This volume is a unique publication as it examines the Marxist attitudes in East Central European... more 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.
This book presents the proceedings of the international conference “The Middle Ages in the Modern... more This book presents the proceedings of the international conference “The Middle Ages in the Modern World,” held in Rome November 21-24, 2018. Attended by more than a hundred participants of different ages, educational backgrounds, and places of origin, the conference constituted a landmark in the study of medievalism: the historical discipline, now in full bloom, that investigates the ways in which the thousand-year period between 500 and 1500 was, and continues to be, presented, reconstructed, and imagined in successive eras. The book opens with a substantial bibliography drawn from all of its components, followed by the seven keynote lectures and ninety-three shorter texts - abstracts of the individual conference papers - organized along eight thematic pathways, which together provide a vivid image of the current state of the field. The electronic version of this book – https://books.openedition.org/efr/18397 – contains the complete proceedings of the conference, including the numerous abstracts of papers delivered in the various sessions. The printed version consists of the introduction, the bibliography, and the seven plenary lectures.
Published 2021
This book provides the first detailed overview of research on rulership in theory ... more Published 2021 This book provides the first detailed overview of research on rulership in theory and practice, with a particular emphasis on the monarchies of Bohemia, Hungary and Poland in the High and Late Middle Ages. The contributions examine the legitimation of rule of the first local dynasties, the ritual practice of power, the ruling strategies and practices of power in the established monarchies, and the manifold influences on the rulership in East Central Europe from outside the region (such as from Byzantium, and the Holy Roman Empire). The collection shows that these ideas and practices enabled the new polities to become legitimate members of Latin Christendom.
The book examines rituals as means of political and symbolic communication in medieval Central Eu... more The book examines rituals as means of political and symbolic communication in medieval Central Europe, with a special emphasis on the rulers of the Árpád dynasty in the Kingdom of Hungary. Particular attention is paid to symbolic acts such as festive coronations, liturgical praises, welcoming of rulers ( adventus regis), ritualised settlement of disputes, and symbolic rites during encounters between rulers. The power and meaning of rituals were understandable to contemporary protagonists and to their chroniclers. These rituals therefore played an essential role in medieval political culture. The book concludes with an outline of ritual communication as a coherent system.
Religious warfare was one of the various forms of rulership during the essential transformation o... more Religious warfare was one of the various forms of rulership during the essential transformation of the High Middle Ages. The realms of East Central Europe witnessed augmented use of rituals of war, holy war rhetoric and crusading ideology in the course of their political, cultural and military integration to the sphere of the Latin Christendom. This book deals with the political, religious and social framework of religious warfare and its influences on rulership in medieval East Central Europe. The religious rites of war performed before the battle or directly on the battlefield and the symbolical meaning attached to them by the chroniclers in their renditions of the events resulted in a complex picture of a real liturgy of war. Rulers from Bohemia, Poland and Hungary used tools of religious warfare to legitimize their political position and to strengthen their rule.
Dlho očakávaná publikácia je druhým zväzkom originálneho kompendia európskych stredovekých dejín ... more Dlho očakávaná publikácia je druhým zväzkom originálneho kompendia európskych stredovekých dejín z pera historikov z Filozofickej fakulty Univerzity Komenského v Bratislave. Erudované texty dôkladne mapujú politicko-mocenské, ideové, kultúrne i náboženské súvislosti dejín starého kontinentu od polovice 11. storočia do druhej polovice 13. storočia. Dopĺňajú ich prehľadné zoznamy panovníkov a pápežov sledovaného obdobia.
Acta Historica Posoniensia 17 (FiFUK Bratislava), 2011
Predmetom knihy je bádanie v oblasti verejnej komunikácie, v ktorej, ako sa pokúsime ukázať, malo... more Predmetom knihy je bádanie v oblasti verejnej komunikácie, v ktorej, ako sa pokúsime ukázať, malo v stredoveku svoje miesto ritualizované konanie obsahujúce rozmanité symbolické výpovede. Hlavnými termínmi, ktoré nás budú zaujímať, sú rituál, moc a komunikácia. Vysoký počet skúmaných príkladov, komparácia s okolitými krajinami i presné identifikovanie funkcie rituálov v rámci politickej reality arpádovského Uhorska nám umožňujú považovať ich za integrálnu súčasť symbolickej verejnej komunikácie v stredovekej strednej Európe.
