Table set for diplomats: food, drink, and politics in Poland-Lithuania’s diplomatic relations (1674–1696)
This dissertation addresses the social, cultural, and political dimension of eating and drinking in Poland-Lithuania’s diplomatic landscape during the reign of Jan III Sobieski and Marie Casimire d’Arquien. It argues that hospitality centered around the table was essential for the practice of early modern diplomacy as it involved a wide range of diplomatic actors. By adopting an approach informed by new diplomatic history and cultural food and drink history, the dissertation offers an alternative perspective to the narrative focused solely on evaluating the success of foreign missions in political agreements. Instead, it concentrates on ubiquitous food and drink to paint a more nuanced picture of Polish-Lithuanian diplomacy in the seventeenth century.
Taste and diplomatic hospitality serve as the conceptual framework that helps to define the relationship between food, drink, and diplomacy. Consequently, this approach allows to establish connections between practices previously discussed in isolation, drawing insights from relatively under-researched Polish-Lithuanian examples.
Examination Committee:
Katalin Szende - chair (Department of Medieval Studies, CEU)
Jan Hennings – supervisor (Department of History, CEU)
László Kontler – internal member (Department of History, CEU)
Beat Kümin – external member (University of Warwick, Department of History)
Tomasz Grusiecki – external reader (Boise State University, Department of Art, Design and Visual Studies)
The doctoral dissertation is available for inspection. Should you wish to access it, please contact
Margaretha Boockmann (boockmannm@ceu.edu)
The defense takes place in hybrid format, a Zoom link will be sent upon request. Please contact Margaretha Boockmann (boockmannm@ceu.edu)
Picture source: National Museum, Wrocław