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As a part of discussion about geographic distribution of the Levallois-leptolithic (Bohunician) technological entities and its paleoanthropological meaning, this paper presents two potential sites from Bohemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ecology and distribution of caddisflies is an important topic with regard to the general biodiversity of insects and also the ecological quality of freshwaters. Our recent rediscovery of Chimarra marginata (Linnaeus) in the Czech Republic took place after more than 80 years and is important from a biomonitoring point of view. We present new data from the Ohře River in western Bohemia and give a review of the historical occurrence of this species in the territory of former Czechoslovakia. Ecological preferences are discussed as well as the potential value of the species for bioindication. This report also emphasizes the importance of regular routine sampling to monitor changes in species diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

National antagonisms marked the last decades of the Habsburg Monarchy. The conditions in the Adriatic Littoral was not dissimilar to what happened in other regions of the Empire: in some of these (Moravia and Bukovina, for example) the communities managed to find a compromise, while in other cases the attempts to reach an agreement foundered, triggering long-term struggles whose results would upset the structure of a large part of continental Europe during the Second World War. It is for that reason that it is useful to look at the antagonism between national communities in a wide-ranging view, far from ideological exasperations, and which does not renounce looking at other perspectives.

Abstract The study presented focuses on material research of La Tène rivets and represents the very first study conducted into this class of archaeological finds from the Bohemian region. The rivets examined come from two significant archaeological sites situated in this geographical area—a hillfort Kolo near Týnec nad Labem and an oppidum in Stradonice. The sets of the rivets selected for the study were dated to the Late La Tène period (second–first century BC)—in the context of Western Europe, the term Celtic period can also be found. Thorough material research of the objects utilised a range of methods such as scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive analyser, atomic absorption spectrometry, X-ray micro-tomography scanning, laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry, and Raman spectrometry. As a result, the research has identified and described three different technologies used to produce the rivets. The rivets uncovered there were mostly produced by casting from a bronze alloy or by putting wrought iron pins into the bronze melt of rivet heads. In addition, a minority of the rivets were produced using forged wrought iron with their heads plated with a very thin bronze plate. The results of the elemental analysis showed that several of the rivets and most of the rivet heads were made of bronze alloys with a tin content of 2–10 wt.%. The lead content of bronze alloy rivets from both sites varies from 0.2 to 10.1 wt.%. It can be assumed, that lead was intentionally added to the bronze melt used to produce the majority of the artefacts examined. Also, several bronze rivet heads were found to be decorated with enamel, which is a type of soda-lime-silica high lead glass coloured with crystals of Cu2O (the Colour of the enamel was predominantly red). In conclusion, two different groups of enamels were distinguished: (a) enamels with PbO up to 20% and (b) enamels with a higher content of PbO reaching up to 40%.

