German King Research Articles

ПОЛІТИЧНИЙ РОЗВИТОК СТОДОРЯНСЬКОГО КНЯЗІВСТВА В Х – ПЕРШІЙ ПОЛОВИНІ ХІІ ст.

The article analyzes the process of emergence, peculiarities of political development and decline of the Stodorian principality in the tenth – mid-twelfth centuries on the basis of narrative sources and specialized historical literature. The study is based on the principles of historicism, scientism, and authorial objectivity, as well as on the use of general scientific (analysis, synthesis, generalization, comparison) and specialized historical (typological and systematic historic) methods. It is noted that the formation of statehood among the Havolians (Stodorians) dates back to the first half of the 10th century, during the reign of Prince Tugumir, as a result of whose betrayal Stodorania became vassalage to the German king. To consolidate their power in the Polabia, the Ottons created three stamps here in the tenth century, one of which was given to Otto I’s comrade-in-arms from his youth, Count Geron, who in 939 deliberately invited 30 Slavic princes to his banquet and treacherously killed them all in one night. It is emphasized that Otto I sought to strengthen German rule across the Elbe by Christianization, and in order to organize the church, Otto I founded two bishoprics in Polabia, with the support of the Stodorian prince Tugumir: in Havelberg (946) and Brandenburg (948), which were subordinated to the Mainz metropolis. It is established that Christianization, which was forcibly carried out by the Germans in the Polabia territory, was primarily an instrument of political pressure, an instrument of enslavement, which led to the outbreak of a powerful anti-German uprising in Stodoriania in 983. The result of this victorious uprising was the liberation of the Stodorians from German rule and their return to paganism. It is emphasized that the Stodorian principality in the tenth – first half of the twelfth century was one of the most developed socio-political and economic regions of Polabia, occupying an important place in the system of international relations of Central Europe. It is established that the last princes of the Stodorians were Pribislav-Henry and Yaksa of Kepenik. The first of them bequeathed his principality to the margrave of the Northern Mark Albert the Bear, who eventually conquered Branibor in 1157 after heavy battles with Jaksa, finally subduing Stodorania.

Charlemagne’s Mustache

Paul Dutton tackles the neglected, but fascinating, history of hair, mustaches and beards in this article expanded from his plenary talk for CSM in 2000. He argues that the Germanic kings used hair – glorious, curly locks and full, manly beards – to distinguish themselves from their clean-shaven Roman predecessors. The article goes on to explore the intricacies of hair under the Merovingians, with laws and practices determining precise lengths and styles for different ranks and classes. The Carolingians, by contrast, were strikingly short-haired, mustaches replaced long hair as semiotic signifiers of power.

Дипломатична місія чеського короля Вацлава ІІ до французького монарха Філіппа IV Красивого на початку XIV ст.

The purpose of the scientifi c study is to reveal the preconditions and to trace the progress of diplomatic mission organization of the Czech King Václav II to France in order to conclude an alliance agreement with the local monarch Philip IV the Handsome from the Capeting dynasty, directed against the pope Boniface VIII and the German ruler Albrecht I Habsburg. Th e methodological basis of the work is the principles of historicism, objectivity and scientifi c credibility. Historical-systemic and analytical methods have been used. Th e research was prepared on the basis of analysis of sources. It is about documents of the Czech diplomatic mission, as well as about the annals and chronicles that were kept in Prague and in certain re- gions of the Holy Roman Empire. It’s focused on works of leading Czech and German scientists on the outlined issues. Th e scientifi c novelty consists in the detailed clearing up of preconditions of the diplomatic mission organization of the Czech King Václav II to the French king Philip IV the Handsome, clarifying its purpose and probable reasons of fi asco of the action. Conclusions. Vaclav II hoped to fi nd a reliable ally in person of the French monarch who would be able to provide him with assistance in his confrontation with Pope Boniface VIII and German King Albrecht I Habsburg. However, all eff orts of Vaclav II to get closer to Philip IV the Handsome failed. Th e reason of the failure should be sought in the fact that Philip IV the Handsome man- aged to deal with the pope on his own, and the fi ght against Albrecht I Habsburg he did not consider his priority. Although the relationship between German and French kings became cool, however the fi nal line was not passed. Th e position of Philip IV the Handsome could be infl u- enced by family relations of the Capetings with the Neapolitan line of the Anjou family, whose representative claimed the Hungarian throne. One way or another, but the mission to Philip IV the Handsome remained unfi nished, the alliance between the Czech kingdom and France, which Vaclav II so longed for, was not concluded.

