The Theater of Death of the XVII–XVIII Centuries:
 The Kings of Western Europe and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealthon the Threshold of Eternity

Abstract

The perception of death in the Early Modern Time was largely based on ancient traditions. The process of death was a form of public communication and required the presence of spectators.The agony of kings was a kind of caesure between the past and the future, when the subjects were demonstrated the status of the state and its ruler, and at the same time, personal and state interests were clashed and resolved.
 In contrast to the solemn departure to the other world of West Europe sovereigns, a vivid example of which was the death of the French king Louis XIV,
 the last minutes of the the Polish kings’lives, in particular, Jan Sobieski and Augustus the Strong, were more likely a personal and deeply religious act, rather than a national event. To a large extent it was facilitated by the state system of
 thePolish-Lithuanian Commonwealthas a gentry republic with an elected king. The «theater of death» of the French king was in the service of Majesty until the last minute, while the «first among equals» in Poland could die like an ordinary person and get only a «theater after death» – a magnificent funeral ceremony.
 The public process of the demise of the monarchs in the Early Modern Time was largely determined not only by the sovereign’s personality, but also by the geopolitical position and state structure of the territory he controlled.