Poetry Speaks to Power: Panegyric Responses to Peter III, Catherine II and the Coup d'État of 1762

The brief reign of Peter III, followed by the coup d'état that brought his wife, Catherine II, to power, is addressed in a large number of panegyrics published between 1762 and 1764. Those that deal exclusively with Peter III's accession are traditional in content and composition, as one might expect by virtue of the legitimate and orderly transition from Elizabeth to Peter. The panegyrics that welcomed the Catherinian coup, however, had to confront the fact that the new monarch was a usurper. This study explores the theories of legitimation to which panegyrists appealed in their attempts to justify her seizure of power.