Religious Rites of War - beyond the Medieval West. Volume 2. Central and Eastern Europe. Edited by Radosław Kotecki, Jacek Maciejewski, Gregory Leighton, 2023
Death and dying were a ubiquitous reality of the world of medieval society, with lasting effects ... more Death and dying were a ubiquitous reality of the world of medieval society, with lasting effects on the living from all social groups in equal measure. However, for the rulers of the day, the process of dying and the subsequent burial was an important social, political and cultural event. Over time, special funerary ceremonial complexes developed that included a variety of rituals and symbols which indicated the status and importance of the medieval monarchs. This paper compares the funerary rituals and symbols of power on display during the processions of three Central European kings: King Charles I Robert of Hungary (1342) in Visegrád, Buda and Szkésfehérvár, Polish King Casimir III the Great (1370) in Kraków and Bohemian King and Roman Emperor Charles IV (1378) in Prague. Each of these monumental events included a number of common motifs and ritual sequences, though at the same time, local flavour or innovations always came into play. The common denominator of these three ceremonies was that in the spirit of the political theology of the time, all referenced the immortality of the sovereign power and its timeless essence, which sprung from a sacred character sanctioned by God's grace.
Based on numerous examples from contemporary sources this chapter paints a well-rounded picture o... more Based on numerous examples from contemporary sources this chapter paints a well-rounded picture of the role and significance of the religious warfare for the rulership in the realms of Central Europe. Polish, Hungarian and Bohemian rulers and their family members used holy wars as a means of territorial expansion against pagan neighbours, and thus the spreading of the power and influence of their own monarchy. At the same time, they in this way integrated their dynastic possessions into Latin Christianity. What’s more, they also had defensive-preventive importance, since they protected their lands on the one hand from the expansion of the neighbours and on the other hand from incursions and looting of pagan ethnic groups living beyond the borders. All these aspects subsequently helped the sacralization of the local ruling dynasties and reinforced their standing both at home and abroad. The consequences for rulership and the ruling ideology in the presentation by period sources were thus threefold: they provided legitimacy, sacralization and the integration of ruling power.
In Rulership in Medieval East Central Europe. Power, Ritual and Legitimacy in Bohemia, Hungary an... more In Rulership in Medieval East Central Europe. Power, Ritual and Legitimacy in Bohemia, Hungary and Poland. eds. Grischa Vercamer and Dušan Zupka. Brill 2021
Christianity and War in Medieval East Central Europe and Scandinavia, 2021
Based on extant contemporary narrative, legal, and diplomatic sources (of both Hungarian and fore... more Based on extant contemporary narrative, legal, and diplomatic sources (of both Hungarian and foreign provenience), we have been able to trace the close connection between religion and war in Árpád-era Hungary. Since the creation of the Christian monarchy, religion, Christian rhetoric, and religious rituals have been present on the battlefields of Árpád rulers. Similar pre- and post-battle religious rites were well-known to rulers in Central Europe, as they were also attested in many cases in neighbouring Poland and Bohemia. Support from heavenly powers was sought before decisive military encounters. This was done either by celebrating masses, the administration of the Eucharist, provision of special clerical (episcopal) benedictions for the belligerents and their arms, or by spontaneous imploration of aid from God and His saints. The Virgin Mary had a preeminent place in this respect. Besides the Mother of God, Árpád kings and dukes also sought intercession from traditional military saints such as St. Martin and St. George. In later periods, they also looked up to homegrown dynastic patrons—Saint Stephen, St. Ladislaus, and St. Emeric. In spite of the (relative) lack of contemporary sources for Árpád-era Hungary, the role, meaning, and structure of religious rites of war do not appear to have differed substantially from neighbouring Central and East Central European realms of the period.
The medieval cathedral was a unique place. It served, first and foremost, as the seat of the loca... more The medieval cathedral was a unique place. It served, first and foremost, as the seat of the local bishop and as the liturgical and spiritual centre of a diocese. In some cases, it also served as the ideological, symbolical and ceremonial centre of the whole kingdom. The sacral aura of the cathedral held unprecedented attractiveness for the major strands of the society. The present study will focus exclusively on the role of the cathedral as a ritual centre, not only for the city, but also for the whole realm. In what follows, I will deal with some examples of both co-operation and consonance of the secular and spiritual powers, on one hand, and of the dissonance and conflict of episcopal and royal representatives, on the other hand.
This volume is a unique publication as it examines the Marxist attitudes in East Central European... more 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.
This book presents the proceedings of the international conference “The Middle Ages in the Modern... more This book presents the proceedings of the international conference “The Middle Ages in the Modern World,” held in Rome November 21-24, 2018. Attended by more than a hundred participants of different ages, educational backgrounds, and places of origin, the conference constituted a landmark in the study of medievalism: the historical discipline, now in full bloom, that investigates the ways in which the thousand-year period between 500 and 1500 was, and continues to be, presented, reconstructed, and imagined in successive eras. The book opens with a substantial bibliography drawn from all of its components, followed by the seven keynote lectures and ninety-three shorter texts - abstracts of the individual conference papers - organized along eight thematic pathways, which together provide a vivid image of the current state of the field. The electronic version of this book – https://books.openedition.org/efr/18397 – contains the complete proceedings of the conference, including the numerous abstracts of papers delivered in the various sessions. The printed version consists of the introduction, the bibliography, and the seven plenary lectures.
