Václav Žůrek completed his PhD in 2014 in co-tutelle at Charles University (Prague) and École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (Paris) on the instrumentalisation of the past by the Luxembourg and Valois dynasties. Since 2008 he has been a research fellow at the Centre for Medieval Studies in Prague, part of the Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences. He has worked on projects on the vernacularisation of the Czech literary landscape, on medieval rituals, especially coronations, on the reception of medieval bestsellers in the Czech lands, and most recently on political thought in late medieval Bohemia. His research interests include late medieval political and cultural history of Central Europe, the Luxembourg dynasty, historiography and manuscript evidence of the reception of popular works in this region.
The first collection of essays in the English language dedicated to the cultural achievements and... more The first collection of essays in the English language dedicated to the cultural achievements and politics of one of the most important ruling houses of late medieval Europe.
The house of Luxembourg between 1308 and 1437 is best known today for its principal royal and imperial representatives, Henry VII, John the Blind, Charles IV, and Charles's two sons, Wenceslas and Sigismund - a group of rulers who, for better or worse, shaped the political destiny of much of Europe during the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. While some of the Luxembourg cultural legacy can still be experienced directly today in and around Prague and southern Germany, and through the literary and musical works of Machaut, Froissart, and Wolkenstein, it reached much further across Europe: from England to present-day Romania, and from the Baltic Sea to the Italian peninsula, alongside the dynasty's homelands in what is now Luxembourg, Belgium and France. However, this culture has not always attracted the scholarly attention it deserves.
This volume explores the pan-European impact and influence of the Luxembourgs in a variety of fields: art and architectural history, material culture, Czech, French, German and Latin text production, gender and intellectual history, and music. Embracing the subject matter from multi-disciplinary and transnational perspectives, the essays here offer new insights into the late medieval cultures of the Luxembourg court. Particular subjects treated include the making of the "Wenceslas Bible"; Machaut at the court of John of Luxembourg; and Charles IV's patronage of multilingual literature.
Festivities, Ceremonies, and Rituals in the Lands of the Bohemian Crown in the Late Middle Ages , 2022
Rituals and ceremonies played a significant role in medieval society by establishing continuity w... more Rituals and ceremonies played a significant role in medieval society by establishing continuity with previous generations and their legacy, while temporarily allowing individuals to step out of their everyday routine. This is true at the level of the local community, village, convent, castle, or city, and also on the scale of kingdom and empire. Despite their importance, medieval rituals had not yet been studied as systematically as 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.
Studium dochovaných rukopisů je klíčovým prostředkem k zodpovězení otázek spojených se středověko... more Studium dochovaných rukopisů je klíčovým prostředkem k zodpovězení otázek spojených se středověkou písemnou kulturou a vzdělaností. Autoři knihy zkoumají problematiku šíření znalostí v předmoderní společnosti na příkladu čtyř mimořádně úspěšných středověkých děl, která sledují ze všech perspektiv, jež dochovaný materiál umožňuje. Zvolili si spisy, které spojuje zřetelná snaha o přenesení různě definovaného vědění napříč vzdělanou společností. Osudy vybraných středověkých bestsellerů popisují od jejich vzniku přes rukopisné šíření v českých zemích až po rozličné formy užívání a recepce v dalších textech. Svým výzkumem autoři nabízejí materiál k rekonstrukci intelektuálních sítí v daném geografickém prostoru a k poznání funkce konkrétních děl v různých sociálních prostředích. Kniha tak přispívá k vytvoření komplexního obrazu čtenářské a rukopisné kultury v jejích pozdně středověkých proměnách.
The study of surviving manuscripts is a key means of answering questions related to medieval written culture and literacy. The authors of this book explore the issue of the dissemination of knowledge in premodern society through the example of four highly successful medieval works, which they examine from all the perspectives that the surviving material allows. They have chosen writings that are united by a distinct concern to transmit knowledge, variously defined, across learned societies. They describe the fate of selected medieval bestsellers from their origins through manuscript dissemination in the Bohemian lands to their various forms of use and reception in other texts. Through their research, the authors offer material for reconstructing intellectual networks in a given geographical space and for understanding the function of specific works in different social settings. The book thus contributes to a comprehensive picture of reading and manuscript culture in its late medieval transformations.
Nakladatelství Lidové noviny (Česká historie) 272 s. ISBN 978-80-7422-497-3., 2018
The Emperor and King Charles IV (1316-1378) represents today an untouchable monument in Czech his... more The Emperor and King Charles IV (1316-1378) represents today an untouchable monument in Czech history, carved into the marble of admiration and clichés. Although a new and thorough study of his reign is yet to be written, it is nevertheless useful to introduce Charles IV from a new perspective. In many regards, historical research has already brought new findings, and thus we are now able to shed new light on both his life and his reign. This book interprets the actions of Charles IV as a ruler in the context of his era, allowing us to see, to a great extent, the course of his reign in a different light, considering the impossibility of judging a historical figure by contemporary moral standards. The historian’s task, as was already aptly expressed by Marc Bloch, is not to judge the historical players, but to try to understand their actions in the context of their epoch.
