Qing]] dynasties walled off from [[Beijing]]
* [[Gyeongbokgung|Gyeongbokgung Royal Palace]], royal palace of the [[Joseon|Joseon dynasty]] in [[Seoul]]
* [[Wawel Castle]] in [[Kraków]] and [[Warsaw]] [[Royal Castle, Warsaw|Royal Castle]], Poland
* [[Palace of Versailles|Château de Versailles]] near Paris in France
* [[Palace of Darius in Susa]] and [[Persepolis]], imperial [[Achaemenid]] palaces
* [[Taq-i Kisra]] in [[Ctesiphon]], Persia, in [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian]] period
* [[Hofburg Palace]] in [[Vienna]], Austria
* [[Palatine Hill]] in [[Rome]], Italy. Origin of the word palace. 
* [[Sanssouci]] in [[Potsdam]] near Berlin
* [[Munich Residence]] in [[Munich]] in [[Bavaria]]
* [[Ludwigsburg Palace]] in [[Ludwigsburg]] in [[Swabia]]
* [[Dresden Castle]] in [[Dresden]] in [[Saxony]]
* The [[Holy See|Vatican]] in the [[Papal States]]
* [[Palazzo Medici Riccardi]], palace of the [[House of Medici]], [[Grand Duke of Tuscany|Grand Dukes of Tuscany]]
* The [[Kingdom of Portugal]]
** The Royal Alcáçova of [[Coimbra]] – under the [[Portuguese House of Burgundy|House of Burgundy]]
** The [[Castle of São Jorge|Royal Alcáçova of São Jorge]], [[Lisbon]] – under the houses of [[Portuguese House of Burgundy|Burgundy]] and [[House of Aviz|Aviz]]
** The [[Royal Palace of Évora]] – under the reign of [[Manuel I of Portugal]]
** The [[Sintra National Palace|Royal Palace of Sintra]] – under the reigns of [[Manuel I of Portugal]] and [[John III of Portugal]]
** The [[Ribeira Palace|Palaces of Ribeira]], [[Lisbon]] – under the Houses of [[House of Aviz|Aviz]], [[House of Habsburg|Habsburg]], and [[House of Braganza|Braganza]]
** The [[Ajuda National Palace|Palace of Ajuda]], [[Lisbon]] – under the [[House of Braganza]]
* [[Urbino]], seat of a duchy in the [[Marche]]
* The [[Red Fort]], palatial fortress of the [[Mughal emperors]] in [[Delhi]], India
* [[Shaniwar Wada]] palace fort of the [[Peshwa|Maratha Peshwas]] in [[Pune]], India
* [[Great Palace of Constantinople]] in [[Constantinople]]
* [[Topkapı Palace]] in [[Istanbul]], [[Turkey]] – under the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman dynasty]]
* [[Winter Palace]] in [[Saint Petersburg]], [[Russia]]
* [[Royal Palace of Madrid]] in [[Spain]]
* [[Alcázar de Colón]] in [[Santo Domingo]]

===Court structure and titles===
* [[Byzantine aristocracy and bureaucracy]] in the [[Byzantine Empire]]
* [[Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles]]
* [[Government of the Han dynasty]]
* [[Imperial Household Agency]] in [[Japan]]
* [[Itinerant court]] in European kingdoms in the [[Early Middle Ages]].
* [[Maison du Roi]] in [[France]] during the [[Ancien Régime]]
* [[Ministry of the Imperial Court]] in [[Imperial Russia]]
* [[Papal Court]] of the [[Holy See]]
* [[Royal Court of Sweden]] in [[Sweden]]
* [[Royal Household and Heritage of the Crown of Spain]] in [[Spain]]
* [[Royal Households of the United Kingdom]] in the [[United Kingdom]]
* [[Titles of the Welsh Court]] in [[Wales]] during the [[Middle Ages]]

===Caliphate courts===
All four major [[Caliphates]] had sophisticated [[courts]]; this enabled [[Cordoba, Spain|Cordoba]], [[Cairo]] and [[Baghdad]] (the respective seats of the [[Omayyad]], the [[Fatimid]] and the [[Abbasid]]) to become the largest, most culturally developed cities of their time.  This drew talented people from all walks of life—such as [[musicians]], [[singers]], [[poets]] and [[scientists]]—to seek employment under the patronage of elite [[bureaucrats]], [[emir]]s and [[Sultans]] at court. The other [[Caliphate]] was the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]], which employed its court's culture to stabilize an empire inhabited by huge non-Islamic populations spanning three [[continents]]. Everything from [[Algeria]] to the [[Balkans]] to [[Yemen]] was controlled by the court in [[Istanbul]].

