Španělská strana na císařském dvoře? K problematice jednoho pojmu z politických dějin

The study submitted here has to be understood as a contribution to the ongoing discussion devoted to the role of court parties in the Early Modern Age. Its centre of focus is a power grouping which the historians usually refer to as the Spanish Party/Faction at the Imperial Court. The author deals with the frequency of these terms (including their various language mutations) in contemporary sources and in current historical literature. Applying an analysis of informal links which tied Central European noblemen to the institution of the Spanish Embassy at the Imperial Court in the 16th century and in the first half of the 17th century, he then attempts to answer questions such as what the so-called Spanish Party/Faction was; whether there was a disparity in the understanding of the terms Party and Faction and to what degree these terms correspond to the designation of the relationship network.