The study presented focuses on material research of La Tène rivets and represents the very first study conducted into this class of archaeological finds from the Bohemian region. The rivets examined come from two significant archaeological sites situated in this geographical area—a hillfort Kolo near Týnec nad Labem and an oppidum in Stradonice. The sets of the rivets selected for the study were dated to the Late La Tène period (second–first century BC)—in the context of Western Europe, the term Celtic period can also be found. Thorough material research of the objects utilised a range of methods such as scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive analyser, atomic absorption spectrometry, X-ray micro-tomography scanning, laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry, and Raman spectrometry. As a result, the research has identified and described three different technologies used to produce the rivets. The rivets uncovered there were mostly produced by casting from a bronze alloy or by putting wrought iron pins into the bronze melt of rivet heads. In addition, a minority of the rivets were produced using forged wrought iron with their heads plated with a very thin bronze plate. The results of the elemental analysis showed that several of the rivets and most of the rivet heads were made of bronze alloys with a tin content of 2–10 wt.%. The lead content of bronze alloy rivets from both sites varies from 0.2 to 10.1 wt.%. It can be assumed, that lead was intentionally added to the bronze melt used to produce the majority of the artefacts examined. Also, several bronze rivet heads were found to be decorated with enamel, which is a type of soda-lime-silica high lead glass coloured with crystals of Cu2O (the Colour of the enamel was predominantly red). In conclusion, two different groups of enamels were distinguished: (a) enamels with PbO up to 20% and (b) enamels with a higher content of PbO reaching up to 40%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Hussite crusades are characterized as religious in nature in terms of the volume and content of military activities in Bohemia. The initiators, participants and advocates of these activities impart the aforementioned religious nature. Following Huss’s complaint at Constance in 1415, the religious reform movement that began in the Czech-speaking lands of Bohemia identified with a well-defined political community that defined itself in national terms. When Sigismund of Luxembourg decided to impose his will on Bohemia by force in 1420, a broad coalition of reformist factions decided to use military force to defend what they interpreted as the “Law of God” (lex Dei). Sigismund’s infamous invasion was proclaimed as a crusade through the Papacy. The coalition is likely to perceive this defense as a religious war. But the elected emperor’s agreement that this should take the form of a crusade was undoubtedly to sharpen his opponents’ sense of the sacred character of the conflict. Except for the Crusades, there is no example of such a sustained and organized defense of religious doctrines against attack in the Middle Ages, and nothing similar until the Reformation. In the Hussite Crusades, a group of people waging a religious war faced another group of similar views: those who wore the cross fought those who defended the nondescript chalice. Our study aims to deal with the Hussite-centered Reform movements in the Bohemian lands and the military expeditions as a result. Our research examines the use of the Papacy for political purposes by instrumentalizing religion through the “Hussite Crusades”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dietary reconstruction using carbon and nitrogen isotopes has been applied to the La Tène population buried at Prosmyky, a large cemetery of the 4th-3rd centuries BCE in northwest Bohemia. The analysis of bone collagen from 55 individuals showed a diet that did not differ noticeably from other contemporary sites in the region. However, chronologically sensitive development in diet, with gradually increasing δ13C values, was present, signifying a growing reliance on millet for sustenance through the cemetery’s lifespan. Moreover, a rather unusual higher δ15N in individuals older than ca. 30 years of age was also observed. Possible explanations are examined, along with a comparison with other published data from the region, suggesting the influence of regionally based developments that might be linked with the societal shifts that led towards the Late La Tène period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finds of early medieval Schlingen-type swords are mostly concentrated in present-day southern Germany, where they are known from a number of graves dating to the end of the late Merovingian period. On the contrary, these swords are completely absent in contexts of the early Carolingian and Great Moravian periods. This paper presents a new find of Schlingen-type sword from Vlčí Pole in the northeastern part of Central Bohemia and its archaeometric analysis. We consider the sword from Vlčí Pole to be the only unambiguous find of a fully preserved long-bladed weapon of the late 7th to 8th century in Bohemia. As it is one of the few late Merovingian swords to have been examined using X-ray computed tomography and metallography, it also contributes to a general understanding of phenomena such as the development of the use of pattern-welded marks and blades with cutting edges of hardened steel.

Decades before beer brewing transformed into a truly global industry toward the end of the nineteenth century, Central Europe – primarily the Habsburg monarchy and the German states – emerged as a sort of laboratory in which networks were forged, new inventions tested, new beer sorts copied, and in which people, knowledge, and materials traveled back and forth, resulting in an increasing convergence of the trade and a standardization of the product. Since the end of the eighteenth century, Central European beer brewing increasingly relied on technological innovation and scientific knowledge; brewers became an internationally mobile, educated class which formed a loose community with contacts to one another. Following the careers of four Central European brewers, František Ondřej Poupě, Gabriel Sedlmayr senior and his son, Gabriel Sedlmayr junior, and Anton Schwarz, this article demonstrates how the dense network of contacts, the advent of scientific brewing, and the knowledge transfer within the region helped set the stage for the boom of the industry from the 1870s on.

