Dr Jonathan Spangler
@jspan.bsky.social
Historian of the history of monarchy, the court and the upper aristocracy of Europe. France, Louis XIV, heirs and spares, dukes and princes, sexuality. Loves to tell good stories.
Senior Editor, The Court Historian
Senior Editor, The Court Historian
Exciting book launch in Madrid earlier this week. In fact two! The first to appear in Brepols Court Cultures series, co-efited by me (for whom the empty chair)
November 20, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Exciting book launch in Madrid earlier this week. In fact two! The first to appear in Brepols Court Cultures series, co-efited by me (for whom the empty chair)
Ohvthe trauma of being a royal child at a public event! #Luxembourg 🇱🇺
October 3, 2025 at 9:50 AM
Ohvthe trauma of being a royal child at a public event! #Luxembourg 🇱🇺
Excited to share the first volume in a new series by @brepols.net , organised by Fabian Persson and me. This book survived Covid and two pregnancies...!
August 9, 2025 at 8:20 AM
Excited to share the first volume in a new series by @brepols.net , organised by Fabian Persson and me. This book survived Covid and two pregnancies...!
Very excited to get this book in the mail today! I'm looking forward to reading it. Congrats to Zita! #queenship #france
August 7, 2025 at 10:19 AM
Very excited to get this book in the mail today! I'm looking forward to reading it. Congrats to Zita! #queenship #france
Today in St Andrews, conference on Louis XIV and the provinces. Here, Stanislas Zagun looks at the Duc de Gramont as provincial governor. #FrenchHistory
June 6, 2025 at 10:52 AM
Today in St Andrews, conference on Louis XIV and the provinces. Here, Stanislas Zagun looks at the Duc de Gramont as provincial governor. #FrenchHistory
Wouldn't it be great to have a historical drama set in early 17th-century Spain with Bella Ramsey playing Queen Margarita? The resemblance is uncanny--she definitely has a Habsburg lower jaw.
May 27, 2025 at 11:24 AM
Wouldn't it be great to have a historical drama set in early 17th-century Spain with Bella Ramsey playing Queen Margarita? The resemblance is uncanny--she definitely has a Habsburg lower jaw.
So....naturally the main attraction for me at Seville Cathedral, the royal chapel with royal tombs, looks like this, no explanation, nothing. Thanks a lot.
April 29, 2025 at 11:54 AM
So....naturally the main attraction for me at Seville Cathedral, the royal chapel with royal tombs, looks like this, no explanation, nothing. Thanks a lot.
Today we visit the Casa de Pilatos, residence of dukes of Medinaceli
April 29, 2025 at 7:57 AM
Today we visit the Casa de Pilatos, residence of dukes of Medinaceli
And up close, the arms of Spain and Orléans (note that 'she' is on the 'he' side!)
April 22, 2025 at 4:30 PM
And up close, the arms of Spain and Orléans (note that 'she' is on the 'he' side!)
A second ducal palace on one afternoon: the Palacio de San Telmo, home of the Duke of Montpensier (son of Louis-Philippe) and his wife Infanta Luisa Fernanda (sister of Isabel II)
April 22, 2025 at 4:24 PM
A second ducal palace on one afternoon: the Palacio de San Telmo, home of the Duke of Montpensier (son of Louis-Philippe) and his wife Infanta Luisa Fernanda (sister of Isabel II)
I'm about to visit the palace of the Dukes of Alba in Seville. Most exciting!
April 22, 2025 at 1:46 PM
I'm about to visit the palace of the Dukes of Alba in Seville. Most exciting!
Fabian Persson discusses how new monarchs dressed in 'traditional' forms to impress new subjects in the later 19th century, in Leiden @esshc.bsky.social @courtstudies.bsky.social
March 28, 2025 at 10:43 AM
Fabian Persson discusses how new monarchs dressed in 'traditional' forms to impress new subjects in the later 19th century, in Leiden @esshc.bsky.social @courtstudies.bsky.social
Katherine Butler Schofield (Kings College London) will be giving an online talk for the The Society for Court Studies “Musical culture under Mughal patronage: the place of pleasure c. 1593–1707” Monday at 6 PM (UK time). Free, but sig up in advance: courtstudies.org/events/lectu...
January 24, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Katherine Butler Schofield (Kings College London) will be giving an online talk for the The Society for Court Studies “Musical culture under Mughal patronage: the place of pleasure c. 1593–1707” Monday at 6 PM (UK time). Free, but sig up in advance: courtstudies.org/events/lectu...
Today I did battle with footnotes for the House of Orléans. I through the lunch hour and emerged victorious! Now I need wine. #Bourbons #Iamwriting
January 8, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Today I did battle with footnotes for the House of Orléans. I through the lunch hour and emerged victorious! Now I need wine. #Bourbons #Iamwriting
The only remaining medieval bit of Birmingham seems to be sinking down into the sea behind the new Bullring shopping centre.
December 23, 2024 at 4:39 PM
The only remaining medieval bit of Birmingham seems to be sinking down into the sea behind the new Bullring shopping centre.
Baroque oddity of the day. Captions please.
February 18, 2024 at 1:25 PM
Baroque oddity of the day. Captions please.
It's accession day for King Frederick X of Denmark! The birth of the royal house of Laborde de Monpezat? Celebrate with wine from Cayx and ramble through ancient villages of Bearn. dukesandprinces.org/2024/01/14/a...
January 14, 2024 at 10:19 AM
It's accession day for King Frederick X of Denmark! The birth of the royal house of Laborde de Monpezat? Celebrate with wine from Cayx and ramble through ancient villages of Bearn. dukesandprinces.org/2024/01/14/a...
Here's a fun query for my Tudorista colleagues: when Prince Henry was created Duke of York in 1493 did it have specific lordships attached (like an apanage in France) or was it an honorific only? Is there a good source to consult on this?
December 19, 2023 at 11:59 AM
Here's a fun query for my Tudorista colleagues: when Prince Henry was created Duke of York in 1493 did it have specific lordships attached (like an apanage in France) or was it an honorific only? Is there a good source to consult on this?
Anyone now why Berlin might have been called 'Veropolis' in the 18th century?
December 4, 2023 at 10:18 AM
Anyone now why Berlin might have been called 'Veropolis' in the 18th century?
Sometimes my research takes me in strange directions... here are Byzantines cutting off the nose of an imperial rival to make sure he's a threat no more!
October 15, 2023 at 10:06 PM
Sometimes my research takes me in strange directions... here are Byzantines cutting off the nose of an imperial rival to make sure he's a threat no more!