Between 1707 and 1740, the Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke Charles VI of Austria (1685-1740), maintained a near-continuous diary, recording his personal reflections on more than thirty years of rule. This article analyses these insights into Charles's daily life within the wider context of the Habsburg monarchy and the imperial court during the early eighteenth century, illuminating the ruler's perspective on familial relationships, annual ceremonies, diplomatic endeavours, and decision-making processes. First, the nature of these records and their positioning within the wider context of diary culture is considered, as well as the distinctive features of Charles's entries and the challenges inherent in deciphering them. The article then investigates Charles's personal piety, his relationship with his family, and his various advisors at the Viennese court, as demonstrated by his diary entries during his rule. Combining diplomatic, political, and private contemplations, and offering valuable details about the monarch's day-today routine, this study presents Charles's diaries as an intimate and essential record of the Baroque period, as well as a unique set of records that reveal the Archduke-Emperor's innermost thoughts.

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Este artículo examina las relaciones entre los protagonistas de la corte vienesa a partir de los importantes acontecimientos políticos que se produjeron en el periodo comprendido entre 1713 y 1740. La fuente principal para ello son las notas personales del propio emperador, los diarios de Carlos VI. Sus anotaciones y la mención de encuentros con consejeros cercanos ponen de manifiesto las posibilidades de influencia. Debido a las experiencias del archiduque Carlos en España, que marcaron el rumbo del futuro, estos años también se incluyen en las consideraciones. Carlos VI ostentó el título de Rey de España hasta su muerte. En el proceso, España pasó de ser su propio dominio a ser un oponente político y, finalmente, un aliado, que volvió a cambiar en 1729. Esta relación ilustra por sí sola la animada actividad diplomática (y militar) de los años estudiados, que también puede rastrearse por la cambiante influencia de individuos y grupos en la corte imperial de Viena

This article examines Emperor Charles VI's diary entries from 1720 to 1725 with the intention of taking a closer look at the world he lived in. Although the entries describe singular and subjectively selected events which had transpired on some given day, and laconically dispensed with the need for further comment or syntax, the very mention of individual advisors points to their influence on the Emperor. So how often and when did Prince Eugen, the Spanish Secretary of State, Perlas, the Court Chancellor, Sinzendorf, or the Court favourite, Count Althann, feature in the notes? How often and when were they evidently consulted by the Emperor? The fact that certain advisers were especially close to the Regent during the negotiations with Spain over the settlement -the Ausgleich -of 1725 is clearly documented even though Charles VI would rarely note down the actual content of such talks. Only the reference that he talked with Prince Eugen or Perlas 'a lot' (original German: vill) is presented here. On occasion, such remarks are accompanied by a bare, simple reference to the issues at hand -'Spain' or 'Netherlands', for example.In addition, the diaries sometimes shed light on appointments to the Viennese Court and the competition for these positions.Despite their brevity, the notes offer an immediate insight into the decision-making of Charles VI as well as the influence wielded by some advisers by gaining 'access to the Emperor's ear' during the diplomatically troubled times of the 1720s. Consequently, the diaries constitute a unique documentary source for critically questioning favouritism at the Viennese Court of Charles VI as cited in several instances in research literature (keyword: Spanish 'faction').

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