Absolutist Celebration in Late Ancien Régimes

Reflections on the Ruler Rituals of Empress Catherine II of Russia and King Gustav III of Sweden

Abstract

This _Essay aims to flesh out and systematize a series of reflections on the inversely proportional relationship between the eroding conceptual basis, in terms of legitimacy and sovereignty, of absolute rulership in the mid- to late eighteenth century, on the one hand, and the proliferation and growth of public celebrations thereof, on the other. The analysis is based on the life circumstances and ceremonial trajectories of empress Catherine II of Russia (r. 1762–1796) and king Gustav III of Sweden (r. 1771–1792). By offering an overarching typology of ruler celebrations and their attendant principles and patterns, the _Essay serves as a stepping stone towards a) systematic exploration of other eighteenth-century ruler-ruled equations in Europe and beyond, and b) connecting this burgeoning framework to an already existing apparatus for studying ‘ruler visibility’ and ‘popular belonging’ in nineteenth-century and later contexts globally.