Abstract
The following is adapted from an address given at a conference at Versailles organised by The Court Studies Forum and the Centre de recherche du château de Versailles: Les cours en Europe: bilan historiographique (24-26 September 2009). Professor Fantoni is the President of The Court Studies Forum, Secretary of the Centro Studi Europa delle Corti, Director of the Kent State University in Florence, and Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Teramo.