The serpulid tube worm Laqueoserpula reussi (Weinzettl, 1910), originally introduced as a gastropod named Burtinella(?) reussi, is described from the Upper Cenomanian and Lower Turonian of the Bohemian Cretaceous Basin. It had usually been confused with other species and genera before 2008. Comparison with specimens from the type locality of the type species of the genus Laqueoserpula Lommerzheim, 1979 confirms the affiliation of the Bohemian species to this genus. The simple prismatic (SP) ultrastructure of the tube wall of L. reussi agrees with an assignment to the tribe Serpulini Rafinesque, 1815. In the Upper Cretaceous, representatives of Laqueoserpula are exclusively found in nearshore deposits, where they are accompanied by a high diverse marine invertebrate fauna. By its compact, large and robust tube forming a spiral and extremely thick tube wall, L. reussi was well-adapted to live in nearshore high energy environments, where its tube could be encrusted by bryozoans, brachiopods and oysters, and infested by hydroids and borers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Archeologické Rozhledy is the property of Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Institute of Archaeology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Archeologické Rozhledy is the property of Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Institute of Archaeology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Anyone who traces their Jewish ancestors back to the 18th century and even further back in history encounters the challenge of looking for ancestry without the clue that a fixed family name provides. Before the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century, when Jews were forced by law to adopt a fixed family name, Ashkenazim Jewish families used patronymic names as last names. A patronymic name changes every generation. Sometimes, in larger cities, various types of nicknames were used as last names. Such a nickname could change within a generation and often indicated the place a person came from, his occupation, or personal characteristics. In this article, I will show, using three case studies, how I have faced the challenge of determining which patronymic names and nicknames my ancestors used as last names before they were forced to adopt a fixed family name. The three case studies are the ancestors of Josef Stern, who lived in the late 18th and early 19th century in Neu Bistritz in southern Bohemia, today Nova Bystrice in Czechia; Julius Strauss, 1883–1939, who lived in the late 18th, 19th, and early 20th century in Frücht and Giessen in Nassau/Hesse, today in southern Germany; and Simon Reiniger, who lived in Prague in the 18th and early 19th century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During rescue excavations at a rural cemetery in Dolany (NW Bohemia) dating to the 11th-12th century, the skeleton of a young male featuring numerous wounds (n=10) of perimortem sharp force trauma was excavated. Nine of the injuries were localised to the postcranial skeleton and one to the skull. An analysis and interpretation of the wounds showed that at least eight blows were inflicted with a slashing weapon, which could have directly contributed to his death. The observed pattern is most consistent with injuries inflicted during armed conflict. Based on historical sources, it is known that there was no warfare in the immediate vicinity of Dolany during the period under review. Therefore, it has been suggested that the male may have been the victim of a fight or battle, and his body was transported and buried in the place where he probably came from. The discovery provides new information on the funerary practices of victims of early medieval armed conflicts in Bohemia.

The Sauersack/Rolava POW camp from World War II is the first archaeologically investigated site of its kind in Bohemia, and thanks to its highly authentic state of preservation it can be considered one of the best archaeologically known internment facilities in Europe. Nevertheless, new findings continue to emerge, including information from illegal treasure hunters. In 2022, the main settlement waste dump was identified and due to the threat to the site from illegal excavations, pre-emptive archaeological testing was immediately undertaken. The research has resulted in the documentation of a remarkable structure suited to waste disposal and the recovery of an assemblage of artefacts and ecofacts that complement and extend our knowledge of the communities that inhabited the POW camp.

This paper aims to enhance our knowledge about late-medieval epidemic outbreaks in specific parts of Eastern Central Europe. The first part on modern-day Eastern Germany discusses narrative evidence and its use in the current research on plague history, before bringing in municipal records on testaments and conveyances from Görlitz and Stralsund for the reconstruction of seasonality and mortality rates, as well as funeral inscriptions and pictorial evidence from Erfurt as indirect indicators of plague waves. After a brief discussion of the scarce narrative sources, the second part of the paper concerning Bohemia works with the evidence of the Libri Confirmationum, a source originating from the chancellery of the archbishops of Prague. Every new appointment to a benefice was supposed to be approved by one of the vicars general of the archbishop, and this confirmation usually gives the reason for the vacancy. Expanding on Eduard Maur’s research, death statistics and their frequency are analyzed statistically. The paper provides insight into new evidence for the reconstruction of plague waves, mortality rates and seasonality, and thereby highlights the characteristics of the plague in Eastern Central Europe.

Changes in the Education of Bohemian Jews during the Reign of Joseph II. The decade of Joseph II’s reign was crucial for Jewish history in the Habsburg monarchy. For the first time, in the context of the growing Enlightenment-absolutist tendencies of the state and changing attitudes towards members of non-Catholic Christian denominations, the Jewish issue became an important part of state policy, and the monarch did not hesitate to intervene in almost all spheres of Jewish life during his reign. He sought to gain greater control over this minority, distinct in both religion and language, to bring it closer to the life of the majority society and make it more useful to the state. The key area through which he intended to promote these aims was Jewish education. All of this was closely related to the Enlightenment-absolutist state’s efforts to comprehensively reform the monarchy’s educational system, the aim of which was to provide education under state supervision for broad sections of the population, thus helping to “elevate them morally” and turn them into useful citizens of the state. However, since Jewish education in its traditional form played a crucial role in the process of preserving Jewish identity, most Czech Jews viewed the changes that Joseph II brought about in this area with apprehension and distrust. The importance of education for the Jewish community was understood by all concerned – the monarch, the highest central and provincial authorities, the Jewish enlighteners who supported state policy – but resisted by their opponents within the Jewish community, that is to say ad- herents of the rabbinic tradition, which led to a number of clashes related to these developments. This article first outlines the forms of Jewish education in Bohemia in the second half of the 18th century, then discusses the efforts of the Josephine state to transform them and enforce compulsory secular education for Jews in the context of the Habsburg monarchy. Finally, it sheds light on the various Jewish reactions to these developments and reflects on the outcome of events in this field.

