Ideální panovník českého středověku. Kulturně-historická skica z dějin středověkého myšlení (Ideal ruler of Czech Middle Ages. Cultural-historical Sketch of the History of Medieval Thought). Praha 2013 (original) (raw)

The main point of departure of the reflections proposed in this book is the understanding of the ideal ruler as a cultural archetype representing one of the principles of stability in the changing world. This stabilizing role was primarily related to the ruler's direct connection with the realm of the Absolute, i.e. God. Whenever the monarch assumed this ideal by means of ritual transformation (enthronement, coronation), he became a deputy of the supernatural in the "natural" world. According to the proposed conclusions, this happened with the support of the Catholic Church, whose representatives realized the ethically binding nature of this behavior of secular rulers, who assumed relevant duties together with the consecration of their power. The text of this book is divided into ten interconnected thematic units. In the first chapter, the author attempts to present the ideal of monarchic power in a broader context of European thinking within the framework of the medieval as well as modern (scholarly) discourse. The second chapter puts together the options provided by the sources of Czech provenience and sketches the starting points of the author. In the following seven chapters (III-IX), the author puts forward reflections on several crucial issues concerning the timespan from the tenth (insofar as relevant sources are available) to the end of the fourteenth century. The issues in question are the following: the origins of monarchic power and its legitimation, the role of Saint Wenceslaus, the Antique and Biblical patterns in medieval thinking, the doctrine of the four cardinal and three theological virtues, the expressions of chivalry within the concept of the ideal ruler and the analysis of related social roles as well as the ruler's position between reality, norms and ideals. The reason for the aforementioned chronological extent is the transformation of the mental world of society in the Czech lands. This change resulted from the endeavor of Church reformers starting in the late fourteenth century and from the subsequent outbreak of the Hussite revolution. The last chapter deals with the role of the idea of the just king in the Hussite period.