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The volume unites conversations with four masters of Medieval Studies from east-central Europe: János Bak from Hungary, Jerzy Kłoczowski from Poland, František Šmahel from the Czech Republic, and Herwig Wolfram from Austria. The interviews, made by younger colleagues, reveal engaging life stories, with numerous observations, anecdotes and experiences. The four scholars grew up before and during the war, under Nazi occupation, emerged as young scholars in the difficult post-war period, and, for most of their careers worked in the shadow of the Iron Curtain, two of them spending most of their lifetimes under communist regimes. The conversations focus on ways in which open-minded young inte...
This intellectual history of the dissident Hussite reform movement in early 15th century Bohemia explains the process of Hussite radicalization, which led to their overthrow of secular and religious structures in the so-called "first European revolution". It does this by discovering the political relevance of diverse heterodox leaders and the discourses they adapted into mobilizing calls to conflict. As such, the work represents a reimagining of the Hussite revolution which emphasizes the symbolic worldview of its agents. This includes an appreciation of the Hussite debt to unexpected traditions of thought, and of the movement's participation in innovative visions of theo-political order.
Did the Reformers lack a vision for missions? In Sixteenth-Century Mission, a diverse cast of contributors explores the wide-reaching practice and theology of mission during this era. Rather than a century bereft of cross-cultural outreach, we find both Reformers and Roman Catholics preaching the gospel and establishing the church in all the world. This overlooked yet rich history reveals themes and insights relevant to the practice of mission today.
Rituals and ceremonies played a significant role in medieval society by both establishing continuity with previous generations and their legacy, and temporarily allowing individuals to step out of their everyday routine. This is true for local communities, villages, convents, castles and cities, but also, for kingdoms and empires. Despite its importance, ritual in medieval Central Europe has not yet been studied to a great extent. In this volume, seven contributions deal with various examples and aspects of rituals in the late medieval Bohemian lands. The individual contributions explore particular rituals (coronation, wedding, funeral) or environments (cities, nobility, court, church). They share innovative interpretations and newly elaborated sources. Contributors are: Antonín Kalous, František Šmahel, Martin Čapský, Martin Nodl, Robert Šimůnek, Tomáš Borovský, and Václav Žůrek.
This volume is a unique publication as it examines the Marxist attitudes in East Central European historiography and archaeology for the first time, with an emphasis on the co-existence of Marxist and other methodologies between the 1950s and 1970s in the local historiographies in question. Its approach is to distinguish between pseudo-Marxism as an ideological tool on the one hand, and Marxism in the form of historical materialism as a way to interpret the medieval world on the other. Contributors are: Florin Curta, Piotr Guzowski, Adam Hudek, Tereza Johanidesová, Jitka Komendová, Jiří Macháček, Andrzej Marzec, Martin Nodl, Attila Pók, David Radek, Tadeusz Paweł Rutkowski, Iurie Stamati, Rafał Stobiecki, Gábor Thoroczkay, Przemysław Wiszewski, Piotr Węcowski, Martin Wihoda, and Dušan Zupka.
In early fifteenth-century Prague, disagreements about religion came to be shouted in the streets and taught to the laity in the vernacular, giving rise to a new kind of public engagement that would persist into the early modern era and beyond. The reforming followers of Jan Hus brought theological learning to the people through a variety of genres, including songs, poems, tractates, letters, manifestos, and sermons. At the same time, university masters provided the laity with an education that enabled them to discuss contentious issues and arrive at their own conclusions, emphasizing that they held the freedom to make up their own minds about important theological issues. This marketplace o...
Born January 1, 1993 after it split with Slovakia, the Czech Republic is one of the youngest members of the European Union. Despite its youth as a nation, this land and the areas just outside its modern borders boasts an ancient and intricate past. With A History of the Czech Lands, editors Jaroslav Pánek and Oldrich Tuma—along with several scholars from the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and Charles University—provide one of the most complete historical accounts of this region to date. Pánek and Tuma’s history begins in the Neolithic era and follows the development of the state as it transformed into the Kingdom of Bohemia during the ninth century, into Czechoslovakia aft...
The present collection, divided into three thematic sections, includes twenty-one studies on the history of the University of Prague from its foundation in 1348 to the 16th century. The first section is devoted to the birth of the university, its first institutions, the growth of the earliest colleges and the victory of the Reformist party. The second part concentrates on the curriculum, examinations, graduations and annual disputations of the Faculty of Liberal Arts. Section three deals with university polemics about universalia realia, mainly in relation to the scholarly and literary activity of Jerome of Prague (+ 1416).
Ten chapters examine aspects of medieval Czech literature, with particular emphasis on women readers and subjects and the influence of the church. Individual manuscripts examined include The Dalimil Chronicle , The Ointment Seller , The Legend of Saint Procopius , The Life of St Catherine , The New Council and The Weaver, The Wycliffite Woman and The Dispute between Prague and Kutná Hora .
The concept of heresy is deeply rooted in Christian European culture. The palpable increase in incidences of heresy in the Middle Ages may be said to directly relate to the Christianity's attempts to define orthodoxy and establish conformity at its centre, resulting in the sometimes forceful elimination of Christian sects. In the transition from medieval to early modern times, however, the perception of heresy underwent a profound transformation, ultimately leading to its decriminalization and the emergence of a pluralistic religious outlook. The essays in this volume offer readers a unique insight into this little-understood cultural shift. Half of the chapters investigate the manner in whi...