Die geographische und familiäre Herkunft der Ordensgebietiger Konrad von Kyburg und Rudolf von Kyburg

The geographical and familial origins of the Teutonic Order’s officials Konrad von Kyburg and Rudolf von Kyburg The researchers of the Teutonic Order have placed the brethren Konrad (before 1336 – 12. April 1402) and Rudolf (before 1337–1404) von Kyburg in the north-eastern part of present-day Switzerland – either in the castle of Kyburg near Winterthur in the eastern Canton of Zurich, or in the Canton of Turgovia, lying in the East of Canton Zurich and to the South of Lake Bodensee. Their family lost those areas by 1265, after a sudden death of Hartmann V von Kyburg (1263) and the childless death of his uncle, Hartmann IV (1264). The only successor, the minor daughter of Hartmann V, Anna von Kyburg, was not able to keep her inheritance, which was quickly taken by her nephew Rudolf IV von Habsburg, latter known as German King Rudolf I. He arranged a marriage between Anna and his relative, Eberhard von Habsburg-Laufenburg, leaving them only Burgdorf and Thun in the nowadays Canton Berne. Their son, Hartmann, had taken the name of the maternal dynasty, calling himself since 1297 Hartmann I von Kyburg. His son, Eberhard II von Kyburg, succeeded him. He was the father of eleven children with Konrad von Kyburg and Rudolf von Kyburg among them. Despite their name, they came from Burgdorf and had joined the Teutonic Order because the poor parents could not guarantee them a subsistence. The carreer of Konrad von Kyburg started in the late 1380s. In 1392 he was promoted to the Comtur of Balga and from 1396–1402 had even reached the high rank of the Great Hospitaller. The carrier of his younger brother, Rudolf, was less impressive for he became 1391–1402 the Comtur of Rehden.

II. Kirchliche Zufluchtsorte im Frühmittelalter

Abstract Church Spaces for Refugees in Early Medieval Ages. The paper deals with the spatial regulations of asylum. It shows that the spacious area of asylum of Late Antiquity was considerably reduced by many gentile Germanic kings. However, with the increasing Christianisation and the founding of monasteries and regional churches, the ability to grant asylum was extended to these churches, whereas in Late Antiquity in the Western Roman Empire, very likely only the episcopal churches – partly due to the lack of too many other churches – were qualified to grant asylum. In this way, a harmonization between profane and ecclesiastical places of refuge took place for just as “all” churches were (before?) all royal courts and not only the king’s residence were spaces of refuge. In the case of church spaces of refuge, it increasingly became a qualitative requirement that the church building or its parts (altar, gates etc.) had been sanctified by episcopal ordination. The reduction in the size of the asylum area did not initially go hand in hand with an impairment in the right of asylum. The bishop’s (priest’s) obligation to intercede or right to intercede was only levelled under emperor Charlemagne with reference to the competence of any worthy person to intercede.

An Honourable U-Turn? Finland and New Europe after the End of the First World War

Abstract The article deals with the situation of a small, newly- and uncertainly independent country that had a peculiar experience in the year 1918. The country had declared its independence in December 1917, had received the recognition from Soviet Russia, the Nordic countries, Germany and its allies, and France in January 1918. Almost simultaneously, it drifted to a civil war, in which both the Germans and the Russians participated. However, the Civil War was mainly a domestic concern, and the outcome was the defeat of an attempt at a socialist revolution and the victory of an extremely pro-German government that even elected a German king in Finland in October 1918. The project was never fulfilled, but the experience left an exceptional, pro-German mental heritage, to which the terms of the armistice of November 1918 was a shock. They were seen as unjust, revengeful and even petty—both by the Finnish “Whites” (non-socialists) and the “Reds” (socialists). The Versailles Treaty in 1919 did not directly concern Finland. However, it might have done so in the question of Finnish borders, which was still partly unresolved—both in the west (a strife with Sweden over the Åland Islands) and in the east (ethnically Finnish Eastern Karelia). Moreover, the Allies were uncertain whether Finland should be considered Scandinavian or Baltic. Britain and the United States had not yet recognized Finland’s independence, so in order to secure independence and territorial integrity, the Finns had to adjust to the Allies’ demands and actively drive a Western-oriented policy. This was done for the same reason why the German orientation had been previously adapted—the threat of Russia and revolution—but it was psychologically strenuous for some political circles because they felt that there was an element of dishonorable opportunism to it. However, they could offer no alternative in a situation in which a newborn state had to secure its independence and legitimacy in New Europe, adjusting to disappointments and demands.