The first part of the book is framed as a chronological description of Charles’ life, contextualizing the analysed topics in the broader Luxembourg era. The second part offers a closer look into Charles IV’s style of government while focusing on phenomena which, we argue, reveal more about his conception of the exercise of power, allowing us to better understand his reign and historical legacy.
History represents a constant dialogue between the present and the past, and it is precisely in this context that we must observe the current image of Charles IV, considered both by historians and the public to be a very successful statesman. Researchers have lately tended to present the Luxembourg sovereign in a purely positive, practically non-problematic light, particularly in the narrative of 14th century art history, which has been portrayed as a story of a cultural flourishing which emanated from the centre, i.e. the imperial court. This book instead critically examines this relatively well-established conviction, revealing the different forms of Charles IV’s self-presentation which strongly affect the popular and expert interpretations of his rule to this day. The individual chapters thus concentrate on essential and symptomatic topics of this sovereign’s reign.
The advantage of elaborating on Charles IV’s life and reign is the fact that many documents have been preserved from this era. This is especially true of works written at his court or personally commissioned by him, reflecting not only Charles’ positions and political views, but most importantly, openly expressing the ideology of his royal court. We possess more sources on Charles IV and his reign than on any other medieval king of Bohemia, a fact which is convenient for the historian, but also naturally raises his suspicion and requires his caution; many of these sources have obviously been created especially to convince the reader of Charles IV’s exceptional role in history. Therefore, it is only with great caution that we refer to them, while trying to discover the context of their creation.
The book does not only represent a new biography of the medieval sovereign; it is rather a study of the key elements of Charles’ life and reign, revealing a great deal about the ideas on which his programme was based. However, we must not forget the fact that Charles’ reign is not only a chronicle of success and elaborate political developments, but on many occasions included failure and strategic change. Thus, this book focuses on the most characteristic manifestations of Charles’ execution of royal power, already established as symbolic of his personality in his own lifetime.
The spectrum of interpreting Charles’ rule and its symbolic dimension extends from particular decrees to the very delicate nuances of public self-presentation which gave his reign an indispensable effect. Our observations of Charles IV as emperor and king are contextualized within his broader life and reign, a perspective which reveals the changes and nuanced accents over the course of his rule. This is the monograph’s key contribution to a better understanding of the environment in which the idealised image of the Emperor and King Charles IV, surrounding us even today, was constructed.
Bauch, Martin; Burkhardt, Julia; Gaudek, Tomáš; Žůrek, Václav (Hgg.), Heilige, Helden, Wüteriche.... more Bauch, Martin; Burkhardt, Julia; Gaudek, Tomáš; Žůrek, Václav (Hgg.), Heilige, Helden, Wüteriche. Herrschaftsstile im langen Jahrhundert der Luxemburger, Köln; Wien 2017 (Forschungen zur Kaiser- und Papstgeschichte des Mittelalters. Beihefte zu J.F. Böhmer, Regesta Imperii, 41).
Rezensionen/Reviews:
- Christian Oertel, in: sehepunkte 18 (2018), Nr. 2 [15.02.2018].
- Christa Birkel, in: Hémecht. Revue d’histoire luxémbourgeoise 70/1 (2018), S. 118-121
Emperor Charles IV Lands of the Bohemian Crown and Europe, 2017
Karl IV. Der weise Herrsch er und die Sprachen Obwohl der römische Kaiser und König von Böhmen Ka... more Karl IV. Der weise Herrsch er und die Sprachen Obwohl der römische Kaiser und König von Böhmen Karl IY. nicht das Prädikat "der Weise" von seinen Zeitgenossen erhielt, wurde er schon während seiner Regierung als weiser Herrscher wahrgenommen. Der weise König ist ein mittelalterlicher Herrschertypus, ein Herrscherideal, das seit dem Frühmittelalter eng mit der Tugendlehre verbunden war. Der ideale Herrscher sollte über die vier Kardinaltugenden des Mittelalters verfügen. Zu diesen Tugenden gehörte neben Iustitia (Gerechtigkeit), Fortitudo (Tapferkeit) und Temperantia (Mäßigung) auch Prudentia (zumeist als Klugheit übersetzt). Diese wurde mit Sapientia (Weisheit) verbunden, welche man häufig statt Prudentia nannte. Die Weisheit eines Königs kann in mehreren Aspekten der Herrschaftsauffassung beobachtet werden: Der weise König tritt als Gesetzgeber und Richter auf, als Mäzen, als Leser und manchmal sogar als Autor (rex litteratus). Diese vier Aspekte sind keineswegs erschöpfend und die als "weise" betrachteten Herrscher entsprechen selten allen vier Rollen. 1 Karl IV. und sein Beraterkreis orientierten sich ziemlich stark am Ideal des weisen
In fifteenth-century Bohemia, the natural continuity of succeeding kings was interrupted, and the... more In fifteenth-century Bohemia, the natural continuity of succeeding kings was interrupted, and the political situation resulted in searching for a new king and organizing the election. This procedure provoked comments on candidates from supporters and opponents. One of the criteria discussed was the candidate's origins. His labelling as a foreigner, or emphasis on alien origin and mother tongue was very often part of the strategy to defame the potential king. The article analyses how this specific criterion was integrated into other requirements to challenge the candidate's idoneity, introducing the various uses of this argument in contemporary sources.