Published 2021
This book provides the first detailed overview of research on rulership in theory ... more Published 2021 This book provides the first detailed overview of research on rulership in theory and practice, with a particular emphasis on the monarchies of Bohemia, Hungary and Poland in the High and Late Middle Ages. The contributions examine the legitimation of rule of the first local dynasties, the ritual practice of power, the ruling strategies and practices of power in the established monarchies, and the manifold influences on the rulership in East Central Europe from outside the region (such as from Byzantium, and the Holy Roman Empire). The collection shows that these ideas and practices enabled the new polities to become legitimate members of Latin Christendom.
The book examines rituals as means of political and symbolic communication in medieval Central Eu... more The book examines rituals as means of political and symbolic communication in medieval Central Europe, with a special emphasis on the rulers of the Árpád dynasty in the Kingdom of Hungary. Particular attention is paid to symbolic acts such as festive coronations, liturgical praises, welcoming of rulers ( adventus regis), ritualised settlement of disputes, and symbolic rites during encounters between rulers. The power and meaning of rituals were understandable to contemporary protagonists and to their chroniclers. These rituals therefore played an essential role in medieval political culture. The book concludes with an outline of ritual communication as a coherent system.
Religious warfare was one of the various forms of rulership during the essential transformation o... more Religious warfare was one of the various forms of rulership during the essential transformation of the High Middle Ages. The realms of East Central Europe witnessed augmented use of rituals of war, holy war rhetoric and crusading ideology in the course of their political, cultural and military integration to the sphere of the Latin Christendom. This book deals with the political, religious and social framework of religious warfare and its influences on rulership in medieval East Central Europe. The religious rites of war performed before the battle or directly on the battlefield and the symbolical meaning attached to them by the chroniclers in their renditions of the events resulted in a complex picture of a real liturgy of war. Rulers from Bohemia, Poland and Hungary used tools of religious warfare to legitimize their political position and to strengthen their rule.
Dlho očakávaná publikácia je druhým zväzkom originálneho kompendia európskych stredovekých dejín ... more Dlho očakávaná publikácia je druhým zväzkom originálneho kompendia európskych stredovekých dejín z pera historikov z Filozofickej fakulty Univerzity Komenského v Bratislave. Erudované texty dôkladne mapujú politicko-mocenské, ideové, kultúrne i náboženské súvislosti dejín starého kontinentu od polovice 11. storočia do druhej polovice 13. storočia. Dopĺňajú ich prehľadné zoznamy panovníkov a pápežov sledovaného obdobia.
Acta Historica Posoniensia 17 (FiFUK Bratislava), 2011
Predmetom knihy je bádanie v oblasti verejnej komunikácie, v ktorej, ako sa pokúsime ukázať, malo... more Predmetom knihy je bádanie v oblasti verejnej komunikácie, v ktorej, ako sa pokúsime ukázať, malo v stredoveku svoje miesto ritualizované konanie obsahujúce rozmanité symbolické výpovede. Hlavnými termínmi, ktoré nás budú zaujímať, sú rituál, moc a komunikácia. Vysoký počet skúmaných príkladov, komparácia s okolitými krajinami i presné identifikovanie funkcie rituálov v rámci politickej reality arpádovského Uhorska nám umožňujú považovať ich za integrálnu súčasť symbolickej verejnej komunikácie v stredovekej strednej Európe.
Religious Rites of War - beyond the Medieval West. Volume 2. Central and Eastern Europe. Edited by Radosław Kotecki, Jacek Maciejewski, Gregory Leighton, 2023
Death and dying were a ubiquitous reality of the world of medieval society, with lasting effects ... more Death and dying were a ubiquitous reality of the world of medieval society, with lasting effects on the living from all social groups in equal measure. However, for the rulers of the day, the process of dying and the subsequent burial was an important social, political and cultural event. Over time, special funerary ceremonial complexes developed that included a variety of rituals and symbols which indicated the status and importance of the medieval monarchs. This paper compares the funerary rituals and symbols of power on display during the processions of three Central European kings: King Charles I Robert of Hungary (1342) in Visegrád, Buda and Szkésfehérvár, Polish King Casimir III the Great (1370) in Kraków and Bohemian King and Roman Emperor Charles IV (1378) in Prague. Each of these monumental events included a number of common motifs and ritual sequences, though at the same time, local flavour or innovations always came into play. The common denominator of these three ceremonies was that in the spirit of the political theology of the time, all referenced the immortality of the sovereign power and its timeless essence, which sprung from a sacred character sanctioned by God's grace.
