Etudes Epistémè (Feb 2021)
« Plumer le coq gaulois » : éloge du prince, guerre des images et stratégies médiatiques dans les oraisons funèbres et les catafalques éphémères en l’honneur de Léopold Ier († 1705) et Joseph Ier de Habsbourg († 1711), dans l’Empire et les territoires de la Maison d’Autriche
Abstract
From the 1660s, Louis XIV of France emerged as the king attempting to establish a “universal monarchy” in Europe, a role previously held by the Hasburgs. Funeral sermons delivered for emperors Leopold I (d. 1705) and Joseph I (d. 1711) depicted French policy as Machiavellian. The eulogies serve to assess the situation at the close of their reigns, and to draw a portrait of the ideal prince, in contrast to the king of France, erected as a counter-model. Within the Empire, Jesuit preachers were essential communication relays as their sermons spread topoi which later circulated in lampoons and pamphlets. The rejection of a common enemy also contributed to bridging the confessional divide between Catholics and Protestants.
