The Society for Court Studies is a learned society

Learned society

A learned society is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline/profession, as well a group of disciplines. Membership may be open to all, may require possession of some qualification, or may be an honor conferred by election, as is the case with the oldest learned societies,...

 that aims to stimulate and co-ordinate the study of royal, princely, and noble court

Noble court

The court of a monarch, or at some periods an important nobleman, is a term for the extended household and all those who regularly attended on the ruler or central figure...

s from the late Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

 to the present. The principal object of the Society is to examine courts from a multi-disciplinary perspective by focusing on a variety of areas such as architectural history, political history, military history, art history, cultural patronage, and the role of women in courts. The Society for Court Studies publishes its own scientific and peer-reviewed journal, The Court Historian

The Court Historian

The Court Historian is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by The Society for Court Studies covering research in the field of court history. The journal is published twice a year and features articles on the history of royal and princely courts from the late Middle Ages to the present...

, which appears twice a year.

History

The Society for Court Studies was founded in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 in September 1995 by David Starkey

David Starkey

David Starkey, CBE, FSA is a British constitutional historian, and a radio and television presenter.He was born the only child of Quaker parents, and attended Kendal Grammar School before entering Cambridge through a scholarship. There he specialised in Tudor history, writing a thesis on King...

, Robert Oresko, Simon Thurley

Simon Thurley

Simon John Thurley, CBE, FRIBA, F.R.Hist.S. is an academic and architectural historian, and the present Chief Executive of English Heritage .-Early life and education:...

, and Philip Mansel

Philip Mansel

Philip Mansel is a British historian and the author of a number of books about revolutionary and post-revolutionary France and the rise and fall of the Ottoman Empire...

. A separate branch was established in North America in 1998. The current President and Chairman of the Society is Simon Thurley

Simon Thurley

Simon John Thurley, CBE, FRIBA, F.R.Hist.S. is an academic and architectural historian, and the present Chief Executive of English Heritage .-Early life and education:...

, who is the Chief Executive of English Heritage

English Heritage

English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...

. The Chairman of the North American branch of the Society is R. Malcolm Smuts of the University of Massachusetts Boston

University of Massachusetts Boston

The University of Massachusetts Boston, also known as UMass Boston, is an urban public research university and the second largest campus in the five-campus University of Massachusetts system. The university is located on on Harbor Point in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States...

.

Activities

The Society for Court Studies organises conferences and a series of research seminars on aspects of court history, which are held three times a term in London (UK). There is a separate programme of seminars and conferences in North America. Membership is open to interested scholars and students from any country and to those from related disciplines.