The Ideal Image: Studies in Writing for the German Court 1616–1706

It was expected that the prince of the early modern period should incorporate an ideal of virtue that distinguished him from other men and underlined his capacity to rule. This ideal is manifest in the depiction of the ruler in the visual arts. It is equally evident in a diverse body of writing produced for the court: occasional poetry, the libretti of ballets and Singspiele, masquerades and reports of festivities comment in a variety of ways on the perfection of the prince. The ideal image of the German ruler, of his wife and court is the subject of the present study, which explores the writing of five poets active at different courts – Stuttgart, Dresden, Heidelberg, Wolfenbüttel and Berlin – at different stages of the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. The works of Georg Rodolf Weckherlin, David Schirmer, Lorenz Beger, Friedrich Christian Bressand and Johann von Besser offer insight into the presentation of the ruler and the way in which this was subject to political circumstances and cultural influences. The study also focuses on the position of the poet at court and on the various talents that he required in order to achieve success.