Anatomy of a Duchy. The Political and Ecclesiastical Structures of Early Přemyslid Bohemia

KALHOUS, David. Anatomy of a Duchy. The Political and Ecclesiastical Structures of Early Přemyslid Bohemia. 1st ed. Leiden - Boston: Brill, 2012, 350 pp. East Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages. ISBN 978-90-04-22980-8.

Basic information

• Original name: Anatomy of a Duchy. The Political and Ecclesiastical Structures of Early Přemyslid Bohemia
• Authors: KALHOUS, David (203 Czech Republic, guarantor, belonging to the institution).
• Edition: 1. vyd. Leiden - Boston, 350 pp. East Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 2012.
• Publisher: Brill

Other information

• Original language: English
• Type of outcome: Book on a specialized topic
• Field of Study: 60101 History
• Country of publisher: Netherlands
• Confidentiality degree: is not subject to a state or trade secret
• Publication form: printed version "print"
• RIV identification code: RIV/00216224:14210/12:00057477
• Organization unit: Faculty of Arts
• ISBN: 978-90-04-22980-8
• Keywords in English: Early middle ages; sources elites; Legenda Christiani; Přemyslids; Bohemia; Moravia; bishopric Prague; st Wenceslas; st. Cyrill and Methodius; Great Moravia
• Tags: 10th century Bohemia Elite, Early Middle Ages, historical sources, Methodius, Premyslids 10th-Century Hagiography Mythology, rivok, social hierarchy, topvydavatel
• Tags: International impact, Reviewed

Abstract

An analysis of the early Přemyslid 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 Přemyslid 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 Přemyslid regnum.

Links

• GAP405/12/0625, research and development project: Name: Magnae Moraviae Fontes Historici I

Investor: Czech Science Foundation, Magnae Moraviae Fontes Historici I