STUDIE | STUDIES

ZELENKA Jan
In memoria non habentur. K majetkoprávní terminologii
českého středověkého práva … S. 7
(In memoria non habentur. On the Terminology
of Property Rights in Czech Medieval Law)

This article reacts to the discussion about the significance of legal terminology in medieval Czech law. It deals with the problematic property law term hereditas in medieval sources, especially in texts that fall into the land law (zemske pravo, Landrecht). The article is critical of the opinion that the term hereditas had an unambiguous, defined meaning that delineated free ownership of allodial property within the land law. Instead, this article attempts to highlight the fact property law terminology remained undefined for the entire medieval period and the meaning of individual terms developed from the broader legal, social, and economic contexts.
Keywords: Medieval Bohemia - Medieval Law – Law Terminology –
Finding the Law – Memory – Hereditas

RESUMÉ
Discussions about medieval law are traditionally limited by two extreme forms of research. Efforts to create generally valid and useful models and definitions threaten an inclination to legal formalism, which would more correspond to ideas about law in the 19th and 20th centuries than the reality of medieval life. Efforts to depict the plurality of medieval legal thinking can contrarily end in a simple list of individual analysed cases that by itself does not provide the surplus value of more general conclusions. The need for complex manoeuvres between the Scylla of formalism and the Charybdis of relativism is then transposed into particular aspects of the topic, including legal terminology. It’s doubtlessly valid to warn against the arbitrary interpretation of terms appearing in medieval legal sources. However, this approach should not backslide to the other extreme. A debate about the property law term hereditas has reappeared in Czech medieval studies in recent years, and there is the opinion that the term had a clear, qualitatively defined meaning in the land law that delimited the free possession of allodial property (esp. land) throughout the Middle Ages. This interpretation then plays a significant role in the question of the role free land property owned by the early medieval “magnates“ played in creating the high medieval nobility.
This argumentation is controversial from nearly every aspect, however. From a methodological point of view, it is a clear lapse to speak of stable property law terms during times when most law was unwritten. Linguistics focused on legal language rightly note that a necessary part of its precision and quality is a written form of law. Moreover, a characteristic of unwritten law remains vagueness and a focus on specific situations instead of generally valid fundamentals. Besides, the nobility had a negative relationship to written, codified law in the Czech milieu over the long term.
The question also remains as to how individual terms functioned in a systém that was not based on generally valid rules, but on “finding law“ and individual rulings. Legal-historical science noted decades ago that domestic legal books almost exclusively deal with procedural law instead of material law. The clear cause of this undoubtedly lies in the custom of “finding law.“ Despite the procedural agenda being perfected over time, it cannot go unnoticed that most of the gradual rationalization was related to better and more convincing provisioning and recording of “memory.“ This is “memory“ in both meanings of the word: both as testimony and the ability to maintain remembrance of past events, which was given a fundamental role in the process of finding law. This aspect of medieval law is clearly seen in conflicts over the ownership of property. The specific ruling was basically “extracted“ on the basis of a reconstruction of events in the lives of specific witnesses. The question of legal language played no role. None of the witnesses nor the relevant officials placed an emphasis on abstract terms, but on specific surviving “memories“ tied to the property in question.
To a certain extent, it can be said that despite all the development on the procedural side of law and evidential methods, found law still represented a byproduct of a lived experience that all had to be reflected in the use and development of terminology. In a system set up this way, the question of a developed terminology is not definitive and the conditions for specifying the terms in use are only slowly created. The reason why individual parties in conflicts proved their law to be “superior“ was not based in references to generally-shared and binding abstract definitions of property law terms, but in a complete presentation of a better “memory.“ It was not solely the term that created the future memory about the type of property rights, but it was the memory that defined the meaning of the term.
Finally, land law sources also conflict with the interpretation of a clear definition of hereditas. The text of the study convincingly substantiates that this term does not serve as a qualitatively clearly defined entity. On the contrary, it is used to denote a wider set of ownership titles and other specifying words are used to narrow the definition of its meaning throughout the Middle Ages. In no way am I trying to defend relativism that we could use to wilfully interpret individual terms. However, I am convinced by the above-listed reasons that we find ourselves in the same situation as the actors in the analysed cases discussed in the text in relation to medieval property law terminology. Instead of comfortable formal crutches, we still must reconstruct the “memories“ that gave individual terms their content and meaning.

