Anatomy of a Duchy

The Political and Ecclesiastical Structures of Early Přemyslid Bohemia
Erscheinungsjahr 2012
ISBN: 978-90-04-22980-8
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 19, 416 Seiten, Format (B × H): 161 mm x 241 mm, Gewicht: 660 g

Reihe: East Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 450-1450

An analysis of the early Premyslid realm provides an opportunity for recognizing the importance of different factors involved in the formation of stable social structures in the early medieval regnum. The contemporary narrative emphasizes the importance of violence, where the Premyslid princes and their powerful retinues imposed princely will on elites and freemen in Bohemia and Moravia. However, our attention also turns to the problematic evidence of assumed powerful cavalry armies and the importance of communication between prince, elites and church, somewhat problematizing the role of violence as the primary tool of governance.

Furthermore, an analysis of “otherness” in Saxon chronicles and a comparison of different traditions of St. Wenceslas and Great Moravia confirm the importance of the “Identitätsbildung”-process and “ideology” as stabilising factors in the new Premyslid regnum.

Zielgruppe

All interested in the formation of identities and power structures in Early Medieval Europe, or anyone who would like to compare the Premyslid regnum with other Early Medieval kingdoms.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Kalhous, David

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Mentalitäts- und Sozialgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Europäische Geschichte Europäische Regional- & Stadtgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtswissenschaft Allgemein Historische Demographie
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Kultur- und Ideengeschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Abbreviations. vii
Preface. xi
Maps. xiii

Introduction. 1

I. “Weak” Bohemia: A Non-State Retinue-Based Polity in Central Europe?. 11
1. Preconditions of the Genesis of the Premyslid Realm. 11
2. Territorial Extent and Development of Premyslid Realm. 46
3. The Premyslid Aristocracy and the Relationship betweenb Centre and Periphery. 104
4. The Origins of Ecclesiastical Organisation in the Czech Lands. 143

II. A Premyslid Strength—Forging Common Identity. 171
1. Image of Premyslids in Tenth-Century Sources. 173
2. Legenda Christiani as a Tenth-Century Source. 186
3. Christian and Great Moravia. 193
4. Old Church Slavonic Literature and Liturgy in the Tenth and Eleventh Century Premyslid Realm. 208
5. Christian and St. Wenceslaus. 237

Conclusion. 263

Bibliography. 267
Index. 307

Über Autor(innen)

Kalhous, David
David Kalhous, Ph.D. (1978), Masaryk University, Brno, is a researcher of Early Medieval History at that university. He has published several articles on the early medieval history of Central Europe.