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«The ESF Research Networking Programme PALATIUM aims at creating a common forum for research on the late medieval and early modern European court residence or “palace” (palatium) in an interdisciplinary perspective. The world of the courts 1400-1700 constituted a network of truly European scale and international character, but its architecture is only rarely studied in its “connectivity”. Here the “palace” is seen as a place for cultural exchange. Human interaction in this space is regulated and codified by a set of rules, known as the “ceremonial”. The interaction between palace architecture (tangible) and the ceremonial (intangible, but known through a set of tangible testimonials of different types, written and visual) is one of the key questions the PALATIUM network aims to address. The palace’s space and form carry multiple connotations. To the informed observer they represent power, lineage, and tradition versus innovation. The decoding of this system of signs necessitates input not only of architectural and art historians, but also of various other disciplines, such as archaeology, politics, literature, theatre and music. The PALATIUM programme specifically wants to encourage the debate on method in the field. It aims at stimulating exchanges of knowledge and experience between historians, architectural historians, art historians and researchers from related disciplines, while building up a network of scholars and institutes from a large number of European countries, so as to mirror the international network of courts that is being examined.»
