Christoph Harant of Polzice and Bezdruzice and Historical Memory at the Turn of the 20th and 21th Century
Abstract
The study analysis a "second life" of Christoph Harant of Polzice and Bezdruzice (1564-1621) in the context of historical memory changes in the Czech society at the turn of the 20th and 21th century. The "second life" of Christoph Harant (in other words the way public have viewed him), which has been formed by literature, popular science publications, theatre plays, films and other non-scientific information sources, has been tightly connected to a public view of Harants' time and its dramatic final, i. e. the Battle of White Mountain and the Old Town Square execution.
And it has been a perception of the two latter topics that have been undergoing remarkable dynamics in recent years. These changes have been brought by political and economic situation (financial crisis, restitution of the Church property, presidential campaign etc.) as the time around the year 1620 has been presented by media and also used for certain political argumentations.