Based on numerous examples from contemporary sources this chapter paints a well-rounded picture o... more Based on numerous examples from contemporary sources this chapter paints a well-rounded picture of the role and significance of the religious warfare for the rulership in the realms of Central Europe. Polish, Hungarian and Bohemian rulers and their family members used holy wars as a means of territorial expansion against pagan neighbours, and thus the spreading of the power and influence of their own monarchy. At the same time, they in this way integrated their dynastic possessions into Latin Christianity. What’s more, they also had defensive-preventive importance, since they protected their lands on the one hand from the expansion of the neighbours and on the other hand from incursions and looting of pagan ethnic groups living beyond the borders. All these aspects subsequently helped the sacralization of the local ruling dynasties and reinforced their standing both at home and abroad. The consequences for rulership and the ruling ideology in the presentation by period sources were thus threefold: they provided legitimacy, sacralization and the integration of ruling power.
In Rulership in Medieval East Central Europe. Power, Ritual and Legitimacy in Bohemia, Hungary an... more In Rulership in Medieval East Central Europe. Power, Ritual and Legitimacy in Bohemia, Hungary and Poland. eds. Grischa Vercamer and Dušan Zupka. Brill 2021
Christianity and War in Medieval East Central Europe and Scandinavia, 2021
Based on extant contemporary narrative, legal, and diplomatic sources (of both Hungarian and fore... more Based on extant contemporary narrative, legal, and diplomatic sources (of both Hungarian and foreign provenience), we have been able to trace the close connection between religion and war in Árpád-era Hungary. Since the creation of the Christian monarchy, religion, Christian rhetoric, and religious rituals have been present on the battlefields of Árpád rulers. Similar pre- and post-battle religious rites were well-known to rulers in Central Europe, as they were also attested in many cases in neighbouring Poland and Bohemia. Support from heavenly powers was sought before decisive military encounters. This was done either by celebrating masses, the administration of the Eucharist, provision of special clerical (episcopal) benedictions for the belligerents and their arms, or by spontaneous imploration of aid from God and His saints. The Virgin Mary had a preeminent place in this respect. Besides the Mother of God, Árpád kings and dukes also sought intercession from traditional military saints such as St. Martin and St. George. In later periods, they also looked up to homegrown dynastic patrons—Saint Stephen, St. Ladislaus, and St. Emeric. In spite of the (relative) lack of contemporary sources for Árpád-era Hungary, the role, meaning, and structure of religious rites of war do not appear to have differed substantially from neighbouring Central and East Central European realms of the period.
The medieval cathedral was a unique place. It served, first and foremost, as the seat of the loca... more The medieval cathedral was a unique place. It served, first and foremost, as the seat of the local bishop and as the liturgical and spiritual centre of a diocese. In some cases, it also served as the ideological, symbolical and ceremonial centre of the whole kingdom. The sacral aura of the cathedral held unprecedented attractiveness for the major strands of the society. The present study will focus exclusively on the role of the cathedral as a ritual centre, not only for the city, but also for the whole realm. In what follows, I will deal with some examples of both co-operation and consonance of the secular and spiritual powers, on one hand, and of the dissonance and conflict of episcopal and royal representatives, on the other hand.
Religious warfare was one of the various forms of rulership during the essential transformation o... more Religious warfare was one of the various forms of rulership during the essential transformation of the High Middle Ages. The realms of East Central Europe witnessed augmented use of ritulas of war, holy war rhetoric and crusading idelogy in the course of their political, cultural and military integration to the sphere of the Latin Christendom. This article aims to provide several examples from the 12th century to illustarte the close connection between the exercise of power, ruling strategies and religious warfare in the Přemyslid, Árpad and Piast realms. These processes served to sacralize, legitimize and integrate the ruling dynasties and their rulers and to create a common Christian identity.
Stredovek patrí medzi najdlhšie a zároveň najkontroverznejšie obdobie našich dejín. Zatiaľ čo jed... more Stredovek patrí medzi najdlhšie a zároveň najkontroverznejšie obdobie našich dejín. Zatiaľ čo jedni v ňom vidia dobu úpadku, biedy a zaostalosti, iní v ňom hľadajú inšpiráciu ako v dobe ideálov, viery či hrdinských skutkov a cti. Pravda, ako tomu už býva, je niekde uprostred.