NEJEDLÝ Martin
Otec české královny Blanky z Valois a jeho knížecí zrcadlo … S. 32
(The Father of Bohemian Queen Blanche of Valois and his Princely Mirror)

Charles of Valois, the father of the future Bohemian queen Blanche, was one of the most famous patrons of his time. Besides chronicles, travelogues, medical manuals and an epic about Charlemagne, a code was created for him around 1320, the core of which is a book about Fauvel, a brazen horse who declared himself king. It was basically a princely mirror, thus a treatise on exemplary and bad governance. The work was written by two notaries of the royal chancellery, whose political views were in line with the ideas of Charles of Valois. Their ideal of sovereign rule turned to the past, the model was St Louis, but, in addition to the book itself, the codex also contains other verse and musical compositions, illuminations and a tendentious chronicle of recent events. One can consider his knowledge of 14th century Bohemia under the reign of the Luxembourgs (e.g., the fresco in Strakonice, verses by Guillaume de Machaut).
Keywords: Fauvel – Horse – Ideal Ruler – Princely Mirror – Dictator – Usurper – Animal Fables – Medieval Symbolism – Redheads – Medieval Patronage – Luxembourgs – Charles of Valois – Blanche of Valois

RESUMÉ
Charles of Valois (1270–1325), the father of the future Bohemian queen Blanche, was one of the most famous patrons of his time. It can be assumed that he influenced his son-in-law Vaclav (Charles), raised at the French royal court. Besides chronicles, travelogues, medical manuals and a colorful epic about Charlemagne, a famous codex was created for him around 1320, deposited in the Bibliotheque Nationale de France in Paris under the signatura MS Francais 146. Its core is a book about Fauvel, a cheeky and cunning horse who declared himself king and subjugated all the estates of society. In this way, humans have become animals. Thanks to the intervention of Fortuna, who rejects Fauvel’s request for her hand in marriage, the usurping horse is married to Vaine Gloire. Their wedding night in the book is accompanied or rather disturbed by a famous mischievous charivari. However, after a long tournament between the virtues and vices, the masqued evil will eventually be defeated, although seductive tyranny will threaten humanity forever. The Book of Fauvel is essentially a princely mirror, thus a story about exemplary and bad governance, inspired by a number of earlier literary compositions. The work was written by notaries of the royal office, whose political views were in line with the ideas of Charles of Valois. The ideal of sovereign rule presented to readers here has been more or less turned into the past and inspired by the radiant example of St Louis, who personally cared for the administration of justice and carried out a crusade, but, in addition to the book itself, the codex also contains other verse and musical compositions, miniatures and a tendentious rhymed chronicle, explaining episodes of the allegorical novel by recent political events. It all comprises a perfectly thought-out and interconnected whole. Fauvel was the superficial hated adviser of Philip IV the Fair, Enguerrand de Marigny, with whom Count Charles of Valois, as the king’s younger brother, had robust quarrels. More generally, however, the book was directed against all unconscientious and sly advisers who disregard the common good.
Given the relationship between the Valois and Luxembourg dynasties, we can rightly ask ourselves whether the material of the Book of Fauvel was not known in the Czech lands under the reigns of John of Luxembourg and Charles IV. For instance, one can consider the iconographic content of the fresco at the castle in Strakonice, where a figure with a tail and hooves falls from the wheel of Fortuna.
It is possible to find the reception of many passages of the Book of Fauvel also in the works of the court poet of the king of Bohemia John of Luxembourg, the famous verse-writing notary Guillaume de Machaut. A comparative examination of works such as the Book of Fauvel, which is not limited to narrowly conceived Czech history, will contribute to a better understanding of the Western Christian culture of the 14th century.