The royal courts in the [[Islamic world]] were mostly run by rulers, but there were the exceptions of important elite families such as [[Barmakids]] and [[Nizams]] who established their own minor courts, enabling them to encourage arts and improve the empire even if the ruling king was useless.

==See also==
* [[Aliénor de Poitiers]], who documented the etiquette of the Burgundian Court in the late 15th century
* [[Court appointment]]
* [[Courtesy book]]
* [[Curia regis]]
* [[Masque]]
* [[Orda (organization)]], the nomadic court of the [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] and [[Mongols|Mongol]] peoples
* [[Striking in the King's Court]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{Cite book |author-link=Norbert Elias |last=Elias |first=Norbert |title=The Court Society |location=Oxford |year=1983 |others=trans. Edmund Jephcott |trans-title=Die höfische Gesellschaft |orig-year=1969 }} On the sociology of the court, originally completed in 1939.
* {{Cite book |last=Fox |first=Robin Lane |title=Alexander the Great |year=1973 }}

==Further reading==
===Antiquity===
*Spawforth, A. J. S. (ed.). ''The Court and Court Society in Ancient Monarchies''. Cambridge, 2007

===Middle Ages===
*Branner, Robert, et al., eds. ''Art and the Courts: France and England from 1259 to 1328'', 2 vols. Ottawa, 1972.
*Bumke, Joachim. ''Courtly Culture: Literature and Society in the High Middle Ages.'' Berkeley and Ozford, 1991. 
*Cubitt, C. (ed.). ''Court Culture in the Early Middle Ages. The Proceedings of the First Alcuin Conference''. Turnhout, 2002
*Hen, Yitzhak. ''Roman Barbarians: The Royal Court and Culture in the Early Medieval West''. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. {{ISBN|978-0-333-78665-9}}.
* Jaeger, C.S. ''The Origins of Courtliness: Civilizing Trends and the Formation of Courtly Ideals 939–1210''. Philadelphia, 1985.
*Jones, S.R., R. Marks and A. J. Minnis (eds.). ''Courts and Regions in Medieval Europe''. York, 2000.
*Jong, M. de and F. Theuws (eds.). ''Topographies of Power in the Early Middle Ages''. Leiden, 2001.
*Scaglione, A. ''Knights at Court: Courtliness, Chivalry, and Courtesy from Ottonian Germany to the Italian Renaissance.'' LA and Oxford, 1991.
*Scattergood, V.J. ''English Court Culture in the Later Middle Ages.'' London, 1983.
*Vale, Malcolm. ''The Princely Court: Medieval Courts and Culture in North-West Europe.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.

===Renaissance and Early Modern===
* Adamson, John (ed.). ''The Princely Courts of Europe, 1500–1750. Ritual, Politics and Culture under the Ancien Régime, 1500–1750''. London, 1999.
* Asch, Ronald G., and Adolf M. Birke, eds. ''Princes, Patronage and the Nobility: The Court at the Beginning of the Modern Age, c.1450–1650.'' London and Oxford, 1991.
* Birke, A., and R. Asch (eds.). ''Courts, Patronage and the Nobility at the Beginning of the Modern Period, 1450–1650''. 1991.
* Burke, Peter. ''The Fabrication of Louis XIV''. New Haven and London, 1992.
* Charles-Edwards, T.M. et al. ''The Welsh king and his court''. Cardiff, 2000.
* Dickens, A.G. (ed.). ''The Courts of Europe: Politics, Patronage and Royalty, 1400–1800.'' 1977. Emphasis on patronage.
* Duindam, Jeroen. ''Myths of Power: Norbert Elias and the Early Modern European Court''. Amsterdam, 1995. Critique of Elias. English translation of dissertation ''Macht en Mythe'' (1992).
* Duindam, Jeroen. ''Vienna and Versailles. The courts of Europe's Dynastic Rivals 1550–1780''. Cambridge, 2003.
* Elias, Norbert. ''The Court Society.'' Oxford, 1983.

==External links==
*{{cite web|url=http://www.history.ox.ac.uk/currentunder/bibliographies/fhs-fs-court_culture.pdf |website=Oxford University |title=Bibliography of Early Modern courts 1580–1700, structure and patronage|date= 2002}}
*{{cite web|url=http://employees.oneonta.edu/farberas/arth/arth214_folder/court_culture.html |title=Court culture: representations of intimacy|website=Oneonta.edu}} Division between Hall and Chamber in late medieval noble and royal households.
*{{CathEncy|wstitle=Court (in Scripture)}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.courtstudies.org|website= Courtstudies.org|title= The Society for Court Studies}} Bibliography on court history.

{{Commons category|Noble courts}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Court (Royal)}}
[[Category:Royal and noble courts| ]]