52

During the Renaissance, there was little trust between the princes and when they met, they often chose a border, a river, or a shore. They met but didn’t receive one another. However, between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, trust was built as the notion of hospitality developed. The stranger had to be welcomed and lodged, but also entertained. Festivities were considered an antidote to melancholy and homesickness; as a result, more than a third of such meetings included festivities. This article examines the evolution of this system of spectacles and leisure activities offered to foreign princes. These activities took into account changes in religious modes and tastes, as well as the context of the meeting. Preference had to be given to activities that would build trust and include the visitors, and anything that might upset them was avoided. In this way, these festivities contributed to the emergence of a form of international courtesy.