Diplomatic activity of various kinds forged close cultural links between England and Scotland and European polities. English and Scottish monarchs considered themselves part of a European ‘society of princes’, which was reflected in events held at court and the ways in which diplomats were incorporated into dynastic occasions. They regularly gave presents to, and received gifts from, foreign royals. Increasingly, diplomats at court were incorporated into the gifting framework; this, and the increasing volume of court entertainment driven by an increase in resident diplomats at court and the need to avoid disruptions to court events caused by precedence disputes among ambassadors, saw diplomacy spur cultural production in England in particular. At the same time, the rise in diplomatic activity inspired authors to explore themes related to diplomatic practices and cultures. Meanwhile, English and Scottish diplomats were important agents of cultural exchange, acting as cultural brokers for important political figures back home, and many of them were also avid consumers of paintings, furniture, and other cultural goods which they imported back to England or Scotland.

There are two ways to know something: by description and by acquaintance. What we know by description are things that we have read or heard about; what we know by acquaintance are things that we have experienced ourselves. Descriptions can only be made at a distance which acquaintance requires direct involvement. At first encounters between Europeans and non-Europeans, the parties often danced as a way to get to know each other. In Europe, kings and diplomats danced for the same reason. However, colonialism requires knowledge by description, and thereby an entirely different attitude to the world. A world described in books and in research reports is far easier to control and to exploit.

Being as the most fundamental intentional state. Being as a matter of “being-there,” where the “there” is determined by metaphors. Sovereign states and sovereign individuals in early modern Europe. The uncertain ontological status of both subjects. Theater and theory as ways to make both subjects beholdable and indisputably there. Dance as a way to come into being. Social ontologies based on dance metaphors – the world-stage and the social interaction of resident ambassadors.