The German King Philip of Swabia, Hungarian Queen Gertrude of Andechs-Meranien, and St Elizabeth of Thuringia in Rus’ Chronicles

This study is an attempt to present the history of Rus’ foreign policy ties with Germany and Hungary in the early 13th century. It focuses on a Rus’ chronicler’s account of the events surrounding the murder of German king Philip of Swabia in 1208. The chronicler certainly knew that Hungarian princess Elizabeth (future St Elizabeth of Thuringia) was betrothed to the son of the Landgrave Herman I of Thuringia - a marriage alliance made to shore up aid for the brothers of the Hungarian queen who had been condemned for their part in the murder plot. Not only agreeing with Western sources, but also supplementing them, the Galician-Volhynian Chronicle is the only source to note that Langrave Herman I of Thuringia was one of the main allies of Queen Gertrude, helping to protect her brother, Bishop Ekbert. By contrast, the relations between Roman Mstislavich and the Staufens’ supporters in Germany, along with his military effort to support King Philip which cost the Galician prince his life, are detailed in Western sources, but the early loss of the initial part of the Galician-Volhynian Chronicle may explain the absence of similar information in Rus’ sources. Four novel and crucial points have emerged from this study. First, the entry in the Galician-Volynian Chronicle mentioning the murder deserves to be taken seriously as an accurate, albeit very brief, notice of the episode. Second, the entry offers firm evidence of the attempt of the German-born Queen Gertrude of Hungary to aid her brothers who were undoubtedly responsible for King Philip’s murder, and the chroniclers rightly noted the connection between the murder and the betrothal of Gertrude’s daughter Elizabeth to Louis, son of Landgrave Herman of Thuringia. Third, these details might have found their way into the Galician-Volhynian Chronicle owing to the correspondence and blood-ties between royal women in the Galician-Volhynian, German, and Austrian courts: Euphrosyne-Anna, the widow of Prince Roman Mstislavich, her sister Irene-Maria, the queen of murdered German king, and Theodora, the spouse of Duke Leopold VI of Austria. Fourth, the important passage in the chronicle reflects and points to the close involvement of western Rus’ princes in German and Hungarian political affairs in the early thirteenth century.

The Life of Christina of Hane. Trans., intro., and annotations by Racha Kirakosian. New Haven, CT, and London: Yale University Press, 2020, lxi, 4 b/w ill.

Abstract: However we might think today about medieval mysticism, it certainly provided many late women with unique opportunities to turn to writing and thus to gain authority and respect, if they were not persecuted and executed by the male superiors, such as Marguerite de Porète (1310). Christina of Hane (1269‐ca. 1292; previously identified as Christina of Retters), whom Racha Kirakosian has focused on much in her previous edition and study (2017), left a remarkable ego-document, her Life, which Kirakosian has now translated into English, accompanying it with an excellent and in-depth introduction. She might have been the sister of the German King Adolf of Nassau (r. 1292‐1298).