The discovery of a Celtic oppidum near Stradonice in Central Bohemia attracted the attention of the Czech archaeologist J. L. Píč at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries and then of the French oppidum researcher J. Déchelette, who translated Píč’s book on Stradonice into French. The controversy about the dating of the site was significant for further research, in which Píč tried to interpret Stradonice as the seat of the Germanic ruler Marobuduus from around the turn of the eras, while Déchelette, supported by archaeological finds, correctly identified Stradonice as a Celtic oppidum that had disappeared before the end of the 1st century BC. The article proves that both of these interpretations did not originate only then, but had a deeper tradition in Czech archaeology.

Trace fossils can illustrate important palaeobiological interactions within a fossil assemblage that body fossils do not record. A group of trace fossils that showcase feeding ecology, and evidence of predation, are coprolites. Shelly coprolites are useful for documenting records of durophagous predators or scavengers within a substrate. To expand the record of these traces from the lower Paleozoic, here we present 12 shelly coprolites from the Late Ordovician (Katian) Bohdalec Formation of the Czech Republic. These coprolites contain abundant Onnia superba (Bancroft, 1929) fragments with marked breakages across exoskeletal sections. Rarer evidence for gastropods, bivalves, crinoid debris, and another indeterminate shelly material are also observed within the coprolites. While the producer cannot be irrevocably determined, possible options are explored. We propose that larger, co-occurring trilobites and predatory cephalopods likely made the majority of coprolites. Furthermore, large unbiomineralised arthropods, such as phyllocarids and eurypterids are highlighted as possible producers. Continued examination of these trace fossils will highlight when and where similar interactions between trophic levels had occurred. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subject of the study is the issue of ordination law in the Prague, Olomouc, and Litomyšl dioceses in the Middle Ages. The legal rules that were published in provincial and diocesan synods and which regulated the form of ordination are presented. The oldest preserved order of ordination of the clergy is from the time of Bishop of Olomouc Henricus Zdík (1126-1150). Instructions for the ordination of the clergy are included, for example, in the pontifical of Bishop of Litomyšl Albert of Šternberk. Ordinations were recorded in ordination books, the Prague ordination books from the years 1395-1416 being a particularly valuable source. The Hussite revolution brought significant encroachment on the functioning of the church in the Prague archdiocese and in the Litomyšl diocese. The bishopric of Litomyšl was completely dissolved, while the Prague archbishopric was not occupied by an ordinary, which caused complications in the ordination of priests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study focuses on the conflictual, abusive relationships between spouses in the second half of the long nineteenth century in Bohemia. We will trace the ways in which constructions of masculinity and femininity in the past have influenced the possibilities for perpetrating violence and how offenders have defended their behaviour. The children were also part of the conflicts and sometimes displayed problematic behaviour. In addition to the judicial apparatus, marital disputes also involved town parish priests, and families, possible witnesses in cases of marital divorce. We will also focus on using gender-related swear words during the conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Archeologické Rozhledy is the property of Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Institute of Archaeology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Studia Archaeologica Brunensia is the property of Masaryk University, Faculty of Arts and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Thélème is the property of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper aims to enhance our knowledge about late-medieval epidemic outbreaks in specific parts of Eastern Central Europe. The first part on modern-day Eastern Germany discusses narrative evidence and its use in the current research on plague history, before bringing in municipal records on testaments and conveyances from Görlitz and Stralsund for the reconstruction of seasonality and mortality rates, as well as funeral inscriptions and pictorial evidence from Erfurt as indirect indicators of plague waves. After a brief discussion of the scarce narrative sources, the second part of the paper concerning Bohemia works with the evidence of the Libri Confirmationum, a source originating from the chancellery of the archbishops of Prague. Every new appointment to a benefice was supposed to be approved by one of the vicars general of the archbishop, and this confirmation usually gives the reason for the vacancy. Expanding on Eduard Maur's research, death statistics and their frequency are analyzed statistically. The paper provides insight into new evidence for the reconstruction of plague waves, mortality rates and seasonality, and thereby highlights the characteristics of the plague in Eastern Central Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Archaeologia Historica is the property of Masaryk University, Faculty of Arts and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

