This research focus takes the imperial court as the principal subject of investigation. Despite the advancing processes of institutionalization and bureaucratization within the state apparatus, the court continued to play an important role as a “point of contact” politically, socially, and culturally with respect to the Monarchy’s functionality. Under the aspect of state formation, the ruler’s court remained the center of political power and the most important location of elite communication and interaction. Characteristic of the court and dynastic rule was the continued significance to the end of the Monarchy of informal decision-making structures and spheres of activity, despite the processes of institutionalization observable since the early modern period. Within the context of the new political history, which draws attention to such aspects as well as to varying groups of actors, the question of the gendered attributions of political agency in the early modern period will be taken into consideration.