O okolicznościach narodzin królewskich dzieci w świetle itinerarium Kazimierza Jagiellończyka i Elżbiety Rakuskiej

O okolicznościach narodzin królewskich dzieci w świetle itinerarium Kazimierza Jagiellończyka i Elżbiety Rakuskiej

Diestelkamp, Bernhard, Der deutsche König als oberster Richter im Hoch- und Spätmittelalter Eine neue Positionsbestimmung

Abstract The German king as highest judge in the Mid- to Late Medieval period. A new paradigm. Conventionally it is assumed that the king was the highest judge in the medieval Empire. However, many times this turns out to be a misconception. The idea of a ‘highest’ judge suggests a relationship of superiority and inferiority as well as successive stages of appeal which, in fact, did not exist in the customary law. The article analyzes sources from the late medieval Imperial Aulic Court examining when and in which contexts the term ‘highest judge’ was used first. Aside from little evidence in the 14th century numerous records can be found in 15th century documents. It is hardly a coincidence that these findings concur with the increase of references on appeal trials based on the learned law around this time. In this respect the designation of the king as the highest judge marks the transition of the judicial organization in the wake of the reception of the Roman and canon law.

Eburnei nuntii: The Consular Diptychs and the Imperial Diplomacy of the 6th Century

This article deals with ivory consular diptychs dating around the first half of the sixth century. All these diptychs but one depict consuls appointed in Constantinople, but they were all found in the former Western Roman Empire, mainly in cities belonging to the Frankish Kingdom. Considering their chronology and sixth century history, this paper shows that consular diptychs were often sent by the emperor to Germanic kings or Roman senators as diplomatic gifts. A specific focus is dedicated to the Barberini Diptych, which arrived in Gaul together with a Byzantine embassy. The Frankish king Clovis is portrayed as a consul on its left panel.

On Byzantine Reaction to the Council of Pisa in 1409

The Council of Pisa in 1409 made an attempt to complete the history of the Great Western Schism. The result was election of the Pope Alexander V (1409–1410). In few months Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaeologos sent him the letter of greeting. He expressed his gladness in connection with the restored unity of Western Church and promised in the future to send a diplomat. However, the Council of Pisa did not stop the Schism indeed. Not all the Latin states recognized the new Pope, and previous two antipopes Gregory XII and Benedict XIII were not going to abdicate. Besides Byzantine Emperor said nothing of the goal of probable negotiations with Alexander V. So we have to look for a particular diplomatic sense in the letter of greeting to the Pope. It can be found in the history of international relations, that influenced upon the preparation for and the organization of the Council of Pisa. Florence and France were evident supporters of the Council. Their opponent was Neapolitan King Ladislaus, who at the same time was the titular King of Hungary. Germany divided into supporters of German King Rupert and Czech King Wenceslaus. The result was the alliance of Wenceslaus and the new Pope. At first common neutral stance united Venice and Hungarian King Sigmund of Luxembourg. They maintained relations with the Pope Gregory XII, but admitted his voluntary abdication for stopping of the Schism. However, the analysis of results of the Council shows that it reproduced the advantageous generally for Venice alignment of international forces. In few weeks after election of Alexander V the Republic suddenly shifted its ground and recognize him. But at first it bought from the King Ladislaus titulary rights to Dalmatia, that was considered the possession of the Hungarian Crown. This was leading to the complication in its relations with the King Sigmund. Their conflict in the Balkans provoked the feud in the Ottoman state, that threatened the Byzantine Empire. Only the mediation of the Pope Alexander V could avert the conflict, but Sigmund also had to recognize him. The letter of Byzantine Emperor purposed to contribute to this and join the Pope in the mediation between Hungary and Venice.

Der slawische Adel, seine Sprache und seine Namen zwischen Saale und Elbe vom 10. bis 13. Jahrhundert

Slavic nobility, language and names between the rivers Saale and Elbe (10th-13th centuries) – In 2018 the archbishopric Magdeburg will celebrate its 1050th anniversary of existence. Therefore several questions in connection with interethnic relations between Slavic population and German governers are treated. From 930 up till 1150 a. Chr. a Slavonic majority was dominated by a German minority in all districts between the rivers Saale and Elbe. The author gives different answers and arguments by linguistic material to demonstrate mutual acknowledgement and tolerance by two different ethnics. The historical view allows results about interethnic communication since the 10th century. Furthermore an important fact can be made evident: German government accepted and preserved the old Slavic castles, regional names and lots of toponyms as signs of the former structure of the Slavic territory. The article offers special attention to the members of Slavic nobility. The author verifies about hundred persons with their names as examples of Slavic noble born representatives. Historical documents explain these persons’ duties as well as their secular and clerical charges in the time of Middle Ages. Some can be shown in top functions near to the German king or his margrave. German representatives apparently used the so called lingua Slavica misssionarica not only as language of Christian conversion, but also when it was necessary to discuss and to treat themes of administration.