This study deals with a short chess treatise entitled Tractatus de ludo scachorum written by
the ... more This study deals with a short chess treatise entitled Tractatus de ludo scachorum written by the Franciscan Paulinus of Venice (around 1270–1344). The treatise is apparently inspired by the best-selling chess treatise of the same name, written by the Dominican Jacobus de Cessolis. The evaluation of the reception of Paulinus’s work from a pan-European perspective clearly shows that after initial interest in 14th century Italy, the second wave of its reception was in Central Europe at the beginning of the 15th century, which can be connected mainly with the court of Wenceslas IV and Prague ecclesiastic dignitaries. This applies both to Paulinus’s work as a whole, as well as to the treatise on the game of chess itself. This branch of the tradition also includes the richly illuminated Madrid manuscript, the only one containing the chess treatise alone. The style of its decoration, as well as some of its details, suggests a commissioner among the Czech nobility close to King Wenceslas IV. The most likely candidate is Petr Zmrzlík the Elder, a rich nobleman and bibliophile.
Godfrey of Viterbo and his Readers: Imperial Tradition and Universal History in Late Medieval Europe, ed. Thomas Foerster, Farnham: Ashgate 2015, p. 87-102.
La cour et la ville dans l’Europe du Moyen Âge et des Temps Modernes, edd. Denis Menjot – Léonard Courbon (= Studies in European Urban History 35), Brepols: Turnhout 2015, s. 213-223. , 2015
Under the reign of Charles IV (1346-1378), Prague became the capital of the Empire and the imperi... more Under the reign of Charles IV (1346-1378), Prague became the capital of the Empire and the imperial residence, which influenced the everyday lift of the town, in particular regarding the coexistence of both court and urban society. The relations between the court members and town inhabitants reflected also on a specifie group: the scholars. The number of men of letters (or clergymen) increased especially with the foundation of the university (1348) and of numerous convents, cloisters and religious houses intra muros. Given his ambitious policy, Emperor Charles IV was in great need of men of letters as advisers and of authors capable of elaborate historical political and legal writings. The sovereign sought these authors among the members of Prague religious institutions: university members, clergy from Prague churches or canons and monks. Moreover, the Emperor invited to his Prague court also foreign scholars to create, to his direct order or without it, different writings. The present article sketches on several examples the forms and strategies the Emperor used to draw men of letters to his court.
Bohemia. Zeitschrift für Geschichte und Kultur der böhmischen Länder, 2018
The present artide deals with two manuscripts that were addressed to King George of Podiebrad (14... more The present artide deals with two manuscripts that were addressed to King George of Podiebrad (1458-1471) and pursued the goal of advising him what he ought to do in order to better control the situation in a Kingdom of Bohemia which was split between Catholic and Utraquist confessions, and to generally improve his reign. The first one ist the "Letter to King George of Podiebrad" which was written in 1462 by the then administrator of the Prague archdiocese, Hilarius of Leitmeritz. The second, a listing of princes and principalities called "Handbuch der Verwaltung" [A Handbook on Administration], was completed by university scholar Pavel Žídek in 1471. According to both authors, conversion to the Catholic faith by the King and subsequently, it was hoped, by all observers of Utraquism was the principal prerequisite for peace in the kingdom. They both viewed the past relations of the kingdom to the Holy See, particularly under Charles IV, as a model for its present administration. The authors advise the King in religious questions, but they also seek solutions for problems which are a consequence of people of different religious observances living together in one country. Both works are motivated in part by the widespread quest for identity among Catholics of the time, with features such as nostalgia for the "good old times" and, on the other hand, an outspoken patriotism. The preserved copies of both texts are in Czech, and it is not improbable that they were written in the vernacular with the explicit aim of reaching not just the king, but also his court.
The first collection of essays in the English language dedicated to the cultural achievements and... more The first collection of essays in the English language dedicated to the cultural achievements and politics of one of the most important ruling houses of late medieval Europe.
The house of Luxembourg between 1308 and 1437 is best known today for its principal royal and imperial representatives, Henry VII, John the Blind, Charles IV, and Charles's two sons, Wenceslas and Sigismund - a group of rulers who, for better or worse, shaped the political destiny of much of Europe during the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. While some of the Luxembourg cultural legacy can still be experienced directly today in and around Prague and southern Germany, and through the literary and musical works of Machaut, Froissart, and Wolkenstein, it reached much further across Europe: from England to present-day Romania, and from the Baltic Sea to the Italian peninsula, alongside the dynasty's homelands in what is now Luxembourg, Belgium and France. However, this culture has not always attracted the scholarly attention it deserves.
This volume explores the pan-European impact and influence of the Luxembourgs in a variety of fields: art and architectural history, material culture, Czech, French, German and Latin text production, gender and intellectual history, and music. Embracing the subject matter from multi-disciplinary and transnational perspectives, the essays here offer new insights into the late medieval cultures of the Luxembourg court. Particular subjects treated include the making of the "Wenceslas Bible"; Machaut at the court of John of Luxembourg; and Charles IV's patronage of multilingual literature.