Jeden z najvplyvnejších medievistov posledných desaťročí Umberto Eco (1932-2016) po rokoch vedeck... more Jeden z najvplyvnejších medievistov posledných desaťročí Umberto Eco (1932-2016) po rokoch vedeckého skúmania dejín stredoveku (medievistika) ako aj populárnych predstav o stredoveku až do súčasnosti (medievalizmus) dokázal vo svojom bohatom diele poskytnúť návod ako o tejto dobe rozprávať objektívne, fundovane a zároveň pútavo a zaujímavo. Tajomstvo jeho úspechu tkvie v spojení zdanlivo protichodných prístupov-univerzitného vedca a románopisca.
Gestá, symboly, ceremónie a rituály v stredoveku. eds. P. Bystrický - P. Hudáček., 2019
Scrutiny of extant contemporary narrative, normative, and diplomatic sources enables to trace the... more Scrutiny of extant contemporary narrative, normative, and diplomatic sources enables to trace the close connection between religion and war in medieval Europe. Religion, Christian rhetoric, and religious rituals were present on the battlefields of Christian rulers since the adoption of Christianity in Late Antique Roman Empire. Pre- and post-battle religious rites as developed during the Carolingian and Ottonian period were well-known to rulers in virtually all parts of the Latin Christendom. Support from heavenly powers was sought before decisive military encounters. This was done either by celebrating masses, the administration of the Eucharist, provision of special clerical (episcopal) benedictions for the belligerents and their arms, or by spontaneous imploration of aid from God and His saints. A group of military saints (Michael, George, Demetrius, Denis, Martin) and Virgin Mary had a preeminent place in this respect, perceived as Schlachtenhelfer. The article draws on rich examples from the early and high medieval sources, especially depicting the military conflicts between Christian troops and their pagan opponents (Carolingians against Avars, Ottonians against Magyars, Crusaders against Muslims, etc.).
The aim of the present contribution is to provide a first sketch of the possibilities for further... more The aim of the present contribution is to provide a first sketch of the possibilities for further research in the field of dynastic memory and identity of the Jagiellonians in the preserved genealogical material. We tried to give an overview of the vast corpus of genealogical literature, sermons, treaties, depictions and artistic representations dating to the sixteenth and early seventeenth century. What appears as evident is that the Jagiellonian identity in the genealogies of the Holy Roman Empire is first and foremost regnal.
Saint Bernard, Roman Bishops and Papacy Mirrored in Correspondence. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-11... more Saint Bernard, Roman Bishops and Papacy Mirrored in Correspondence. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) belongs to the most important historical figures of the first half of the twelfth century. Almost 500 letters were preserved form his monumental works until today. These letters were sent to most important personalities of the secular and spiritual world of his day. This article seeks to analyse and interpret the relation of Saint Bernard with popes as leader of the Catholic Church and with the papacy as an institution destined to lead the faithful to the eternal salvation. The abbot of Clairvaux kept vivid contacts with all the popes reigning between 1124 and 1153. In the case of Innocent II and Eugene III one can say that he even actively enabled their instalment on the throne of St. Peter. Just like in the case of monasticism, episcopate or lay princes, Bernard took a similar approach towards the popes. He enforced his vision of the papacy. Bernard was also able to transform these visions to real life and so he exercised a double impact on the most important institution of the Christian world.
The article provides an overview of the current research on the notion, idea and perception of dy... more The article provides an overview of the current research on the notion, idea and perception of dynasties in medieval Europe. It deals with a variety of studies and books that focus on dynasty and dynastic historical writing within Central Europe, as well as outside this region. The main goal is to provide a selection of examples of how the notion of dynasty can be used in current historiographic discourse. First and foremost, dynasty in medieval studies seems to be (to a certain extent) another intellectual construct applied to the period in question. Just like any other similar concepts, like medieval, feudalism, ritual, community, etc., it helps historians to describe our modern understanding of the phenomena. As a result, dynasty has become a highly fashionable term and a popular recurring theme used in the historiography of the Middle Ages. Medieval dynasties are defined based on family, kinship and shared tradition. In fact, they should not be seen only as a biological line of relatives, but, even more importantly, as a political construct. Last, but by no means least, dynasty should always be scrutinized in connection with genealogy, idoneity and legitimacy.
The aim of this article is to give an account of the ritualized ways of communication of the ruli... more The aim of this article is to give an account of the ritualized ways of communication of the ruling communities of the high and later Middle Ages in the Central European region. It focuses on the neighbouring realms of Bohemia, Hungary and Austria in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries (c. 1250 – c. 1350). It argues that the ruling communities were formed from diverse political groups, most prominently represented by the ruler and his entourage (dynasty, court) on the one hand and the elites (both lay and spiritual) on the other. The rule (lordship) over a particular realm was a mixture of co-operation, competition and compromise between these groups. Secondly, these political communities therefore felt the constant need for public representation of their status, rank and symbolic role within the society. Effective ways to express belonging to a political group included a range of symbols, gestures and specific rhetoric.
