Permanent ambassadors came on the scene at the end of the 15th century, almost by accident. They became permanent largely because it was convenient for their rulers to leave them where they were. In other words, they got stuck. Formal visitations by envoys, dipping into a country and out again, were commonplace by then and well organised. As an ambassador negotiating a peace treaty, you would be given sumptuous lodgings and, if peace was wanted very badly, showered with silver cups and greyhounds. The life of the long-term envoy was more precarious than this. Since they found their royal hosts disinclined to long-term hospitality, they had to combine a few sparkles of high life with a lot of fending for themselves. As foreigners, they were victims of prejudice to an almost comic degree. As for their diplomatic brief, the state of communications in the 1490s meant that they were usually reduced to making it up as they went along.
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