BOLOM-KOTARI, Martina. The Development of Seals of the Middle and Lower Clergy in Bohemia and Moravia in the Middle Ages. Basic Overview and Typology. The study focuses on the seals of the middle and lower clergy in Bohemia and Moravia in the Middle Ages. In contrast to the seals of bishops and archbishops, the sphragistic material of, for example, important episcopal officials, officials and vicars general, but also superiors and members of chapters, monastery superiors and priests, has received less attention in the form of partial studies that do not systematically cover the topic. The text provides basic information about the first appearance of seals of the mentioned ecclesiastical dignitaries. It focuses on the motifs they chose for their seals, the reasons for their use and their significance. The iconography of their seals was very varied; one can encounter portrait, hagiographic motifs and their combinations, as well as armorial, inscriptional and topographical motifs. The study also briefly summarizes the development of the use of coloured wax, the changes in the size of individual seals and notes the relationship between the size of seals of church dignitaries and other members of society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study addresses castle renovations from the turn of the twentieth century up until the present, focusing on their stylistic aspect. Although castles (both ruined and inhabited) have been considered prominent subjects of heritage conservation since the beginning of the conservation movement, they require architectural additions to further their integration into contemporary life, even if a strictly protective approach is applied. In contrast to nineteenth-century European attitude to conservation, the twentieth- and twenty-firstcentury conservation professionals mostly recommend that the new elements comply with the preserved composition or scale, leaving the question of their style (i.e. a coherent architectural vocabulary) open. The study examines selected Czech examples that feature a substantial newly-added layer (Gothic in Bouzov, the 1890s-1900s; Art Nouveau and Art Deco in Nové Město nad Metují, the 1910s-1920s; Classical in Prague Castle, the 1920s-1950s; Technocratic in Lipnice, the 1970s-1980s; Romantic in Častolovice, the 1990s; Minimalist in Helfštýn, the 2010s). Drawing on these examples, the analysis raises the following questions: how should new additions relate to the authenticity and integrity of the renovated monuments and what variables influence this relationship? Should conservation authorities regulate the vocabulary of modern interventions? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kaptorgas were small trapezoidal boxes with lids worn by women and girls in early medieval central Europe as magic or protective amulets. The paper presents a new find of a bronze cast die for hammering the front side of kaptorgas, which was excavated at the Nad Dolnicí settlement site located in the hinterland of the important central Bohemian hillfort of Kouřim. The die was used to produce type 1A kaptorgas with a motif of a four-legged eared gryphon with an indication of a wing and a tail ending in a floral decorative element. Although kaptorgas with this particular motif have not been recorded in Bohemia, it has analogies in Bulgaria and Poland. Based on the stylistic assessment of this originally Mediterranean motif and the chronology of type IA kaptorgas in Bohemia, the die can be dated to the 10th and beginning of the 11th century. X-Ray fluorescence analysis and elemental mapping of the object's surface show that it was made from bronze with a significant lead admixture and a small admixture of zinc. The die is discussed in terms of the spread of Mediterranean motifs and their adaptation by local craftsmen.

The vast majority of cephalopods of the order Tarphyceratida are known from regions that were located at mid- or low palaeolatitudes during the Ordovician (mainly Baltica, Laurentia, and Chinese palaeoblocks). Only a handful of tarphyceratid specimens are known from high palaeolatitude regions of peri-Gondwana and Gondwana. Here, we describe the two best-preserved trocholitid cephalopods known to date from the Ordovician of the Prague Basin. The first is from the late Darriwilian/early Sandbian Dobrotivá Formation and is assigned to Trocholites fugax, a species previously recorded from roughly coeval strata of Iberia, France, and Bohemia. The specimen thus strengthens previous hypotheses regarding the interchange of non-benthic faunas between Baltica and different regions of peri-Gondwana during the Middle/ Late Ordovician boundary interval. The second specimen, assigned to a new species of Trocholites chaloupkai sp. nov., is from the late Sandbian–early Katian Zahořany Formation and thus represents one of the stratigraphically youngest Trocholites in the Ordovician of peri-Gondwana. Internal structures of the shell of the holotype of the new species were studied using micro-CT tomography. This revealed that T. chaloupkai sp. nov. closely resembles the stratigraphically older (Darriwilian) species Trocholites depressus from Estonia.

