Chapters in the early Czech history

Anotace

Chapters in the Early Czech History

Winter semester 2018/ 2019

This one-semester course is designed for foreign students. The course provides a chronologically and thematically organized overview of the early Czech history in the wider context of the European development, from the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period to the 18th century. Selected topics will describe political, social and cultural phenomena typical of the time and the area. It will provide students with a basic understanding of the Czech historiography, terminology and the newest approaches to the studies of the early history in the Czech Republic. The topics were chosen to highlight the key aspects of the era and to provide a closer look behind the political events of the time. The lectures will be given by a number of lecturers, to ensure a higher level of expertise.

Method: Lectures. A short introductory text available to provide students with the basic information for the following lecture will be made for each lecture (see below). Assigned reading will be provided through the Faculty information system no later than a week in advance of the class.

Examination: Credits for the course will be granted on the basis of attendance and completion of a final test. Participation in lectures is mandatory (maximum of two missed classes).

Syllabus: 1. Introduction. (1. 10. 2018) 2. Introduction to the early medieval Bohemia (805-995). (8. 10. 2018) 3. The relation between Bohemia and the Empire (805-1212). Cultural connection or isolation of medieval Bohemia? (15. 10. 2018) 4. The Rise and Fall of the Dynasty of Kings. (22. 10. 2018) 5. Medieval Town of the Kingdom of Bohemia. (29. 10. 2018) 6. The Crown of Bohemia under the Luxembourg Dynasty or "the Glorious 14th century". (5. 11. 2018) 7. Confessionally Divided Society in the 15th Century. (12. 11. 2018) 8. The State of Estates. (19. 11. 2018) 9. The era before and after the Battle of White Mountain (26. 11. 2018) 10. The Bohemian Kingdom, Prague and Bohemian towns during the Thirty Years' War. (3. 12. 2018) 11. The Marvellous world of Czech Baroque. (10. 12. 2018) 12. Europe's mother-in-law and her sons. Maria Theresa, Joseph II, Leopold II, and the Enlightenment era. (17. 12. 2018) 1. Introduction 2. Introduction to the Early Medieval Bohemia (805-995)

Jan Tomášek ([e-mail])

The lecture will concentrate on the beginnings of the Bohemian state in the period of East Frankish invasion of the eastern border up to the stabilization of the Přemyslid dynasty power. The lecture will introduce the leading opinions of the Czechoslovakian and Czech historiography. Particularly the so-called "tribe theory." The lecture will be supplemented with a citation and a demonstration of the surviving written historical sources.

Literature:

PÁNEK, Jaroslav – TŮMA, Oldřich (edd.): A History of the Czech Lands, Praha 2014

KEJŘ, Jiří: Aus Böhmens Verfassungsgeschichte. Staat – Städtewesen – Hussitentum, Praha 2006

SCALES, Len: The Shaping of German Identity: Authority and Crisis, 1245-1414, Cambridge 2012 3. The Relation between Bohemia and the Empire (805-1212). Cultural Connection or Isolation of Medieval Bohemia?

Jan Tomášek ([e-mail])

The lecture will present the problems of the nation and the idea of the nation in medieval Bohemia in the context of general trends in the research about the nation and nationality. The lecture condenses the most important expressions of the idea of the nation in the Middle Ages. The lecture will show, through the interpretation of selected texts (sources), the cultural context and the social function, which the national argumentation holds. Emphasise will be placed on the explanation of the literary and mentality foundations, which were used to construct common characteristics of nations.

Literature:

ANDERSON, Benedict: Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, New York 1991

GEARY, Patrick J.: The Myth of Nations: The Medieval Origins of Europe, Princeton 2003

PYNSENT, Robert B.: Czech Nationalism after Dalimil and before Hus, In. Doležalová, Eva – Pánek, Jaroslav (edd.): Confession and Nation in the Era of Reformation, Praha 2011, p. 9-34

ŠMAHEL, František: The Idea of the "Nation" in Hussite Bohemia I, Historica 16, 1969, p. 143-247; II, Historica 17, 1969, p. 93-197

VOREL, Petr: Nationality and Confession in the Political Life under the Jagiellonian dynasty, in: Confession and Nation in the Era of Reformation, In. Doležalová, Eva – Pánek, Jaroslav (edd.): Confession and Nation in the Era of Reformation, Praha 2011, p. 113-122 4. The Rise and Fall of the Dynasty of Kings

Barbora Jiřincová ([e-mail])

The subject of the lecture The Rise and Fall of the Dynasty of Kings is a crucially important period in the history of the Central European region. The main part of this lecture deals with the royal court of last members of Přemysliden dynasty in Prague. The Prague court was an essential cultural center and the works of art originating there ought to serve as intriguing sources. The lecture continues to describe the politics and policies of several kings (Václav I., Přemysl Otakar II., Václav II., and Václav III.) emphasizing their importance for the history of Central Europe (i.e. Kingdom of Bohemia, Upper, and Lower Austria, Carinthia, Styria, Bavaria and Poland). Furthermore, it includes an interpretation of the basic trends of cultural development in the Czech lands according to changes on the throne and marital politics.