Die „deutsche Spur“ in der altrussischen Erzählung über die Einnahme Konstantinopels durch die Kreuzritter

AbstractOld Rus’ literature and art reflected the capture of Constantinople by the Crusaders, in particular, in the Tale on the taking of Tsargrad by the Crusaders.The most likely author of this work, the oldest version of which has survived as part of the Older Version of the First Novgorod Chronicle, is the Novgorod Boyar Dobrynya Yadreykovich (later Archbishop Anthony). A close associate of the Galician-Volhynian prince RomanMstislavich, Dobrynya spent several years in Constantinople on his behalf and witnessed the devastation of the Byzantine capital by the Latins in April 1204. The close relationship with the Galician-Volhynian prince explains why Dobrynya paid attention to the prince’s brother-in-law - the German king Philip of Swabia - and his role in organizing the Fourth Crusade.The author of the Tale expressed the „Ibellin“ point of view, i.e. he attempted to take off the German king the responsibility for the devastation of Constantinople. He was familiar with the details of the escape of Prince Alexios (the future emperor Alexios IV) from the Byzantine capital to King Philip and used characteristic German vocabulary (place names and personal names). All this suggests that the Russian scribe used informations from a well-informed German source. Dobrynya’s informer could be one of King Philip’s supporters, Bishop of Halberstadt Konrad von Krosigk, who participated in the siege of Constantinople in 1203-1204.

Znaczenie bitwy pod Chlumcem (1126) dla relacji politycznych między władcą niemieckim Lotarem III a czeskim księciem Sobiesławem I

In the year 1126 in Bohemia, near Chlumec, a battle took place between the army of the German king Lothair III and army of the Czech prince Sobieslav I. The main aim for the German king was to enthrone of Otto“the Black” of Moravia in Prague. The winner from Chlumec, Prince Sobieslav, did not take advantage of the achieved victory but he submitted himself to the defeated Lothair and took from him the Czech throne in fief. Otto“the Black” of Moravia died on the battlefield. In this text we want to examine how, in the context of the internal, including dynastic, and international affairs conducted by Sobieslav, the war with the German ruler should be perceived and how particularly the resignation of the Czech prince from crushing the surrounded and bloodless enemy should be seen. The reason for the conflict between Lothair III and Sobieslav was a certain temporary conjunction of political circumstances associated with the turmoil around the enthronement in Prague in 12th century, and with the situation of Lothair in the Reich.

