AEB_A14f Early Middle Ages in Central Europe

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2023
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Taught in person.
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Renáta Přichystalová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Renáta Přichystalová, Ph.D.
Department of Archaeology and Museology – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Jitka Šibíčková
Supplier department: Department of Archaeology and Museology – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Tue 10:00–11:40 M22
Prerequisites
The basic knowledge of the historical development of Central Europe from the turn of the eras to the end of the Middle Ages.
It is recommended to combine the lectures with the course AEB_A15f Early Middle Ages in Central Europe - workshop
Both courses are greatly complementary.
At the same time, we recommend to attend the course AEB_A07d Material culture knowledge in the early Middle Ages
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 30 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 19/30, only registered: 0/30
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 9 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The course will familiarize the students with the issues of Early Medieval Slavic settlement in the Czech-speaking countries and Slovakia from the 6th to the turn of the 12th/13th centuries, with reference to other ethnic constituents in the peripheral areas that have influenced the Slavic development (Germans, Avars, Old Magyars).
Its goal is to provide critical information on the basic written sources, periodisation of the studied epoch, milestones and criteria of periodisation, the history of research on the topic and the state of answering the fundamental historical questions (economic and social development); ideological and cultural streams which influenced our countries; state formation; Christianisation; political orientation in individual stages of development etc.
The focus of the lecture rests on the characteristic of archaeological sources in their entire factual and interpretational scope (types of burial grounds, settlements and fortified settlements; types of residential, production, economic, religious and settlement features; hoards; pottery; arms and weapons; jewellery; agricultural and craftsmen’s tools, etc.), in their territorial and spatial variety (within Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia and separately in the 7th–8th cent., 9th–mid10th cent., and mid10th–12th cent. ). The teaching will be targeted at key issues of their classification, development and dating.
Learning outcomes
After the course, students will be able to:
- describe the key issues of current research on the Middle Ages in Central Europe
- define and summarize important features of particular early medieval periods
- characterize the basic geopolitical development in the studied region
- compare the differences between historical and contemporary interpretation models
Syllabus
  • Syllabus:
  • 1. Familiarization with basic scientific literature, archaeological and written sources; current research knowledge; the issue of the ethnogenesis of the Slavs; basic terminology of early Middle Ages.
  • 2. Basic stages of period development - chronology; the development of the periodization system, the basic information about cultural complexes in time before the Slavs, which co-created their cultural, material, genetic and social basis.
  • 3. Settlements and burial grounds of the early Slavic period; economic and social conditions of the time.
  • 4. Avars - a cultural and ethnic element shaping Central Europe from the 6th to 8th centuries.
  • 5. Development of the settlement network in the early Middle Ages (middle Danube region, 7th-11th centuries), influence of environmental and social factors.
  • 6. The settlement network as an reflection of social and economic relations in the early Middle Ages (middle Danube region, 7th-11th cen.).
  • 7. Settlement strategy in Bohemia I (8th to 1/2 of the 10th cen.): The situation in pre-Přemyslid´s Bohemia and the issue of the oldest castles; rural settlements. Interpretation of the up to now valid theories related to gaining of the Land by the Přemyslids.
  • 8. Settlement strategy in Bohemia II (2nd 1/2 10th century to 13th cen.): the decline of older and the formation of new fortified sites, the castle system, churches and the development of the parish network, the gradual influence of the church on burial behaviour, the beginnings of towns and the oldest castles.
  • 9. Funeral areas and burial customs of the 8th to 12th centuries.
  • 10. The Great Moravia phenomenon - archaeology, history, architecture, new findings, research trends.
  • 11. So called Old Magyars - a cultural and ethnic element shaping Central Europe from the 9th to the beginning of the 11th century.
  • 12. The issue of the existence of monasteries in Great Moravia, the phenomenon of monastic economics and its effects on the entire economic system in the early Middle Ages / The beginnings of monasteries in Bohemia and Přemyslid´s Moravia, the constitution of Stará Boleslav´s chapter, the establishment of the bishoprics of Prague and Olomouc.
