The 2026 Sintra Summer School explores the political, social, and moral dimensions of service in early modern courts. Far from being limited to domestic tasks, service structured hierarchies, careers, and everyday life at court, connecting the king, courtiers, and servants in networks of obligation, loyalty, and prestige. Participants will discover how princely households functioned as complex, hierarchical communities, where domestic duties, ceremonial roles, and administrative responsibilities intertwined, and how the governance of the palace reflected the governance of the realm.

Registration and further information: http://parquesdesintra.pt/pt/feito-para-si/sintra-summer-school-2026/

ORGANISING COMMITTEE

Bruno A Martinho (CHAM)

ORGANIZATION

Parques de Sintra – Monte da Lua, SA
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Fundación Carlos de Amberes
CHAM/NOVA FCSH
Universidad de Burgos
Universidad Castilla-La Mancha
Fundação Casa de Bragança