Festivities, Ceremonies, and Rituals in the Lands of the Bohemian Crown in the Late Middle Ages , 2022
Rituals and ceremonies played a significant role in medieval society by establishing continuity w... more Rituals and ceremonies played a significant role in medieval society by establishing continuity with previous generations and their legacy, while temporarily allowing individuals to step out of their everyday routine. This is true at the level of the local community, village, convent, castle, or city, and also on the scale of kingdom and empire. Despite their importance, medieval rituals had not yet been studied as systematically as 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.
Studium dochovaných rukopisů je klíčovým prostředkem k zodpovězení otázek spojených se středověko... more Studium dochovaných rukopisů je klíčovým prostředkem k zodpovězení otázek spojených se středověkou písemnou kulturou a vzdělaností. Autoři knihy zkoumají problematiku šíření znalostí v předmoderní společnosti na příkladu čtyř mimořádně úspěšných středověkých děl, která sledují ze všech perspektiv, jež dochovaný materiál umožňuje. Zvolili si spisy, které spojuje zřetelná snaha o přenesení různě definovaného vědění napříč vzdělanou společností. Osudy vybraných středověkých bestsellerů popisují od jejich vzniku přes rukopisné šíření v českých zemích až po rozličné formy užívání a recepce v dalších textech. Svým výzkumem autoři nabízejí materiál k rekonstrukci intelektuálních sítí v daném geografickém prostoru a k poznání funkce konkrétních děl v různých sociálních prostředích. Kniha tak přispívá k vytvoření komplexního obrazu čtenářské a rukopisné kultury v jejích pozdně středověkých proměnách.
The study of surviving manuscripts is a key means of answering questions related to medieval written culture and literacy. The authors of this book explore the issue of the dissemination of knowledge in premodern society through the example of four highly successful medieval works, which they examine from all the perspectives that the surviving material allows. They have chosen writings that are united by a distinct concern to transmit knowledge, variously defined, across learned societies. They describe the fate of selected medieval bestsellers from their origins through manuscript dissemination in the Bohemian lands to their various forms of use and reception in other texts. Through their research, the authors offer material for reconstructing intellectual networks in a given geographical space and for understanding the function of specific works in different social settings. The book thus contributes to a comprehensive picture of reading and manuscript culture in its late medieval transformations.
Nakladatelství Lidové noviny (Česká historie) 272 s. ISBN 978-80-7422-497-3., 2018
The Emperor and King Charles IV (1316-1378) represents today an untouchable monument in Czech his... more The Emperor and King Charles IV (1316-1378) represents today an untouchable monument in Czech history, carved into the marble of admiration and clichés. Although a new and thorough study of his reign is yet to be written, it is nevertheless useful to introduce Charles IV from a new perspective. In many regards, historical research has already brought new findings, and thus we are now able to shed new light on both his life and his reign. This book interprets the actions of Charles IV as a ruler in the context of his era, allowing us to see, to a great extent, the course of his reign in a different light, considering the impossibility of judging a historical figure by contemporary moral standards. The historian’s task, as was already aptly expressed by Marc Bloch, is not to judge the historical players, but to try to understand their actions in the context of their epoch.
The first part of the book is framed as a chronological description of Charles’ life, contextualizing the analysed topics in the broader Luxembourg era. The second part offers a closer look into Charles IV’s style of government while focusing on phenomena which, we argue, reveal more about his conception of the exercise of power, allowing us to better understand his reign and historical legacy.
History represents a constant dialogue between the present and the past, and it is precisely in this context that we must observe the current image of Charles IV, considered both by historians and the public to be a very successful statesman. Researchers have lately tended to present the Luxembourg sovereign in a purely positive, practically non-problematic light, particularly in the narrative of 14th century art history, which has been portrayed as a story of a cultural flourishing which emanated from the centre, i.e. the imperial court. This book instead critically examines this relatively well-established conviction, revealing the different forms of Charles IV’s self-presentation which strongly affect the popular and expert interpretations of his rule to this day. The individual chapters thus concentrate on essential and symptomatic topics of this sovereign’s reign.
The advantage of elaborating on Charles IV’s life and reign is the fact that many documents have been preserved from this era. This is especially true of works written at his court or personally commissioned by him, reflecting not only Charles’ positions and political views, but most importantly, openly expressing the ideology of his royal court. We possess more sources on Charles IV and his reign than on any other medieval king of Bohemia, a fact which is convenient for the historian, but also naturally raises his suspicion and requires his caution; many of these sources have obviously been created especially to convince the reader of Charles IV’s exceptional role in history. Therefore, it is only with great caution that we refer to them, while trying to discover the context of their creation.
The book does not only represent a new biography of the medieval sovereign; it is rather a study of the key elements of Charles’ life and reign, revealing a great deal about the ideas on which his programme was based. However, we must not forget the fact that Charles’ reign is not only a chronicle of success and elaborate political developments, but on many occasions included failure and strategic change. Thus, this book focuses on the most characteristic manifestations of Charles’ execution of royal power, already established as symbolic of his personality in his own lifetime.
The spectrum of interpreting Charles’ rule and its symbolic dimension extends from particular decrees to the very delicate nuances of public self-presentation which gave his reign an indispensable effect. Our observations of Charles IV as emperor and king are contextualized within his broader life and reign, a perspective which reveals the changes and nuanced accents over the course of his rule. This is the monograph’s key contribution to a better understanding of the environment in which the idealised image of the Emperor and King Charles IV, surrounding us even today, was constructed.