George Arion and the Quest for a Romanian Crime Writing

T he Romanian language is an island of Romance in a Slavic ocean, adjacent to another linguistic island, Hungary. Once roughly the Roman province of Dacia, the area retained the Latin the Romans brought with their conquest in the second century ad. Successive invasions , migrations, and conquests, such as those by the Huns, the Slavs, the Magyars, and the Turks, have influenced the language and contributed vocabulary, but the underlying nature of the language stubbornly persisted. For example, of all the Romance languages, Romanian is the only one to retain the noun declensions of Latin, leading Romanians to proudly state that their language is the descendant of Latin that most resembles Latin. A reader of modern French or Spanish has little trouble getting the general drift of Romanian newspaper articles once she gets used to the spelling practices, even though she may hit a snag on some of the adopted Slavic words. George Arion Crime&Mystery international j. madison davis With the publication of Attack in the Library, Arion pulled off one of the nerviest and most influential publications in a totalitarian context. and the Quest for a Romanian Crime Writing November–December 2014 • 9 10 worldliteraturetoday.org There are 23 to 25 million native speakers of the language, which is about one-third the number of French speakers, less than half the number of Turkish speakers, and roughly the same number as Nigerian Igbo speakers . Having the misfortune of a geography in the pathway of conquering tribes and massive migrations, the area that is now Romania has been sliced dozens of ways and served up to many a kingdom and empire, interfering with its literary and cultural development. It wasn’t until 1877 that Romania became an independent state under an imported German king, Carol I. Despite the example of his queen, who was an untiring author of plays, poems, and novels in several languages under the pseudonym Carmen Sylva, the literary culture remained limited. Until after World War II, illiteracy was common in Romania, with sometimes half the population considered unable to read and write. Although illiteracy plummeted in the Communist era (and was declared nonexistent in the 1950s), the restrictions upon literary activity were formidable. Ordinary crime writing wasn’t allowed because crime did not exist in the workers’ paradise. The CIA was behind all crime. I was told in a recent visit to Romania that in the 1950s, police were ordered to write crime stories to satisfy the hunger for them, but, Joseph Wambaugh to the contrary, policemen have no particular writing skills, and the effort was a disaster. After two decades of unconscionable oppression, Romania revolted and Ceauşescu faced a firing squad. The sense of creative freedom and the desire to participate in the greater global culture was powerful. Writers had built up a large backlog of things they wanted to say. They saw a hunger for entertaining crime novels in Romania, and many of them saw crime writing as a means to express important truths about society, both to their own nation and to the world. They particularly drew inspiration from the so-called “Nordic crime wave,” in which Scandinavian crime writers were popular and influential in non-Scandinavian nations. Despite the fact that reviewers did not take crime writing seriously—in fact, they would not even review crime writing—several hearty writers persisted. The dean of Romanian crime writers is George Arion, whose 1983 novel Atac în bibliotecă (Eng. Attack in the Library, 2011) has been said to be the reason that there are any contemporary Romanian crime novels. A critic , journalist, librettist, and screenwriter , Arion began as a poet in the 1960s, publishing a verse collection in 1966. At that point, the Ceauşescu regime was considered one of the most liberal in the Soviet bloc, along with Tito’s in Yugoslavia. However, as the 1970s progressed and Ceauşescu solidified his power, his admiration for the Cultural Revolution in China caused him to impose one of the most rigid regimes in the world, one even the Soviets thought extreme. “Those years were very hard,” one writer said to me this summer, looking at the pavement as if a mural of unhappiness...

From Naumburg to Burgos. European Sculpture and Dynastic Politics in the Thirteenth Century

This article tries to nuance traditional models that infer that developments in thirteenth-century Gothic sculpture be understood exclusively as emanating from the most important French cathedral workshops. Even if there are common artistic roots in Reims cathedral, the closest parallels to the sculptures erected in the 1260s in the cloister and the western towers of the cathedral of Burgos can be detected in the founders’ statues of Naumburg and Meissen, in Germany. Thus, for example, the statues of Otto I the Great and Adelheid in Meissen served as a relatively precise imperial model for the commemorative sculptures of King Ferdinand III of Castile and Beatrice of Hohenstaufen in the cloister of Burgos. The latter’s wedding in 1219 in Burgos’ old Romanesque cathedral underpinned the imperial pretensions of their son Alfonso X the Learned, who was elected Roman (German) king in Frankfurt in 1257. It has to be assumed that in the ensuing years of German-Castilian interchange a German sculptors’ workshop was employed in Burgos cathedral. Apart from the Naumburg-Meissen connection, this is confirmed by sculptural details of the Burgos cloister statues that reveal Magdeburgian origins — the missing link seemingly the sculptures of the Holy Sepulchre of Constance cathedral from c. 1260. These were commissioned by Bishop Eberhard II of Constance, head of a German legation that travelled to Burgos in 1257 to invite Alfonso the Learned to enter the Empire as the new German king.En este artículo se intenta demostrar que el modelo tradicional de explicar los desarrollos de la escultura gótica europea del siglo XIII exclusivamente como movimiento radial que emane de los talleres más importantes de las catedrales francesas, parece demasiado simple. Aunque existan raíces artísticas comunes en los talleres de escultura de la catedral de Reims, los paralelos más estrechos con las esculturas erigidas en la década de 1260 en el claustro y las torres occidentales de la catedral de Burgos se hallan en Alemania, en las estatuas de fundadores de las catedrales de Naumburgo y Meissen. Así, las estatuas de la pareja imperial de Otón I el Grande y Adelheid en Meissen sirvieron de modelo relativamente preciso para las esculturas conmemorativas de Fernando III el Santo y Beatriz de Hohenstaufen en el claustro de Burgos. Su boda de 1219, celebrada en la vieja catedral románica de Burgos, creó el fundamento de las pretensiones imperiales de su hijo Alfonso X el Sabio, que fue elegido Rey de los Romanos (de los alemanes) en Fráncfort en 1257. Hay que suponer que durante los años siguientes de intercambio entre Alemania y Castilla se empleó un taller de escultores alemanes en la catedral de Burgos. Aparte de la conexión con Naumburgo y Meissen, esto se confirma por detalles escultóricos de las estatuas del claustro de Burgos que denotan orígenes en el círculo artístico de Magdeburgo. El eslabón perdido parece ser las esculturas del Santo Sepulcro de la catedral de Constancia de hacia 1260, que muestran varias similitudes con las de Burgos. No parece casualidad que fueron encargadas por el obispo Eberhard II de Constancia, cabeza de una delegación alemana que viajó a Burgos en 1257 para invitar a Alfonso el Sabio a venir al Imperio como nuevo rey alemán.

