Description
Book SynopsisThis book provides the first detailed overview of research on rulership in theory and practice, with a particular emphasis on the monarchies of Bohemia, Hungary and Poland in the High and Late Middle Ages. The contributions examine the legitimation of rule of the first local dynasties, the ritual practice of power, the ruling strategies and practices of power in the established monarchies, and the manifold influences on the rulership in East Central Europe from outside the region (such as from Byzantium, and the Holy Roman Empire). The collection shows that these ideas and practices enabled the new polities to become legitimate members of Latin Christendom.
Trade Review'The recent decade has seen an increasing number of works dedicated to Medieval East Central Europe published in English. The volume under review is another example of this trend, providing a broader academic audience with regional contributions on the popular historiographical topic of rulership [...] It is my hope that this excellent contribution will further facilitate discussion about medieval rulership in East-Central Europe both in the region itself and in anglophone academic discourse.' Michal Machalski, in Historical Studies on Central Europe 2 (2022). See the full review here.
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments List of Figures and Maps Notes on Contributors PART 1: Introduction 1 Rulership in Medieval East Central Europe Dušan Zupka 2 Rulership and Power in Western Medieval Europe (A Theoretical and Conceptual Introduction) Grischa Vercamer PART 2: Legitimacy and Rulership – Beginning and Development of the First Dynasties in the Early and High Middle Ages 3 After Avars: The Beginning of the Ruling Power on the Eastern Fringe of Carolingian Empire Martin Wihoda 4 The Rulership of the Árpádian Dynasty in the 10th–13th Centuries Márta Font 5 The Piast Rulership Zbigniew Dalewski PART 3: Ritual and Politics: Established Rulership in the High and Late Middle Ages 6 Political, Religious and Social Framework of Religious Warfare and Its Influences on Rulership in Medieval East Central Europe Dušan Zupka 7 The Ritual Practice of Power in Bohemia during the 14th Century Robert Antonín 8 Language of Power and Communication in the Piast Dynasty: Toward a Reappraisal of Polish Political Culture of the 12th–13th Century Marcin R. Pauk 9 Assemblies in the Holy Roman Empire and the East Central European Kingdoms: A Comparative Essay on Political Participation and Representation Julia Burkhardt PART 4: Structures of Power in the Late Middle Ages 10 The Irruption of the Sacred into the History of Hungarian Kings in the Mirror of the Angevin “Illuminated Chronicle” (around 1358) Vinni Lucherini 11 The Last Piasts: Legitimating Royal Rule in Fourteenth Century Poland Paul W. Knoll 12 Royal Power and Military Administration in Angevin Hungary Attila Bárány 13 Governance System in Poland during the 15th Century Bożena Czwojdrak PART 5: Influences on Rulership in East Central Europe from Outside 14 Byzantium and East Central Europe: A Brief Outline of Political and Cultural Relations Panos Sophoulis 15 The Kingdom of Rus’: Towards a New Theoretical Model of Rulership in Medieval Europe Christian Raffensperger 16 The “Mongol Experience” of East Central Europe in Image and Political Reality during the Later Middle Ages Felicitas Schmieder 17 Holy Roman Empire and East Central Europe (High Middle Ages): Politics and Influences Grischa Vercamer 18 The Holy Roman Empire and East Central Europe (Late Middle Ages): Politics and Influences Stephan Flemmig 19 Authority without Power? Papal Rulership over East Central Europe in the Late Middle Ages Monika Saczyńska-Vercamer General Bibliography Index