Bauch, Martin; Burkhardt, Julia; Gaudek, Tomáš; Žůrek, Václav (Hgg.), Heilige, Helden, Wüteriche.... more Bauch, Martin; Burkhardt, Julia; Gaudek, Tomáš; Žůrek, Václav (Hgg.), Heilige, Helden, Wüteriche. Herrschaftsstile im langen Jahrhundert der Luxemburger, Köln; Wien 2017 (Forschungen zur Kaiser- und Papstgeschichte des Mittelalters. Beihefte zu J.F. Böhmer, Regesta Imperii, 41).
Rezensionen/Reviews:
- Christian Oertel, in: sehepunkte 18 (2018), Nr. 2 [15.02.2018].
- Christa Birkel, in: Hémecht. Revue d’histoire luxémbourgeoise 70/1 (2018), S. 118-121
Emperor Charles IV Lands of the Bohemian Crown and Europe, 2017
Karl IV. Der weise Herrsch er und die Sprachen Obwohl der römische Kaiser und König von Böhmen Ka... more Karl IV. Der weise Herrsch er und die Sprachen Obwohl der römische Kaiser und König von Böhmen Karl IY. nicht das Prädikat "der Weise" von seinen Zeitgenossen erhielt, wurde er schon während seiner Regierung als weiser Herrscher wahrgenommen. Der weise König ist ein mittelalterlicher Herrschertypus, ein Herrscherideal, das seit dem Frühmittelalter eng mit der Tugendlehre verbunden war. Der ideale Herrscher sollte über die vier Kardinaltugenden des Mittelalters verfügen. Zu diesen Tugenden gehörte neben Iustitia (Gerechtigkeit), Fortitudo (Tapferkeit) und Temperantia (Mäßigung) auch Prudentia (zumeist als Klugheit übersetzt). Diese wurde mit Sapientia (Weisheit) verbunden, welche man häufig statt Prudentia nannte. Die Weisheit eines Königs kann in mehreren Aspekten der Herrschaftsauffassung beobachtet werden: Der weise König tritt als Gesetzgeber und Richter auf, als Mäzen, als Leser und manchmal sogar als Autor (rex litteratus). Diese vier Aspekte sind keineswegs erschöpfend und die als "weise" betrachteten Herrscher entsprechen selten allen vier Rollen. 1 Karl IV. und sein Beraterkreis orientierten sich ziemlich stark am Ideal des weisen
In fifteenth-century Bohemia, the natural continuity of succeeding kings was interrupted, and the... more In fifteenth-century Bohemia, the natural continuity of succeeding kings was interrupted, and the political situation resulted in searching for a new king and organizing the election. This procedure provoked comments on candidates from supporters and opponents. One of the criteria discussed was the candidate's origins. His labelling as a foreigner, or emphasis on alien origin and mother tongue was very often part of the strategy to defame the potential king. The article analyses how this specific criterion was integrated into other requirements to challenge the candidate's idoneity, introducing the various uses of this argument in contemporary sources.
This study deals with a short chess treatise entitled Tractatus de ludo scachorum written by
the ... more This study deals with a short chess treatise entitled Tractatus de ludo scachorum written by the Franciscan Paulinus of Venice (around 1270–1344). The treatise is apparently inspired by the best-selling chess treatise of the same name, written by the Dominican Jacobus de Cessolis. The evaluation of the reception of Paulinus’s work from a pan-European perspective clearly shows that after initial interest in 14th century Italy, the second wave of its reception was in Central Europe at the beginning of the 15th century, which can be connected mainly with the court of Wenceslas IV and Prague ecclesiastic dignitaries. This applies both to Paulinus’s work as a whole, as well as to the treatise on the game of chess itself. This branch of the tradition also includes the richly illuminated Madrid manuscript, the only one containing the chess treatise alone. The style of its decoration, as well as some of its details, suggests a commissioner among the Czech nobility close to King Wenceslas IV. The most likely candidate is Petr Zmrzlík the Elder, a rich nobleman and bibliophile.
Godfrey of Viterbo and his Readers: Imperial Tradition and Universal History in Late Medieval Europe, ed. Thomas Foerster, Farnham: Ashgate 2015, p. 87-102.
La cour et la ville dans l’Europe du Moyen Âge et des Temps Modernes, edd. Denis Menjot – Léonard Courbon (= Studies in European Urban History 35), Brepols: Turnhout 2015, s. 213-223. , 2015
Under the reign of Charles IV (1346-1378), Prague became the capital of the Empire and the imperi... more Under the reign of Charles IV (1346-1378), Prague became the capital of the Empire and the imperial residence, which influenced the everyday lift of the town, in particular regarding the coexistence of both court and urban society. The relations between the court members and town inhabitants reflected also on a specifie group: the scholars. The number of men of letters (or clergymen) increased especially with the foundation of the university (1348) and of numerous convents, cloisters and religious houses intra muros. Given his ambitious policy, Emperor Charles IV was in great need of men of letters as advisers and of authors capable of elaborate historical political and legal writings. The sovereign sought these authors among the members of Prague religious institutions: university members, clergy from Prague churches or canons and monks. Moreover, the Emperor invited to his Prague court also foreign scholars to create, to his direct order or without it, different writings. The present article sketches on several examples the forms and strategies the Emperor used to draw men of letters to his court.