This study aims to introduce the Czech traditional ballad to the international reader from the perspective of mnemopoetics, i.e., inherent textual patterns of orally transmitted compositions that support the singers’ memory. It discussesCzech traditional balladry’s distinctive features and important mnemopoetic textual patterns— such as first line, genre, repetition and incremental repetition, assonance/rhyme scheme, law of three, strophe patterning, and parallelism — which are illustrated in these ballads. Special focus is paid to the supra-narrative function of formulas, especially connected to green and black epithet formulas, using the analytical framework of Flemming J. Andersen’s Commonplace and Creativity: The Role of Formulaic Diction in Anglo-Scottish Traditional Balladry (Odense: Odense University Press, 1985). The study forms a conclusion that mnemopoetics of Czech ballads exist but are less prominent than in Czech traditional lyric songs, and discusses the role of Czech traditional ballads in the formation of Czech cultural memory

Abstract Background Many geographical areas of sub-Saharan Africa, especially in rural settings, lack complete and up-to-date demographic data, posing a challenge for implementation and evaluation of public health interventions and carrying out large-scale health research. A demographic survey was completed in Mopeia district, located in the Zambezia province in Mozambique, to inform the Broad One Health Endectocide-based Malaria Intervention in Africa (BOHEMIA) cluster randomized clinical trial, which tested ivermectin mass drug administration to humans and/or livestock as a potential novel strategy to decrease malaria transmission. Methods The demographic survey was a prospective descriptive study, which collected data of all the households in the district that accepted to participate. Households were mapped through geolocation and identified with a unique identification number. Basic demographic data of the household members was collected and each person received a permanent identification number for the study. Results 25,550 households were mapped and underwent the demographic survey, and 131,818 individuals were registered in the district. The average household size was 5 members and 76.9% of households identified a male household head. Housing conditions are often substandard with low access to improved water systems and electricity. The reported coverage of malaria interventions was 71.1% for indoor residual spraying and 54.1% for universal coverage of long-lasting insecticidal nets. The median age of the population was 15 years old. There were 910 deaths in the previous 12 months reported, and 43.9% were of children less than 5 years of age. Conclusions The study showed that the district had good coverage of vector control tools against malaria but sub-optimal living conditions and poor access to basic services. The majority of households are led by males and Mopeia Sede/Cuacua is the most populated locality in the district. The population of Mopeia is young (

The term laus terrae (praise of the land) refers to a very positive description of the homeland which appears frequently at the beginning of medieval historiographic works. The paper analyzes the composition of such texts in the oldest known extensive Polish, Czech, and Hungarian chronicles. The three works in question give very similar descriptions of the homeland, which is presented as a wealthy land abounding in various natural resources, whose qualities are also underlined in a similar manner. The existence of those analogies is not surprising as the authors of those works were clearly influenced by the same literary motifs. Their choice to present the homeland as a locus amoenus (pleasant place) was of course related to their intention to emphasize the position of the country whose past they related as well as the power of the current and previous rulers of this territory.

This study addresses castle renovations from the turn of the twentieth century up until the present, focusing on their stylistic aspect. Although castles (both ruined and inhabited) have been considered prominent subjects of heritage conservation since the beginning of the conservation movement, they require architectural additions to further their integration into contemporary life, even if a strictly conservationist approach is applied. In contrast to nineteenth-century European attitude to conservation, the twentieth- and twenty-first-century conservation professionals mostly recommend that the new elements comply with the preserved composition or scale, leaving the question of their style (i.e. a coherent architectural vocabulary) open. The study examines selected Czech examples that feature a substantial newly-added layer (Gothic in Bouzov, the 1890s–1900s; Art Nouveau and Art Deco in Nové Město nad Metují, the 1910s–1920s; Classical in Prague Castle, the 1920s–1950s; Technocratic in Lipnice, the 1970s–1980s; Romantic in Častolovice, the 1990s; Minimalist in Helfštýn, the 2010s). Drawing on these examples, the analysis raises the following questions: how should new additions relate to the authenticity and integrity of the renovated monuments and what variables influence this relationship? Should conservation authorities regulate the vocabulary of modern interventions?