ZBORNÍK FILOZOFICKEJ FAKULTY UNIVERZITY KOMENSKÉHO V BRATISLAVE HISTORICA LIV (2024)
ZBORNÍK K 60... more ZBORNÍK FILOZOFICKEJ FAKULTY UNIVERZITY KOMENSKÉHO V BRATISLAVE HISTORICA LIV (2024) ZBORNÍK K 60. NARODENINÁM VINCENTA MÚCSKU
Two volumes of the publication Central Europe in the Past I - II. Studies in Social History bring... more Two volumes of the publication Central Europe in the Past I - II. Studies in Social History bring together more than sixty scholarly essays on the social history of our region. They are divided into ten thematic blocks, whereby the reader first learns how the concept of Central Europe developed and how to understand the definition of this region, on the basis of which he or she can then trace the development of historical phenomena such as the State, the Nation, Diplomacy, Migration, War, Religion, the City, Health and Hygiene, and Food and Eating, from antiquity to the 20th century. The authors' approaches to each topic are varied: they range from survey texts to analytical case studies. The authors' collective of nearly three dozen historians, the core of which works at the Department of General History at the Faculty of Arts of Comenius University in Bratislava, presents its publication to readers in the belief that it will contribute not only to the expansion of historical knowledge, but also to the cultivation of public discourse in the interpretation of the history of our region.
This collaborative collection provides fresh perspectives on Christianity and the conduct of war ... more This collaborative collection provides fresh perspectives on Christianity and the conduct of war in medieval East Central Europe and Scandina-via, investigating the intersection between religion, culture, and warfare in territories that were only integrated into Christendom in the Central Middle Ages. The contributors analyze cultures that lay outside Charle-magne's limes and the frontiers of the Byzantine Empire, to consider a region stretching from the Balkans to the south, through Hungary and the Slavic lands (Poland, Bohemia, Rus), to the Baltic coastline with Polabia, Pomerania, Prussia, and Estonia, and reaching into Scandinavia. The volume considers clerics as military leaders and propagandists, the role of Christian ritual and doctrine in warfare, and the adaptation and transformation of indigenous military cultures. It uncovers new information on perceptions of war and analyzes how local practices were incorporated into clerical narratives, enabling the reader to achieve a complete understanding of the period.
CONTENTS:
Christianity and War in Medieval East Central Europe and Scandinavia: An Introduction -- RADOSŁAW KOTECKI, CARSTEN SELCH JENSEN, and STEPHEN BENNETT
PART ONE: THE CHURCH AND WAR
Chapter 1. The Role of the Dalmatian Bishops and Archbishops in Warfare During the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries: A Case Study on the Archbishops of Split -- JUDIT GÁL
Chapter 2. Thirteenth- Century Hungarian Prelates at War -- GÁBOR BARABÁS
Chapter 3. The Image of “Warrior- Bishops” in the Northern Tradition of the Crusades -- SINI KANGAS
Chapter 4. Memory of the “Warrior- Bishops” of Płock in the Writings of Jan Długosz -- JACEK MACIEJEWSKI
Chapter 5. Preachers of War: Dominican Friars as Promoters of the Crusades in the Baltic Region in the Thirteenth Century -- JOHNNY GRANDJEAN GØGSIG JAKOBSEN
Chapter 6. Depictions of Violence in Late Romanesque Mural Paintings in Denmark -- MARTIN WANGSGAARD JÜRGENSEN
PART TWO: RELIGION IN WAR AND ITS CULTURAL EXPRESSIONS
Chapter 7. Religious Rituals of War in Medieval Hungary Under the Árpád Dynasty -- DUŠAN ZUPKA
Chapter 8. Pious Rulers, Princely Clerics, and Angels of Light: “Imperial Holy War” Imagery in Twelfth- Century Poland and Rus’ -- RADOSŁAW KOTECKI
Chapter 9. Religion and War in Saxo Grammaticus’s Gesta Danorum: The Examples of Bishop Absalon and King Valdemar I -- CARSTEN SELCH JENSEN
Chapter 10. Rhetoric of War: The Imagination of War in Medieval Written Sources (Central and Eastern Europe in the High Middle Ages) -- DAVID KALHOUS and LUDMILA LUŇÁKOVÁ
Chapter 11. Civil War as Holy War? Polyphonic Discourses of Warfare During the Internal Struggles in Norway in the Twelfth Century -- BJØRN BANDLIEN
Chapter 12. Martyrdom on the Field of Battle in Livonia During Thirteenth Century Holy Wars and Christianization: Popular Belief and the Image of a Catholic Frontier -- KRISTJAN KALJUSAAR
Chapter 13. Orthodox Responses to the Baltic Crusades -- ANTI SELART
Selected Bibliography
Index
Continuity and Change in Medieval Central Europe.
