Accessibility and the Spacial Evolution of the Bedchamber in Western Europe, 1300-1715: The Chambre du Roi in Context

The objective of this research is to understand the origin and various traditions of the state bedroom in noble residences and understanding its different roles at different courts; understanding the difference in location, architecture and display between ceremonial bedrooms and private bedrooms; understanding its ceremonial function and its changing role in the creation of the court's desired identity. Case-studies will be chosen from the Burgundian and Habsburg court tradition in the Low Countries (fifteenth - seventeenth centuries) and the court of the French monarchs (from Charles V up to Louis XIV), with special attention to the fundamental changes in the Northern Low Countries after 1600.