Literature
    required literature
  • MĚŘÍNSKÝ, Zdeněk. Morava na úsvitě dějin. V Brně: Muzejní a vlastivědná společnost, 2011, 655 s. ISBN 9788072750887. info
  • MĚŘÍNSKÝ, Zdeněk. České země od příchodu Slovanů po Velkou Moravu I. 2., opravené. Praha: Libri, 2009, 568 pp. ISBN 978-80-7277-407-4. info
  • BERANOVÁ, Magdalena and Michal LUTOVSKÝ. Slované v Čechách : archeologie 6.-12. století. 1. vyd. Praha: Libri, 2009, 475 s. ISBN 9788072774135. info
  • MĚŘÍNSKÝ, Zdeněk. České země od příchodu Slovanů II (Czech lands after arrival of the Slavs). 1st ed. Praha: Libri, 2006, 967 pp. ISBN 80-7277-105-1. info
  • LUTOVSKÝ, Michal. Encyklopedie slovanské archeologie v Čechách, na Moravě a ve Slezsku. 1. vyd. Praha: Libri, 2001, 431 s. ISBN 8072770543. info
    recommended literature
  • PŘICHYSTALOVÁ, Renáta, Kateřina KALOVÁ, Kateřina BOBEROVÁ and Jan NOVÁČEK. Břeclav – Pohansko IX. Pohřební areály z Jižního předhradí (archeologicko-antropologická studie) (Břeclav – Pohansko IX. Funerary areas in the Southern suburb (archaeological and anthropological study)). 1st ed. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 2019, 655 pp. Břeclav - Pohansko IX. ISBN 978-80-210-9353-9. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.5817/CZ.MUNI.M210-9354-2019. info
  • GALUŠKA, Luděk. Slované - stopy předků : o Moravě v 6.-10. století. Brno: Moravské zemské muzeum, 2017, 303 pp. ISBN 978-80-7028-488-9. info
  • KOUŘIL, Pavel. Cyrilometodějská misie a Evropa : 1150 let od příchodu soluňských bratří na Velkou Moravu. Brno: Archeologický ústav Akademie věd ČR, Brno, v.v.i., 2014, 387 stran. ISBN 9788086023502. info
  • Great Moravia and the beginnings of Christianity. Edited by Pavel Kouřil. Brno: Archeologický ústav Akademie věd ČR, Brno, v.v.i. ve spolupráci s Moravským zemským muzeem, 2014, 517 stran. ISBN 9788086023533. info
  • PROCHÁZKA, Rudolf. Vývoj opevňovací techniky na Moravě a v českém Slezsku v raném středověku. Brno: Archeologický ústav Akademie České republiky Brno, 2009, 383 s. ISBN 9788086023984. info
  • KUNA, Martin, Naďa PROFANTOVÁ and Miloslav BARTUŠKA. Onset of the early middle ages in Bohemia :archaeological research at a large settlement site of the Prague-type culture at Roztoky. Vyd. 1. Praha: Archeologický ústav AV ČR, 2005, 593 s. ISBN 8086124517. info
  • LUTOVSKÝ, Michal. Hroby knížat :kapitoly z českých dějin a hrobové archeologie. 1. vyd. Praha: SET OUT, 1997, 196 s., [8. ISBN 80-902058-3-6. info
  • LUTOVSKÝ, Michal and Naďa PROFANTOVÁ. Sámova říše. Vyd. 1. Praha: Academia, 1995, 89 s. ISBN 8020004203. info
  • KLANICA, Zdeněk. Počátky slovanského osídlení našich zemí. Vyd. 1. Praha: Academia, nakladatelství Československé akademie věd, 1986, 259 s. info
Teaching methods
lectures
Assessment methods
Oral exam; the prerequisite for admission to the oral exam is a successfully passed written test.
Exam requirements:
Reading of literature in a given structure (see study materials)
Language of instruction
Slovak
Follow-Up Courses
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught once in two years.
General note: Je-li vypsán, absolvovat v 1. r. st. a zakončit PZk. Posl. 1-obor. st. musí mít 2 PZk (min. 1 z pravěku), posl. 2-obor. st. 1 PZk v I. cyklu.
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2021, Spring 2025.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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