Faculty of Arts, Comenius University in Bratisl... more Continuity and Change in Medieval Central Europe. Faculty of Arts, Comenius University in Bratislava (Slovakia). 27-29 April 2023
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Books by Dusan Zupka
The electronic version of this book – https://books.openedition.org/efr/18397 – contains the complete proceedings of the conference, including the numerous abstracts of papers delivered in the various sessions. The printed version consists of the introduction, the bibliography, and the seven plenary lectures.
This book provides the first detailed overview of research on rulership in theory and practice, with a particular emphasis on the monarchies of Bohemia, Hungary and Poland in the High and Late Middle Ages. The contributions examine the legitimation of rule of the first local dynasties, the ritual practice of power, the ruling strategies and practices of power in the established monarchies, and the manifold influences on the rulership in East Central Europe from outside the region (such as from Byzantium, and the Holy Roman Empire). The collection shows that these ideas and practices enabled the new polities to become legitimate members of Latin Christendom.
warfare and its influences on rulership in medieval East Central Europe. The religious rites of war performed before the battle or directly on the battlefield and the symbolical meaning attached to them by the chroniclers in their renditions of the events resulted in a complex picture of a real liturgy of war. Rulers from Bohemia, Poland and Hungary used tools of religious warfare to legitimize their political position and to
strengthen their rule.
konanie obsahujúce rozmanité symbolické výpovede. Hlavnými termínmi, ktoré nás budú zaujímať, sú rituál, moc a komunikácia. Vysoký
počet skúmaných príkladov, komparácia s okolitými krajinami i presné identifikovanie funkcie rituálov v rámci politickej reality arpádovského Uhorska nám umožňujú považovať ich za integrálnu súčasť symbolickej verejnej komunikácie v stredovekej strednej Európe.
Papers by Dusan Zupka
to rulers in Central Europe, as they were also attested in many cases in neighbouring Poland and Bohemia. Support from heavenly powers was sought before decisive military encounters. This was done either by celebrating masses, the administration of the Eucharist, provision of special clerical (episcopal) benedictions for the belligerents and their arms, or by spontaneous imploration of aid from God and His saints. The Virgin Mary had a preeminent place in this respect. Besides the Mother of God, Árpád kings and dukes also sought intercession from traditional military saints such as St. Martin and St. George. In later periods, they also looked up to homegrown dynastic patrons—Saint Stephen, St. Ladislaus, and St. Emeric. In spite of the (relative) lack of contemporary
sources for Árpád-era Hungary, the role, meaning, and structure of religious rites of war do not appear to have differed substantially from neighbouring Central and East Central European realms of the period.
The electronic version of this book – https://books.openedition.org/efr/18397 – contains the complete proceedings of the conference, including the numerous abstracts of papers delivered in the various sessions. The printed version consists of the introduction, the bibliography, and the seven plenary lectures.
This book provides the first detailed overview of research on rulership in theory and practice, with a particular emphasis on the monarchies of Bohemia, Hungary and Poland in the High and Late Middle Ages. The contributions examine the legitimation of rule of the first local dynasties, the ritual practice of power, the ruling strategies and practices of power in the established monarchies, and the manifold influences on the rulership in East Central Europe from outside the region (such as from Byzantium, and the Holy Roman Empire). The collection shows that these ideas and practices enabled the new polities to become legitimate members of Latin Christendom.
warfare and its influences on rulership in medieval East Central Europe. The religious rites of war performed before the battle or directly on the battlefield and the symbolical meaning attached to them by the chroniclers in their renditions of the events resulted in a complex picture of a real liturgy of war. Rulers from Bohemia, Poland and Hungary used tools of religious warfare to legitimize their political position and to
strengthen their rule.
konanie obsahujúce rozmanité symbolické výpovede. Hlavnými termínmi, ktoré nás budú zaujímať, sú rituál, moc a komunikácia. Vysoký
počet skúmaných príkladov, komparácia s okolitými krajinami i presné identifikovanie funkcie rituálov v rámci politickej reality arpádovského Uhorska nám umožňujú považovať ich za integrálnu súčasť symbolickej verejnej komunikácie v stredovekej strednej Európe.