COUFAL Dušan
Kutná Hora pod vládou kazatele:
Husitská invektiva z roku 1416 a Heřman z Mindelheimu … S. 74
(Kutná Hora under the Reign of the Preacher:
Hussite Invective from 1416 and Hermann of Mindelheim)

The study places its focus on the Hussite invective from 1416 against the Kutna Hora preacher Hermann, which has so far been reflected only on the basis of an incomplete edition from the 19th century. After presenting the whole agitation letter, the author examines the credibility of Master Hermann’s preaching work in Kutna Hora and searches for his identity. He focuses on the personality of the Prague doctor of theology and the auxiliary bishop Hermann of Mindelheim and comes to the conclusion that the Kutna Hora preacher Hermann was most likely this Bavarian native. The study thus sheds new light on the transformation of Kutna Hora into an early anti-Hussite centre.
Keywords: Kutna Hora – Malin – Hermann of Mindelheim – Hussite
Propaganda – Preaching – Wenceslas IV – Hussites

RESUMÉ
The Hussite invective against the Kutna Hora preacher Hermann from the first half of 1416 is not an unknown source. Its authors accuse Hermann of inciting two acts of violence – the massacre in Malin in 1412 and the murder of members of the royal delegation in Kutna Hora four years later. They massively criticize him for manipulating the murderous crowd and appeal to the burghers of Kutna Hora to drive him out of the city while there is still time.
Nevertheless, Konstantin Hofler along with František Palacky only made the introductory fifth of the text with a description of the two massacres available in print. The agitational essence of the paper remained unknown, and Hermann’s characteristics along with it. Taking into account the full wording of the invective thus provides, inter alia, an opportunity to clarify the identity of the remarkable master Hermann.
Since the analysis of the surviving testimonies of both acts of violence demonstrated that the authors of the invective were relatively reliably informed about them, we also have no reason to question their claims, which directly concerned Hermann’s personality. According to them, the university master was a foreigner or a doctor (understood to be of theology), who achieved his education and position only in Bohemia and at the same time actively participated in the cases of Jan Hus and Jerome of Prague. If it was a person visible in this way, he could hardly have left only a single trace in the sources.
The Prague doctor of theology Hermann Schwab (the Swabian) from Mindelheim immediately attracts attention. In his biography, we have so far lacked reports of his anti-Wycliffite activities after 1413, although he had previously been actively involved in disputes with Hus’s group. His preaching activity in Kutna Hora, probably in the new church of Corpus Christi and St Barbara, by the will of the local fraternity, naturally fills this blind spot. Hermann was given the opportunity to continue the struggle with the Wycliffites effectively. The burghers of Kutna Hora again found in it a dignified representative of their fame, wealth and ambitions. In addition, his parallel work as an auxiliary bishop also indicated his connection to Kutna Hora.

Materiály | Materials

HÁLEK Jan
„Československá revoluce 1914–1918“ jako pokračování
sporu o smysl českých dějin … S. 103
(The „Czechoslovak Revolution of 1914–1918“
as a Continuation of the Dispute over the Sense of Czech History)

The submitted study traces the beginnings of the historiographical treatment of the issue of the so-called Czechoslovak Revolution from 1914–1918 using the example of the contradictory destinies of two Czech historians – Jaroslav Goll and Jaroslav Werstadt. The main attention is focused on the period shortly after the establishment of Czechoslovakia, in which in the atmosphere of the efforts for a so-called “de-Austrianisation“ (Entosterreichern) a confrontation of the different ideas about the role of historical science in relation to society occurred. Attention is paid not only to both above-mentioned men but also to questions related to the problem of intergenerational relations of the members of the Czech historical community and the circumstances of the Archive of National Liberation (or the Liberation Monument) as an institution entrusted with research of contemporary history with a special focus on the period of the First World War.
Keywords: Historiography – Czechoslovak Revolution – De-Austrianisation – Liberation Monument – Generation