Literature:

BEHR, Hans-Joachim, Literatur als Machtlegitimation: Studien zur Funktion der deutschprachigen Dichting am böhmischen Königshof im 13. Jahrhundert, München 1989

BUMKE, Joachim, Mäzene im Mittelalter. Die Gönner und Auftraggeber der höfischen Literatur in Deutschland 1150–1300, München 1979

LORENZ, Ottokar, Deutschlands Geschichtsquellen im Mittelalter. Seit der Mitte des dreizehnten Jahrhundert, Berlin 1976

PARAWICINI, Werner, Die ritterlich-höfische Kultur des Mittelalters. Enzyklopädie deutscher Geschichte, Band 32, München 1994 5. Medieval Town of the Kingdom of Bohemia

Jan Vojtíšek ([e-mail])

The goal of the lecture is to outline the basic evolution of medieval towns in the Bohemian Kingdom, from the time of their establishment and institutional defining during the 13th century, until the time when towns entered the politics as a corporation and as an important power. The lecture will be centered around the development of the urban institution, everyday life, and specific question of the social and economic evolution in Czech towns. An important topic will be also the literacy and literary culture of the urban society (municipal administration and historiography).

Literature:

HEYMANN, Frederick G.: The Role of the Bohemian Cities during and after the Hussite Revolution, In: Király, Béla K. (ed.): Tolerance and Movements of Religious Dissent in Eastern Europe, London 1975, p. 27-41

HEYMANN, Frederick G.: The Role of the Towns in the Bohemia of the Later Middle Ages, Cahiersd’ histoire mondiale 2, 1954/1955, p. 326-346

KEJŘ, Jiří: Die mittelalterlichen Städte in den böhmischen Ländern. Gründung - Verfassung - Entwicklung, Köln 2009

KLÁPŠTĚ, Jan: The Czech Lands in Medieval Transformation, Leiden - Boston 2012

MACHÁČEK, Jiří: The Rise of Medieval Towns and States in East Central Europe. Early Medieval Centres as Social and Economic Systems, Leiden - Boston 2010 6.The Crown of Bohemia under the Luxembourg Dynasty or "The Glorious 14th Century".

Tomáš Straka ([e-mail])

This lecture aims to present the important historic moment, in which the Kingdom of Bohemia was enlarged by a new dynasty and transformed into a strong medieval state called The Crown of the Kingdom of Bohemia or, later, The Lands of the Bohemian Crown. During this period, the country was able to successfully and in extenso catch up with the cultural and political standards of Western Europe. The main part of the lecture will deal with the times of King Charles IV, who became the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and the remarkable changes of the Prague city during his reign, as it became the imperial capital and central point of middle-European politics and culture. The lecture will cover the reign of the first three generations of Luxembourg kings in the 14th century: John the Blind, Charles IV, and Wenceslaus IV.

Literature:

Jan ROYT, The Prague of Charles IV. Prague: Karolinum Press, 2016.

Barbara BOEHM - Jiří Fajt (edd.), Prague. The Crown of Bohemia, 1347-1437, New York, 2005.

Michaud CLAUDE, The Kingdoms of Central Europe in the Fourteenth Century, in: Michael Jones, New Cambridge Medieval History vol. VI., c. 1300 - c. 1415, Cambridge 2000, p. 735-763.

David Ch. MENGEL, Bones, Stones, and Brothels: Religion and Topography in Prague under Emperor Charles IV. (1346-1378), Diss. University of Notre Dame 2003.

Iva ROSARIO, Art and Propaganda: Charles IV. of Bohemia, 1346-1378, Woodbridge 2000

František ŠMAHEL, The Parisian Summit, 1377-1378. Emperor Charles IV. and King Charles V. of France, Chicago - Prague 2014.

Daniela BŘÍZOVÁ Bohemia and England: cultural relations in the 14th century: the transmission of cultural and artistic influence in the Middle Ages. Saarbrücken: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing, 2014.

Jaroslav PÁNEK, Oldřich TŮMA et al., A history of the Czech Lands. Prague: Karolinum, 2009.

Charles IV - Emperor by the grace of God: culture and art in the reign of the last of the Luxembourgs 1347-1437: catalogue of the exhibition: Prague Castle 16 February - 21 May 2006 Bamberg: Arthis, 2006. 7. Confessionally Divided Society in the 15th Century

Silvie Vančurová ([e-mail])

This lection would like to introduce you