Subjects

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 (Vulkanec@seznam.cz)

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 (Vulkanec@seznam.cz)

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. <br>

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 (barbora.jirincova@gmail.com)

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 (p.jan.vojtisek@seznam.cz)

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 (tomas.z.straka@gmail.com)

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 (Sisamaria@seznam.cz)

This lection would like to introduce you social changes in the Bohemian Kingdom at the turn of 14th and 15th century, mainly Hussitism and Hussite revolution. Hussitism was a Christian movement which was established after the council in Constance following the teaching of Jan Hus had been pronounced a heretic and burn in 6th July 1415. Main ideas of Hussitism included requirements for purity of the church. And protest against greed and lust for power clergy and monks. Hussites also wanted the church to reform back to the days of the primary church during of times of apostles. Hussitism organized itself during years 1415-1419. Later Hussites were denied in 2 parts, moderate and radical one. The moderate party, with their center in Prague, united mainly high nobility and followed Hus more closely and they didn’t want to destroy the hierarchy of the church. Radical party with the center in Tábor united mainly law nobility, burghers and ordinary people and absorbed teachings of radical priests like Jan Želivský who had appeared after the death of Jan Hus. In July 1420 the moderate party of Hussites organized an assembly which took place in Čáslav. They agreed in the common program know as Four articles of Prague: 1) Freedom to preach the word of God 2) Celebration of the communion under both kinds 3) No secular power for clergy 4) Equal punishment for the mortal sins without considering the social position of the criminal. These two main Hussite parties had fought with each other but always were able to come to an agreement and reunited against the common enemy - Sigismund of Luxemburg. After many years of war radical party had been beaten in the battle of Lipany in 30.5. 1434 and rest of them survived only as a powerless community in Tábor. On the other hand, Moderate Party made a deal with the king Sigismund and due to that, they held a power for future years.

Literature:
HEYMANN, Frederick G.: George of Bohemia, King of Heretics, Princeton-New Jersey 1965
ODLOŽILÍK, Otakar: The Hussite King: Bohemia in European Affairs 1440-1471, New Brunswick 1965
ŠMAHEL, František - PAVLÍČEK, Ota (edd.): A Companion to Jan Hus, (Brill’s Companions to the Christian Tradition 54), Leiden - Boston 2015
ŠMAHEL František, Divided Nation, In: James R. Palmitessa (ed.): Between Lipany and White Mountain. Essays in the Late Medieval and Early Modern Bohemian history in Modern Czech Scholarship, Leiden 2014, p. 63-93

8. The State of Estates
Kateřina Dufková (katerina@dufka.com)

The political system of the Czech lands from the late 15th to the beginning of the 17th century is traditionally called the State of Estates. The lecture aims to describe the main characteristics of this specific system of government; its institutions, administration and most importantly the role of the estates in the Lands of the Bohemian Crown. The lecture will cover the establishment consolidation of the system as well as its further development in the perspective of the growing conflict between the Habsburg kings and the estates but also among the estates themselves. It will give students a brief overview of crucial political and social events of the period that affected the political establishment and atmosphere. Starting with the Jagiellonian dynasty and release of the first Order of the Land in Bohemia in 1500, following with the Habsburg’s succession to the Czech throne in 1526 and subsequent steps of Ferdinand I to strengthen the central royal power; the short and unsuccessful resistance in 1547, and we will finish with the reign of king Maximilian II., right before the escalation of the conflict between the estates and the monarch which ended in the Battle of White Mountain in 1620

Literature:
EVANS, Robert. J. W.: Making of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1550-1700. An Interpretation, Oxford 1979
EWANS, Robert J. W.- THOMAS, T. V. (edd.): Crown, Church and Estates. Central European politics in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, Basigstoke, 1991
FICHTNER, Paula Sutter: Administrators at Work: The Bohemian Royal Enchequer in the Sixteenth Century, In.: Jiří Mikulec - Miloslav Polívka (red.), Per Saecula as tempora nostra. Sborník prací k šedesátým narozeninám prof. Jaroslava Pánka, Praha 2007, s. 195-200
FUKALA, Radek: Silesia: The society of elites. Silesian dukes and estates (1437-1740). Ústí nad Orlicí 2008
KNOZ, Tomáš (ed.): Political Culture in Central Europe. (10th-20th Century). Part 1, Middle Ages and Early Modern Era, Praha: Institute of History, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic - Warszaw: Polish Academy of Sciences, 2005
TEICH, Mikuláš (ed.): Bohemia in History, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998
VÁLKA, Josef: Moravia of the Estates of the Realm, In: The Last Flowers of the Middle Ages. From the Gothic to the Renaissance in Moravia and Silesia, Olomouc 2000, p. 25-32

9. The era before and after the Battle of White Mountain
Kateřina Dufková (katerina@dufka.com)

The Battle of White Mountain has become the crucial turning point in the Czech history, although it was only a small quarrel that took only about two hours. The lecture will follow the previous lecture, starting with the reign of Maximilian II and his son Rudolf II, focusing on the escalation of the brotherly conflict between Rudolf II and Archduke Mathias in 1608. It will explain the religious, political and social situation of the 16th and beginning of the 17th century Czech lands that led to the defeat of the Czech Estates at the beginning of the Thirty years-long war and the outcome that was brought by the changed political direction. The legacy and the importance of the battle of White Mountain in the Czech history and culture will also be covered by the presentation.