RESUMÉ
The Czech historical community, like all of Czech society, represented a highly differentiated conglomerate of persons at the time of the establishment of the independent Czechoslovak Republic. In addition to Jaroslav Goll, who served as a member of the House of Lords of Vienna’s Imperial Council during the war, his oldest students, represented by Josef Pekař, Josef Šusta and Jaroslav Bidlo, also worked as professors of history at the Czech University in Prague as part of the “official establishment“. A number of the members of the younger generations of their students, on the other hand, were forced to enlist in the Austro-Hungarian army. Some of them returned to their homeland with direct frontline experience, others went through the war in service in the rear echelon. Others, such as Jaroslav Werstadt, were among those who worked with the domestic anti-Austrian resistance.
In this environment, building the narrative of the so-called Czechoslovak revolution, as the series of events from 1914–1918 culminating in the establishment of an independent Czechoslovakia, seemed very difficult. The historiography of the new state should have played an important role in this process. In the atmosphere of the efforts for so-called “de-Autrianisation“, a confrontation of different ideas about the role of historical science in relation to society took place. Moreover, this process was accompanied and influenced by the efforts of members of the younger generations to replace their older colleagues in their “power“ positions, as well as by building new research companies. At the same time, the question of the role of the historian in society came to the fore.
While the scientific methods represented by Jaroslav Goll were criticized as “science for science,“ a new engaged Republican historiography was asserted that advocated the idea of using historical science in the framework of constructing the identity of the citizens of the new state. This attitude was called the so-called “new pragmatism“ by Jaroslav Werstadt, one of its most prominent representatives. This movement soon gained its institutional anchoring with the creation of the Liberation Monument.

Obzory literatury | Review articles and reviews

Recenzní článek

HLAVAČKA Milan
Nová syntéza o společnosti v českých zemích v dlouhém 19. století … S. 135
(A new Synthesis about Society in the Czech Lands in the Long 19th Century)

The new social history of the Czech lands in the 19th century is written on the basis of the concept of history as games, where however an analysis is not lacking of the structural framing of society, rhythm of historical movement, relationship between the continuity and discontinuity of modernisation changes, relationship between historical stability and dynamics and where Czech lands are presented as a unique “laboratory” of these modernisation changes. The author overcame the classical concept of modernisation by drawing into this general concept the value frameworks (especially the values associated with the Enlightenment, liberalism and nationalism), as well as new trends of that time (gender, social issues or the emancipation of the labouring class), which modernization inevitably or inadvertently created, and then especially his imagination.
Keywords: Modernization – Czech Lands – Synthesis

Recenze

Jiří LOUDA
Coat of Arms of the Knights of the Order of the Garter /
Erby rytířů Podvazkového řádu … S. 149
(Jan Županič)

RATPERT / EKKEHARD IV.
Osudy svatohavelského kláštera … S. 152
(Jana Zachová)

Piotr PRANKE – Miloš ZEČEVIĆ
Medieval Trade in Central Europe, Scandinavia and the Balkans
(10th – 12th Centuries), A Comparative Study … S. 155
(Peter Bučko)

Marek BRČÁK – Jiří WOLF (eds.)
Pax et Bonum. Kapucíni v Čechách a na Moravě v raném novověku … S. 159
(Ivana Čornejová)

Werner PARAVICINI
Adlig leben im 14. Jahrhundert. Weshalb sie fuhren:
Die Preußenreisen des europäischen Adels. Teil 3 … S. 162
(Ivan Hlaváček)

William D. GODSEY – Veronika HYDEN-HANSCHO (Hg.)
Das Haus Arenberg und die Habsburgermonarchie.
Eine transterritoriale Adelsfamilie zwischen Fürstendienst
und Eigenständigkeit (16. – 20. Jahrhundert) … S. 165
(Jiří Hrbek)

Karel ČERNÝ
Ze zámoří do Čech. Čokoláda, čaj a káva v raném novověku … S. 171
(Martin Franc)

Roger CHICKERING
Karl Lamprecht. Das Leben eines deutschen Historikers (1856–1915) … S. 175
(Bohumil Jiroušek)

Alexander GOGUN
Stalinova komanda. Ukrajinské partyzánské jednotky v letech 1941–1944 … S. 177
(Bohdan Zilynskyj)

Zprávy o literatuře … S. 181

Z vědeckého života | Chronicle

Nekrolog

Zdeněk Šimeček (28. 2. 1929 – 4. 2. 2019) … S. 228
(Daniel Kovář)

Josef Blüml (3. 4. 1948 – 13. 11. 2020) … S. 232
(Hana Kábová)

Vladimír Bystrický (16. 1. 1934 – 11. 2. 2021) … S. 236
(Radovan Lovčí)

Knihy a časopisy došlé redakci … S. 239

Výtahy z českých časopisů a sborníků … S. 239