Bohemia. Zeitschrift für Geschichte und Kultur der böhmischen Länder, 2018
The present artide deals with two manuscripts that were addressed to King George of Podiebrad (14... more The present artide deals with two manuscripts that were addressed to King George of Podiebrad (1458-1471) and pursued the goal of advising him what he ought to do in order to better control the situation in a Kingdom of Bohemia which was split between Catholic and Utraquist confessions, and to generally improve his reign. The first one ist the "Letter to King George of Podiebrad" which was written in 1462 by the then administrator of the Prague archdiocese, Hilarius of Leitmeritz. The second, a listing of princes and principalities called "Handbuch der Verwaltung" [A Handbook on Administration], was completed by university scholar Pavel Žídek in 1471. According to both authors, conversion to the Catholic faith by the King and subsequently, it was hoped, by all observers of Utraquism was the principal prerequisite for peace in the kingdom. They both viewed the past relations of the kingdom to the Holy See, particularly under Charles IV, as a model for its present administration. The authors advise the King in religious questions, but they also seek solutions for problems which are a consequence of people of different religious observances living together in one country. Both works are motivated in part by the widespread quest for identity among Catholics of the time, with features such as nostalgia for the "good old times" and, on the other hand, an outspoken patriotism. The preserved copies of both texts are in Czech, and it is not improbable that they were written in the vernacular with the explicit aim of reaching not just the king, but also his court.
Political literature flowered and progressed considerably in Fourteenth-century Bohemia : as well... more Political literature flowered and progressed considerably in Fourteenth-century Bohemia : as well as in the rest of Western Europe, this literature reflected political engagement and was written in vernacular. This tendency is analysed on the basis of the genre of the mirrors for princes in two main directions. The first part deals with the role played by the image of the wise king (rex sapiens) in the ideology and self-presentation of the Emperor Charles IV of Luxembourg. The second part focuses on the political society of Bohemia reflected in the poem New Council by Smil Flaška of Pardubice, which is highly polemical and critical of the reign of his son Wenceslaus IV.
Bauch, Martin; Burkhardt, Julia; Gaudek, Tomáš; Töbelmann, Paul; Žůrek, Václav, Heilige, Helden, ... more Bauch, Martin; Burkhardt, Julia; Gaudek, Tomáš; Töbelmann, Paul; Žůrek, Václav, Heilige, Helden, Wüteriche. Eine konzeptionelle Skizze zu ‚Herrschaftsstilen‘ im langen Jahrhundert der Luxemburger, in: Ders.; Burkhardt, Julia; Gaudek, Tomáš; Žůrek, Václav (Hgg.), Heilige, Helden, Wüteriche. Herrschaftsstile im langen Jahrhundert der Luxemburger, Köln; Wien 2017 (Forschungen zur Kaiser- und Papstgeschichte des Mittelalters. Beihefte zu J.F. Böhmer, Regesta Imperii, 41), S. 9-25.
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The house of Luxembourg between 1308 and 1437 is best known today for its principal royal and imperial representatives, Henry VII, John the Blind, Charles IV, and Charles's two sons, Wenceslas and Sigismund - a group of rulers who, for better or worse, shaped the political destiny of much of Europe during the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. While some of the Luxembourg cultural legacy can still be experienced directly today in and around Prague and southern Germany, and through the literary and musical works of Machaut, Froissart, and Wolkenstein, it reached much further across Europe: from England to present-day Romania, and from the Baltic Sea to the Italian peninsula, alongside the dynasty's homelands in what is now Luxembourg, Belgium and France. However, this culture has not always attracted the scholarly attention it deserves.
This volume explores the pan-European impact and influence of the Luxembourgs in a variety of fields: art and architectural history, material culture, Czech, French, German and Latin text production, gender and intellectual history, and music. Embracing the subject matter from multi-disciplinary and transnational perspectives, the essays here offer new insights into the late medieval cultures of the Luxembourg court. Particular subjects treated include the making of the "Wenceslas Bible"; Machaut at the court of John of Luxembourg; and Charles IV's patronage of multilingual literature.
OPEN ACCESS: https://openaccess.boydellandbrewercms.com/?id=-270970
The study of surviving manuscripts is a key means of answering questions related to medieval written culture and literacy. The authors of this book explore the issue of the dissemination of knowledge in premodern society through the example of four highly successful medieval works, which they examine from all the perspectives that the surviving material allows. They have chosen writings that are united by a distinct concern to transmit knowledge, variously defined, across learned societies. They describe the fate of selected medieval bestsellers from their origins through manuscript dissemination in the Bohemian lands to their various forms of use and reception in other texts. Through their research, the authors offer material for reconstructing intellectual networks in a given geographical space and for understanding the function of specific works in different social settings. The book thus contributes to a comprehensive picture of reading and manuscript culture in its late medieval transformations.