Peasant-Based Societies in Chris Wickham’s Thought

AbstractThis engagement with Chris Wickham’s Framing the Early Middle Ages argues that Germanic kings settled as political authorities in fiscal lands, and granted districts to some of the loyal members of their entourage over which they exercised power. This process relates to the fact that kings preserved fiscus-taxes, but that system had already deteriorated and finally disintegrated in the sixth century. In the long run, the problem was expressed in an organic crisis of the ruling class. In consequence, popular revolts against taxation ensued. These revolts are an indicator that the collapsed ancient machinery of domination was not replaced by another in the short term, thus giving way to a political vacuum. The fugitive slaves or serfs reflected in the laws are an indicator pointing in the same direction. Under these conditions free peasant-communities multiplied. These events take us to the concept of peasant-mode societies that Wickham contributes to our understanding of the period. Despite the importance he attaches to this concept, he observes nuances; not in all regions, he claims, did peasant-logic prevail. The evidence allows us, on the contrary, to extend the scope of the concept and to establish a single theoretical basis for the construction of the feudal system on a European scale.

Bücher, Bildung und Herrschaft von Fürstinnen im Umkreis des Prager Hofes der Luxemburger

The paper discusses literacy and book ownership among Luxembourg noblewomen during the second half of the fourteenth century. This was a period in which Charles IV and his son and successor Wenzel built up a library in Prague. Hardly any facts are known about the education of Charles’ wives. However we know that John, the Chancellor and Bishop of Olmutz, dedicated a collection of letters and texts of the late Antiquity as well as different prayer books to Charles’ sister-in-law Elizabeth. All of these were written in German. They were widely copied and read by noblewomen and nuns. Especially the bible and its translation into German and other languages played a vital role during this period. A famous example was the bible of the Emperor’s daughter Anna who married the English king Richard II in 1382. Her dowry included a volume of biblical texts in several languages (Latin, German, Czech). This volume played a part in the controversy regarding John Wyclif’s plan to translate the bible into English. Queen Sophie, the second wife of the Bohemian and German King Wenzel, was also a well educated noblewoman who kept in touch with Jan Hus during his period as a famous preacher in Prague and also during the months he spent in Constance prison. A list of her possessions — including several books — can still be found in the archive of the Wittelsbach family in Munich.

Ideology of the Ruler in Pre-Christian Scandinavia: Mythical and Ritual Relations

This article is an attempt to analyse some of the important aspects of the ideology of the ruler in pre-Christian Scandinavian religion. These aspects are the notion of ‘sacral kingship’ as it has been perceived within the study of Norse religion and the methods used in dealing with this subject; the relation between the notions ‘descent from the gods’ and ‘euhenerism’; possible solutions to the fact that we have both the gods Freyr and Óðinn as progenitors of the Scandinavian and Germanic kings; the relation between the Christian notion of rex iustus and the pagan ideology of kings. Basically the article argues that these subjects cannot be dealt with without a comparative view of the Scandinavian and Germanic material.