HIB002n De viris illustribus: Enea Silvio Piccolomini and his world

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
prof. Mgr. Libor Jan, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
prof. Mgr. Libor Jan, Ph.D.
Department of History – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of History – Faculty of Arts
Prerequisites (in Czech)
Základní znalost latiny
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 25 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/25, only registered: 0/25, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/25
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
Enea Silvio Piccolomini (1405-1464) came from a minor Italian noble family. He received a humanist education and in his youth was a supporter of Conciliarism. Later he became close to Emperor Frederick III and was many times involved as a diplomat in Bohemia. His work is the Historia Bohemica, which for many years appealed mainly to readers in Italy and Western Europe. He is extremely literary, not excluding compositions with erotic content. In 1458 he is elected pope and uses the name Pius II. Between 1444 and 1450, he produced portraits of important men and women of Western Christendom, from monarchs and secular rulers to humanists and condottieri, princesses, to bishops, cardinals and popes. In the seminar, students will meet personalities such as Emperor Sigismund, Duke Albrecht II. Habsburg, King Charles VII of France, Pope John XXIII (Baldassare Cossa) or Cosimo de Medici or Leonardo Bruni, all through the eyes of Eney Silvia.
Learning outcomes
Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to:
characterize the major figures of the first half of the 15th century; interpret the texts of a humanist scholar; navigate the political history of Italy and Central Europe in the 15th century
Syllabus
  • 1. Origin and background of Enea Silvio. The world of Italy in the first half of the 15th century.
  • 2. His career and literary works.
  • 3. Enea's Historia Bohemica / History of Bohemia.
  • 4. The Councils of Pisa, Constance, Pavia/Siena and Basel.
  • 5. Leonardo Bruni, Chancellor of Florence, and Cosimo de' Medici, banker.
  • 6. Francesco Sforza and John Spark, governors of the mercenaries.
  • 7. Albrecht II, Duke of Austria, Margrave of Moravia and Emperor.
  • 8. Empress Barbara of Celje.
  • 9. Popes John XXIII and Martin V.
  • 10. Sigismund, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, King of Hungary and Bohemia.
Literature
  • Eneas Silvius Piccolomini, Pentalogie. Hrsg. v. Christoph Schingnitz. MGH Staatschriften des späten Mittelalters VIII. Hannover 2009.
  • Aeneae Silvii Historia Bohemica. Enea Silvio Historie česká, přip. a přel. D. Martínková, A. Hadravová, J. Matl, úvodní studie F. Šmahel, FRRB Fontes rerum Regni Bohemiae FRRB I., Praha 1998.
  • Eneas Silvius Piccolomini, Historia Australis, 1, 2. Einleitung Martin Wagendorfer. Hrsg. 1. Ed. Julia Knödler. MGH SRG NS XXIV. Hannover 2009.
  • De Viris Illustribus and other biographical writings of Enea Silvio Piccolomini (Pope Pius II), edited et translated by Michael von Cotta-Schönberg, Generis 2021.
Teaching methods
seminar, class discussion, work with sources
Assessment methods
credit; report on individual topics
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
The course is taught: every week.
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