The first part of the book is framed as a chronological description of Charles’ life, contextualizing the analysed topics in the broader Luxembourg era. The second part offers a closer look into Charles IV’s style of government while focusing on phenomena which, we argue, reveal more about his conception of the exercise of power, allowing us to better understand his reign and historical legacy.
History represents a constant dialogue between the present and the past, and it is precisely in this context that we must observe the current image of Charles IV, considered both by historians and the public to be a very successful statesman. Researchers have lately tended to present the Luxembourg sovereign in a purely positive, practically non-problematic light, particularly in the narrative of 14th century art history, which has been portrayed as a story of a cultural flourishing which emanated from the centre, i.e. the imperial court. This book instead critically examines this relatively well-established conviction, revealing the different forms of Charles IV’s self-presentation which strongly affect the popular and expert interpretations of his rule to this day. The individual chapters thus concentrate on essential and symptomatic topics of this sovereign’s reign.
The advantage of elaborating on Charles IV’s life and reign is the fact that many documents have been preserved from this era. This is especially true of works written at his court or personally commissioned by him, reflecting not only Charles’ positions and political views, but most importantly, openly expressing the ideology of his royal court. We possess more sources on Charles IV and his reign than on any other medieval king of Bohemia, a fact which is convenient for the historian, but also naturally raises his suspicion and requires his caution; many of these sources have obviously been created especially to convince the reader of Charles IV’s exceptional role in history. Therefore, it is only with great caution that we refer to them, while trying to discover the context of their creation.
The book does not only represent a new biography of the medieval sovereign; it is rather a study of the key elements of Charles’ life and reign, revealing a great deal about the ideas on which his programme was based. However, we must not forget the fact that Charles’ reign is not only a chronicle of success and elaborate political developments, but on many occasions included failure and strategic change. Thus, this book focuses on the most characteristic manifestations of Charles’ execution of royal power, already established as symbolic of his personality in his own lifetime.
The spectrum of interpreting Charles’ rule and its symbolic dimension extends from particular decrees to the very delicate nuances of public self-presentation which gave his reign an indispensable effect. Our observations of Charles IV as emperor and king are contextualized within his broader life and reign, a perspective which reveals the changes and nuanced accents over the course of his rule. This is the monograph’s key contribution to a better understanding of the environment in which the idealised image of the Emperor and King Charles IV, surrounding us even today, was constructed.
Rezensionen/Reviews:
- Christian Oertel, in: sehepunkte 18 (2018), Nr. 2 [15.02.2018].
- Christa Birkel, in: Hémecht. Revue d’histoire luxémbourgeoise 70/1 (2018), S. 118-121
Articles by Vaclav Zurek
the Franciscan Paulinus of Venice (around 1270–1344). The treatise is apparently inspired by the best-selling chess treatise of the same name, written by the Dominican Jacobus de Cessolis. The evaluation of the reception of Paulinus’s work from a pan-European perspective clearly shows that after initial interest in 14th century Italy, the second wave of its reception was in Central Europe at the beginning of the 15th century, which can be connected mainly with the court of Wenceslas IV and Prague ecclesiastic dignitaries. This applies both to Paulinus’s work as a whole, as well as to the treatise on the game of chess itself. This branch of the tradition also includes the richly illuminated Madrid manuscript, the only one containing the chess treatise alone. The style of its decoration, as well as some of its details, suggests a commissioner among the Czech nobility close to King Wenceslas IV. The most likely candidate is Petr Zmrzlík the Elder, a rich nobleman and bibliophile.
second, a listing of princes and principalities called "Handbuch der Verwaltung" [A Handbook on Administration], was completed by university scholar Pavel Žídek in 1471. According to both authors, conversion to the Catholic faith by the King and subsequently, it was hoped, by all observers of Utraquism was the principal prerequisite
for peace in the kingdom. They both viewed the past relations of the kingdom to the Holy See, particularly under Charles IV, as a model for its present administration. The authors advise the King in religious questions, but they also seek solutions for problems which are a consequence of people of different religious observances living together in one country. Both works are motivated in part by the widespread quest for identity among Catholics of the time, with features such as nostalgia for the "good old times" and, on the other hand, an outspoken patriotism.
The preserved copies of both texts are in Czech, and it is not improbable that they were written in the vernacular with the explicit aim of reaching not just the king, but also his court.
The house of Luxembourg between 1308 and 1437 is best known today for its principal royal and imperial representatives, Henry VII, John the Blind, Charles IV, and Charles's two sons, Wenceslas and Sigismund - a group of rulers who, for better or worse, shaped the political destiny of much of Europe during the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. While some of the Luxembourg cultural legacy can still be experienced directly today in and around Prague and southern Germany, and through the literary and musical works of Machaut, Froissart, and Wolkenstein, it reached much further across Europe: from England to present-day Romania, and from the Baltic Sea to the Italian peninsula, alongside the dynasty's homelands in what is now Luxembourg, Belgium and France. However, this culture has not always attracted the scholarly attention it deserves.
This volume explores the pan-European impact and influence of the Luxembourgs in a variety of fields: art and architectural history, material culture, Czech, French, German and Latin text production, gender and intellectual history, and music. Embracing the subject matter from multi-disciplinary and transnational perspectives, the essays here offer new insights into the late medieval cultures of the Luxembourg court. Particular subjects treated include the making of the "Wenceslas Bible"; Machaut at the court of John of Luxembourg; and Charles IV's patronage of multilingual literature.