Copyright of Archeologické Rozhledy is the property of Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Institute of Archaeology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of RumeliDE Journal of Language & Literature Research / RumeliDE Dil ve Edebiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi is the property of RumeliDE Uluslararasi Hakemli Dil & Edebiyat Arastirmalari Dergisi and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The aim of the article is to critically evaluate the existing approach toward the Linear Pottery culture (LBK) settlement space in terms of the character of the pits, their fill and pottery decoration style. It is traditionally and implicitly assumed that the pits in the vicinity of a house (so-called house unit) are of the same period of formation, filling, and demise, so their testimony is usually considered comparable. However, research into the formative processes of ceramic material from pits with a spatial association to the house no. 88 in Bylany near Kutná Hora (CZ) shows that individual features differ significantly in terms of structure, and each in its own way is taphonomically unique. At the same time, formative processes have a strong influence on our current perception of the decorative style of Neolithic pottery and its relative chronology. The house unit thus becomes an optimistic assumption in the case of multiphase settlements, which cannot be applied without a better understanding of archaeological sources.

The vast majority of cephalopods of the order Tarphyceratida are known from regions that were located at mid- or low palaeolatitudes during the Ordovician (mainly Baltica, Laurentia, and Chinese palaeoblocks). Only a handful of tarphyceratid specimens are known from high palaeolatitude regions of peri-Gondwana and Gondwana. Here, we describe the two best-preserved trocholitid cephalopods known to date from the Ordovician of the Prague Basin. The first is from the late Darriwilian/early Sandbian Dobrotivá Formation and is assigned to Trocholites fugax, a species previously recorded from roughly coeval strata of Iberia, France, and Bohemia. The specimen thus strengthens previous hypotheses regarding the interchange of non-benthic faunas between Baltica and different regions of peri-Gondwana during the Middle/ Late Ordovician boundary interval. The second specimen, assigned to a new species of Trocholites chaloupkai sp. nov., is from the late Sandbian–early Katian Zahořany Formation and thus represents one of the stratigraphically youngest Trocholites in the Ordovician of peri-Gondwana. Internal structures of the shell of the holotype of the new species were studied using micro-CT tomography. This revealed that T. chaloupkai sp. nov. closely resembles the stratigraphically older (Darriwilian) species Trocholites depressus from Estonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1575, the evangelical estates of the Czech lands presented their king, Maxilimian II, with an irenic confession of faith. This document was the product of cooperation among the Czech Utraquists, Lutherans, and the Unity of Brethren, and its composition entailed theological and ecclesiological negotiations among all three parties. This article excavates the sources for the confession of 1575 in order to examine the long history of religious negotiation and pragmatic toleration that characterized the Bohemian reformation. In doing so, it seeks to illuminate an alternative trajectory of reform in east-central Europe that cuts against the grain of the confessionalization paradigm that has featured centrally in reformation scholarship for the past four decades. This alternative conception of reform accepted religious co-existence and prized the extended search for theological common ground, rather than exclusivist truth claims, and created a framework for toleration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The taxonomy of the soft-shell turtle Rafetus bohemicus (Liebus, 1930), family Trionychidae, subfamily Trionychinae, is revised based on new and previously mentioned material (including the type material) from the Early Miocene (Burdigalian, MN 3) sites of the Most Basin, Czechia. Given that the diagnosis was so far based only on plastral elements, here we focused on the cranial material and combined our study with previously published data on postcranial elements. 3D models of the skulls derived from CT scans allow us to provide the first complete skull description of R. bohemicus, including several new cranial diagnostic characters of the species. Our results not only enable the distinction of the trionychid genera Trionyx and Rafetus, both recorded from Central Europe during the Early Miocene, but further allow us to provide an emended diagnosis for R. bohemicus. We confirm the conclusions of a previous study according to which Trionyx pontanus, T. preschenensis, T. aspidiformis, and T. elongatus are nomina dubia. R. bohemicus from Břešt'any (MN 3) represents the oldest record of this genus in Europe as well as the oldest occurrence of the genus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decade of Joseph II’s reign was crucial for Jewish history in the Habsburg monarchy. For the first time, in the context of the growing Enlightenment-absolutist tendencies of the state and changing attitudes towards members of non-Catholic Christian denominations, the Jewish issue became an important part of state policy, and the monarch did not hesitate to intervene in almost all spheres of Jewish life during his reign. He sought to gain greater control over this minority, distinct in both religion and language, to bring it closer to the life of the majority society and make it more useful to the state. The key area through which he intended to promote these aims was Jewish education. All of this was closely