to rulers in Central Europe, as they were also attested in many cases in neighbouring Poland and Bohemia. Support from heavenly powers was sought before decisive military encounters. This was done either by celebrating masses, the administration of the Eucharist, provision of special clerical (episcopal) benedictions for the belligerents and their arms, or by spontaneous imploration of aid from God and His saints. The Virgin Mary had a preeminent place in this respect. Besides the Mother of God, Árpád kings and dukes also sought intercession from traditional military saints such as St. Martin and St. George. In later periods, they also looked up to homegrown dynastic patrons—Saint Stephen, St. Ladislaus, and St. Emeric. In spite of the (relative) lack of contemporary
sources for Árpád-era Hungary, the role, meaning, and structure of religious rites of war do not appear to have differed substantially from neighbouring Central and East Central European realms of the period.
encounters. This was done either by celebrating masses, the administration of the Eucharist, provision of special clerical (episcopal) benedictions for the belligerents and their arms, or by spontaneous imploration of aid from God and His saints. A group of military saints (Michael, George, Demetrius, Denis, Martin) and Virgin Mary had a preeminent place in this respect, perceived as Schlachtenhelfer. The article draws on rich examples from the early and high medieval sources, especially depicting the military conflicts between Christian troops and their pagan opponents (Carolingians against Avars, Ottonians against Magyars, Crusaders against Muslims, etc.).
historical writing within Central Europe, as well as outside this region. The main goal is to provide a selection of examples of how the notion of dynasty can be used in current historiographic discourse. First and foremost, dynasty in medieval studies seems to be (to a certain extent) another intellectual construct applied to the period in question. Just like any other similar concepts, like medieval, feudalism, ritual, community, etc., it helps historians to describe our modern understanding of the phenomena. As a result, dynasty has become a highly fashionable term and a popular recurring theme used in the historiography of the Middle Ages. Medieval dynasties are defined based on family, kinship and shared tradition. In fact, they should not be seen only as a biological line of relatives, but, even more importantly, as a political construct. Last, but by no means least, dynasty should always be scrutinized in connection
with genealogy, idoneity and legitimacy.
ZBORNÍK K 60. NARODENINÁM VINCENTA MÚCSKU
CONTENTS:
Christianity and War in Medieval East Central Europe and Scandinavia: An Introduction -- RADOSŁAW KOTECKI, CARSTEN SELCH JENSEN, and STEPHEN BENNETT
PART ONE: THE CHURCH AND WAR
Chapter 1. The Role of the Dalmatian Bishops and Archbishops in Warfare During the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries: A Case Study on the Archbishops of Split -- JUDIT GÁL
Chapter 2. Thirteenth- Century Hungarian Prelates at War -- GÁBOR BARABÁS
Chapter 3. The Image of “Warrior- Bishops” in the Northern Tradition of the Crusades -- SINI KANGAS
Chapter 4. Memory of the “Warrior- Bishops” of Płock in the Writings of Jan Długosz -- JACEK MACIEJEWSKI
Chapter 5. Preachers of War: Dominican Friars as Promoters of the Crusades in the Baltic Region in the Thirteenth Century -- JOHNNY GRANDJEAN GØGSIG JAKOBSEN
Chapter 6. Depictions of Violence in Late Romanesque Mural Paintings in Denmark -- MARTIN WANGSGAARD JÜRGENSEN
PART TWO: RELIGION IN WAR AND ITS CULTURAL EXPRESSIONS
Chapter 7. Religious Rituals of War in Medieval Hungary Under the Árpád Dynasty -- DUŠAN ZUPKA
Chapter 8. Pious Rulers, Princely Clerics, and Angels of Light: “Imperial Holy War” Imagery in Twelfth- Century Poland and Rus’ -- RADOSŁAW KOTECKI
Chapter 9. Religion and War in Saxo Grammaticus’s Gesta Danorum: The Examples of Bishop Absalon and King Valdemar I -- CARSTEN SELCH JENSEN
Chapter 10. Rhetoric of War: The Imagination of War in Medieval Written Sources (Central and Eastern Europe in the High Middle Ages) -- DAVID KALHOUS and LUDMILA LUŇÁKOVÁ
Chapter 11. Civil War as Holy War? Polyphonic Discourses of Warfare During the Internal Struggles in Norway in the Twelfth Century -- BJØRN BANDLIEN
Chapter 12. Martyrdom on the Field of Battle in Livonia During Thirteenth Century Holy Wars and Christianization: Popular Belief and the Image of a Catholic Frontier -- KRISTJAN KALJUSAAR
Chapter 13. Orthodox Responses to the Baltic Crusades -- ANTI SELART
Selected Bibliography
Index
Faculty of Arts, Comenius University in Bratislava (Slovakia).
27-29 April 2023