OPEN ACCESS: https://openaccess.boydellandbrewercms.com/?id=-270970
The study of surviving manuscripts is a key means of answering questions related to medieval written culture and literacy. The authors of this book explore the issue of the dissemination of knowledge in premodern society through the example of four highly successful medieval works, which they examine from all the perspectives that the surviving material allows. They have chosen writings that are united by a distinct concern to transmit knowledge, variously defined, across learned societies. They describe the fate of selected medieval bestsellers from their origins through manuscript dissemination in the Bohemian lands to their various forms of use and reception in other texts. Through their research, the authors offer material for reconstructing intellectual networks in a given geographical space and for understanding the function of specific works in different social settings. The book thus contributes to a comprehensive picture of reading and manuscript culture in its late medieval transformations.
The first part of the book is framed as a chronological description of Charles’ life, contextualizing the analysed topics in the broader Luxembourg era. The second part offers a closer look into Charles IV’s style of government while focusing on phenomena which, we argue, reveal more about his conception of the exercise of power, allowing us to better understand his reign and historical legacy.
History represents a constant dialogue between the present and the past, and it is precisely in this context that we must observe the current image of Charles IV, considered both by historians and the public to be a very successful statesman. Researchers have lately tended to present the Luxembourg sovereign in a purely positive, practically non-problematic light, particularly in the narrative of 14th century art history, which has been portrayed as a story of a cultural flourishing which emanated from the centre, i.e. the imperial court. This book instead critically examines this relatively well-established conviction, revealing the different forms of Charles IV’s self-presentation which strongly affect the popular and expert interpretations of his rule to this day. The individual chapters thus concentrate on essential and symptomatic topics of this sovereign’s reign.
The advantage of elaborating on Charles IV’s life and reign is the fact that many documents have been preserved from this era. This is especially true of works written at his court or personally commissioned by him, reflecting not only Charles’ positions and political views, but most importantly, openly expressing the ideology of his royal court. We possess more sources on Charles IV and his reign than on any other medieval king of Bohemia, a fact which is convenient for the historian, but also naturally raises his suspicion and requires his caution; many of these sources have obviously been created especially to convince the reader of Charles IV’s exceptional role in history. Therefore, it is only with great caution that we refer to them, while trying to discover the context of their creation.
The book does not only represent a new biography of the medieval sovereign; it is rather a study of the key elements of Charles’ life and reign, revealing a great deal about the ideas on which his programme was based. However, we must not forget the fact that Charles’ reign is not only a chronicle of success and elaborate political developments, but on many occasions included failure and strategic change. Thus, this book focuses on the most characteristic manifestations of Charles’ execution of royal power, already established as symbolic of his personality in his own lifetime.
The spectrum of interpreting Charles’ rule and its symbolic dimension extends from particular decrees to the very delicate nuances of public self-presentation which gave his reign an indispensable effect. Our observations of Charles IV as emperor and king are contextualized within his broader life and reign, a perspective which reveals the changes and nuanced accents over the course of his rule. This is the monograph’s key contribution to a better understanding of the environment in which the idealised image of the Emperor and King Charles IV, surrounding us even today, was constructed.
Rezensionen/Reviews:
- Christian Oertel, in: sehepunkte 18 (2018), Nr. 2 [15.02.2018].
- Christa Birkel, in: Hémecht. Revue d’histoire luxémbourgeoise 70/1 (2018), S. 118-121
the Franciscan Paulinus of Venice (around 1270–1344). The treatise is apparently inspired by the best-selling chess treatise of the same name, written by the Dominican Jacobus de Cessolis. The evaluation of the reception of Paulinus’s work from a pan-European perspective clearly shows that after initial interest in 14th century Italy, the second wave of its reception was in Central Europe at the beginning of the 15th century, which can be connected mainly with the court of Wenceslas IV and Prague ecclesiastic dignitaries. This applies both to Paulinus’s work as a whole, as well as to the treatise on the game of chess itself. This branch of the tradition also includes the richly illuminated Madrid manuscript, the only one containing the chess treatise alone. The style of its decoration, as well as some of its details, suggests a commissioner among the Czech nobility close to King Wenceslas IV. The most likely candidate is Petr Zmrzlík the Elder, a rich nobleman and bibliophile.
second, a listing of princes and principalities called "Handbuch der Verwaltung" [A Handbook on Administration], was completed by university scholar Pavel Žídek in 1471. According to both authors, conversion to the Catholic faith by the King and subsequently, it was hoped, by all observers of Utraquism was the principal prerequisite
for peace in the kingdom. They both viewed the past relations of the kingdom to the Holy See, particularly under Charles IV, as a model for its present administration. The authors advise the King in religious questions, but they also seek solutions for problems which are a consequence of people of different religious observances living together in one country. Both works are motivated in part by the widespread quest for identity among Catholics of the time, with features such as nostalgia for the "good old times" and, on the other hand, an outspoken patriotism.
The preserved copies of both texts are in Czech, and it is not improbable that they were written in the vernacular with the explicit aim of reaching not just the king, but also his court.