related to the Enlightenment-absolutist state’s efforts to comprehensively reform the monarchy’s educational system, the aim of which was to provide education under state supervision for broad sections of the population, thus helping to “elevate them morally” and turn them into useful citizens of the state. However, since Jewish education in its traditional form played a crucial role in the process of preserving Jewish identity, most Czech Jews viewed the changes that Joseph II brought about in this area with apprehension and distrust. The importance of education for the Jewish community was understood by all concerned – the monarch, the highest central and provincial authorities, the Jewish enlighteners who supported state policy – but resisted by their opponents within the Jewish community, that is to say adherents of the rabbinic tradition, which led to a number of clashes related to these developments. This article first outlines the forms of Jewish education in Bohemia in the second half of the 18th century, then discusses the efforts of the Josephine state to transform them and enforce compulsory secular education for Jews in the context of the Habsburg monarchy. Finally, it sheds light on the various Jewish reactions to these developments and reflects on the outcome of events in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is a reflection on the possibilities for cooperation between the fields of historical demography and genealogy. The first part of the paper summarizes the development of genealogy as a discipline in the Czech context. The paper goes on to recapitulate theoretical and practical examples of the involvement of genealogy in historical-demographic research in western historiography, especially in the North American context. The paper then discusses Czech development from the 1960s to the present. The paper compares the possibilities of both approaches by introducing the creation of a database using the classical application of the method of family reconstitution, discussing its pitfalls and the characteristics of such research in the Czech context. The paper then presents the possibilities of applying genealogical approaches and evaluations the situations in which applying such approaches is most appropriate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on the gifts of animals travelling among the nobility of the Bohemian lands of the pre-White Mountain era. The animals donated are described on the basis of the letters that were sent along with them. In published and unpublished correspondence, 1,079 mentions of gift-giving were found, with animal gifts accounting for 596 cases. The main goal of the study is to explain the importance of animal gifts for the everyday symbolic communication of the pre-White Mountain nobility. Gift exchanges are viewed through the lens of social science theories of gift-giving, based mainly on the work of Marcel Mauss, which emphasizes the necessity of reciprocating the gift and the symbolic side of this social ritual. The donors and recipients found in the correspondence in most cases fell into established categories of early modern social relations. These were blood and non-blood relatives, neighbours, patrons or clients, and employers or servants. Animal donations are divided into live animals and dead animals in the study. Animals sent alive included horses and dogs. In both cases, these were animal species symbolically associated with nobles. Horses had formed a basis of aristocratic representation since antiquity, and gifts of hunting dogs indicated the privileged right of the nobility to hunt. The symbolic meanings of animals also played a role in the selection of dead animals given as gifts intended for consumption. Wild game was most often sent. Feathered game, small game, deer and black game could only be hunted by nobles or their huntsmen. Fish were also sent for preparation as food. In their case, the symbolic meaning could be seen in the wealth that fish-farming brought to the pre-White Mountain Estates. There were hierarchies of the symbolic values of gifts in individual animal species which are outlined in the study and compared with contemporary literature. Gifts of game and fish often accompanied feasts associated with rites of passage or the liturgical year. Gift-giving was part of the celebration ritual here. Even if the donor could not participate in the feast, the gift represented his person on a symbolic level. The most important motive for sending gifts appears to be an effort to maintain good relations between nobles, called „good friendship“ in the discourse of the time. Requests to hold the donor in remembrance and assurances of future repayment of donations appear regularly in the letters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The convents of different monasteries of the order of the Canons Regular of St Augustine concluded confraternities between each other. The tool used to conclude confraternities was a confraternity document, and this bound the convent to fulfil certain obligations. In this study, the author focuses on those monasteries whose archives are not extant. In such cases, we can only study confraternities on the basis of documents which have been kept in the archives of other monasteries. The subject of study is the confraternities among convents for monasteries in Roudnice, Jaroměř, Rokycany and Sadská, which were located within the territory of the Archdiocese of Prague. The necrology of the Roudnice monastery and that of the monastery in Kazimierz near Cracow proved to be helpful sources. For the four monasteries mentioned, a study of the documents demonstrated five confraternities. Necrologies demonstrated a number of other confraternities with the Roudnice and Kazimierz convents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]