Literature:
EWANS, Robert J. W.– THOMAS, T. V. (edd.): Crown, Church and Estates. Central European politics in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, Basigstoke, 1991
SNIDER, Frederick: The Restructuralization of the Bohemian Nobility, In: Češi a svět. Sborník k pětasedmdesátinám Ivana Pfaffa, Praha 2000, p. 55–61
VÁLKA, Josef: Rudolfine culture, In: Bohemia in History, Cambridge 1998, p. 117–142
KNOZ, Tomáš (ed.): Political Culture in Central Europe. (10th-20th Century). Part 1, Middle Ages and Early Modern Era, Praha: Institute of History, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic – Warszaw: Polish Academy of Sciences, 2005

10. The Bohemian Kingdom, Prague and Bohemian towns during the Thirty Years' War.
Alena Pavlíčková (alenka.sojkova@seznam.cz)

The lecture will focus on the Thirty Years' War and its impacts on the situation in Bohemia and Moravia. First of all, it will introduce the beginnings of this conflict which are connected with the Bohemian Revolt, its defeat at the Battle of White Mountain and subsequent outburst of the war in Europe. It will also deal with consequences of the Bohemian Revolt in Bohemia and Moravia that were expressed seriously in constitutional changes through the Renewed Land Ordinance and recatolization of the lands. Secondly, it will try to present a milieu of Bohemian and Moravian towns and cities during the Thirty Years’ War with emphasis on Prague as the capital of the Bohemian kingdom, namely political and social situation in towns and cities before the Bohemian Revolt and effects of the constitutional changes and recatolization on the one hand and devastation, epidemics and passages of armies during the war on the other hand which acted on the social and political situation of Prague and other towns and cities of Bohemia and Moravia and might cause their decline.

Literature:
WILSON, Peter H.: Europe's tragedy. A history of the Thirty Years War. London 2009.
ASCH, Ronald G.: The Thirty Years War. The Holy Roman Empire and Europe, 1618-1648. Basingstoke 1997.
POLIŠENSKÝ, Josef: Tragic triangle. The Netherlands, Spain and Bohemia 1617-1621. Prague 1991.
PURSELL, Brennan C.: The winter king. Frederick V of the Palatinate and the coming of the Thirty Years' War. Aldershot 2003.
VILÍM, Jan. Bellum Tricennale. The Thirty Years' War. XXIIIrd Colloquium of the International Commission of Military History. Praha 1997.
KNOZ, Tomáš. Political Culture in the Period of the Estates' Rebellion, the Post-White Mountain Confiscations and the Thirty Years' War. In: Manikowska, Halina (edd.): Political Culture in Central Europe. (10th - 20th Century). Part 1, Middle Ages and Early Modern Era. Prague 2005, p. 283-297.
ŠRONĚK, Michal and HAUSENBLASOVÁ, Jaroslava: Gloria et Miseria 1618-1648. Prague during the Thirty Years War. Prague 1998.
MILLER, Jaroslav: Urban Societies in East-Central Europe. 1500 - 1700. Aldershot 2008.

11. The Marvellous world of Czech Baroque.
Helena Chalupová (Helena.Chalupova@gmail.com)

The lecture will describe the political history and cultural history of Post-White Mountain Bohemian Lands. The so-called “Post-White Mountain period” indicates in the narrow sense the period of the Thirty Years' War, more often the period up to 1740 - the onset of the Enlightenment, or until the “Czech national revival”. It was a time of stabilization and recovery from the aftermath of the Thirty Years' War. The lecture will show this period as an age of economic and cultural boom, describe a specific culture of the Czech Baroque.

Literature:
DOLEŽALOVÁ, Eva – PÁNEK, Jaroslav. (2011) „Confession and Nation in the Era of Reformations: Central Europe in Comparative Perspective“. Praha. Download link: http://www.hiu.cas.cz/cs/download/casopisy-elektronicky-na-web/dolezalova-confession-2011.pdf
EVANS, John W. (1985). „The Making of the Habsburg Monarchy. 1550 – 1700. An Interpretation.“ Oxford.
FREY, Linda – FREY, Marsha (1978). "The Latter Years of Leopold I and his Court, 1700–1705: A Pernicious Factionalism". Historian. 40 (3): 479–491.
KAHN, Robert A. (1992). „A History of the Habsburg Empire, 1526–1918“. University of California Press, California.
Louthan, Howard (2011). „Converting Bohemia“.
O´MALLEY, John (2000). „Trent and All That. Renaming Catholicism in the Early Modern Era“. Cambridge.
TEICH, Mikuláš (1998). „Bohemia in History“. Cambridge University Press. Link: https://books.google.cz/books?id=zfxITVc66KMC&redir_esc=y

12. Europe's mother-in-law and her sons. Maria Theresa, Joseph II, Leopold II, and the Enlightenment era.
Eva Jarošová (jarosova@ualberta.ca)

The lecture will focus on the Enlightenment era in Czech lands represented by the rule of Empress Maria Theresa and her sons Joseph II and Leopold II. The period beginning with the split of the house of Habsburgs to the Habsburg-Lorraine House led through many reforms and wars towards the developing of a modern state. We´ll look closely at these reforms and wars as well as on the cultural heritage of this era.

Literature:
BEALES, Derek Edward Dawson. Joseph II. [Vol.] 1, In the Shadow of Maria Theresa 1741-1780. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987.
BEALES, Derek Edward Dawson. Joseph II. Vol.2, Against the world. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009
HEPPNER, Harald, Peter URBANITSCH a Renate ZEDINGER. Social change in the Habsburg Monarchy. Bochum: Dr. Dieter Winkler, 2011.
KERNER, Robert Joseph. Bohemia in the eighteenth century: a study in political, economic and the history with special reference to the reign of Leopold II, 1790-1792. New York: Macmillan, 1932.
Vovk, Justin C. (2010). In Destiny's Hands: Five Tragic Rulers, Children of Maria Theresa. iUniverse: Bloomington

Last update: Jarošová Eva, Mgr., Ph.D. (09.10.2018)