FF:AES_504 Mikulčice in the Early MA - Course Information

AES_504 Mikulčice in the Early Middle Ages

Extent and Intensity

0/0/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
In-person direct teaching

Teacher(s)

Mgr. Marek Hladík, Ph.D. (lecturer)

Guaranteed by

prof. Mgr. Jiří Macháček, Ph.D.
Department of Archaeology and Museology – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Jitka Šibíčková
Supplier department: Department of Archaeology and Museology – Faculty of Arts

Prerequisites

Follows the AEB_A06b Introduction to medieval and modern archaeology, AEB_A146g .

Course Enrolment Limitations

The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 12 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/12, only registered: 0/12

fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with

there are 6 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display

Course objectives

The aim of the course is to present the current state of knowledge of one of the most important centres in Great Moravia, the Mikulčice-Valy agglomeration. Archaeological research in the area of the Mikulčice agglomeration has been carried out continuously since the mid-1950s. Thanks to this fact, we currently have archaeological sources whose informational potential makes it possible to find answers to a wide range of questions.
In the first part of the course, the students will become acquainted with fundamental problems of the research of Great Moravian Mikulčice in a wider context of the significance and function of central locations and social and economic relations in Great Moravia. Subsequently, Mikulčice will be presented from the point of view of the history of archaeological research (methodology, methods, excavation), the basic topography of archaeological sources and the basic chronological anchoring of the Mikulčice-Valy agglomeration will be presented.
In the second part of the course, archaeological sources will be presented at the level of interpretation. The spatial and functional division of the agglomeration – an interpretation model for the 9th century – will be explained. Subsequently, attention will be paid to individual phenomena such as cemeteries, churches, profane architecture, fortifications or production areas.
In the third part, the model of spatial and functional relations in the Mikulčice agglomeration will be discussed at the level of social and economic conditions in Great Moravia. In this part, the methodological starting points for the creation of interpretation models as well as the interpretation model of social and economic relations in Great Moravia will be presented, emphasizing the importance and function of central locations.
In the final fourth part of the course, we will focus our attention on the question of the demise of the agglomeration at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries and on the way of use of the agglomeration area after the demise of Great Moravia.
At the very end of the course, we will briefly address the issue of protection and presentation of Mikulčice to the wide professional and non-professional public.

Learning outcomes

After completing the course, the student will be able to:
- describe the main problem areas in the research of Great Moravian central locations
- describe the historical framework of research in Mikulčice, including the development of methods and methodology in the research of this centre
- describe the basic topographic and chronological context of Mikulčice
- describe the main types of archaeological sources from the Mikulčice agglomeration and discuss their function and significance for the 9th century society
- formulate basic questions about the status of Great Moravian centres within the entire economic system of Great Moravia
- present a model of social and economic relations in Great Moravia created on the basis of data from Mikulčice and their economic hinterland

Syllabus

• I
• 1. Introduction; Great Moravian central agglomerations in the context of social and economic relations in early medieval Central Europe, the functions and economic status of the centres, the relationship of the centres to settlements in their surroundings and the economic background of the centres, formulation of questions of the current research of the centres on the example of Mikulčice in relation to the general status of centres in Great Moravia
• 2. History of Mikulčice research; overview of excavations, development and changes in methods and methodological starting points, basic principles of field documentation, basic principles of recording and documentation of finds (all from the point of view of development from the 1950s to the present day)
• 3. Basic topography of Mikulčice; characteristics of the discovered archaeological sources, their basic classification (fortifications, architecture, graves...)
• 4. Chronological anchoring of Mikulčice; the problem of dating of the movable and immovable archaeological sources from Mikulčice
• II
• 5. Basic spatial and functional division of Mikulčice in the 9th century; sacred precincts, burial grounds, production and economic areas, residential areas, communication and fortification elements – bridges, defensive walls, roads..., following up these phenomena at a diachronic level during the rise, development and demise of Great Moravia
• 6. Mikulčice cemeteries and burial grounds; reflection of religious beliefs – Christianity vs. the original religion of the Slavs
• 7. Sacred architecture; topography, function, relationship to the economy of Great Moravia and to Christianisation
• 8. Profane residential and economic architecture; evidence of economic activities (crafts, agriculture)
• 9. Fortification and communication corridors (roads, gates, bridges), creation, construction, demise of fortification and the question of the end of the central importance of the entire agglomeration at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries
• III
• 10. Economic issues – social and economic relations in Great Moravia; methodological starting points and research methods, interdisciplinary research (anthropology, isotope analyses, zooarchaeology, archaeobotany, palynology, geoarchaeology, mathematical modelling...)
• 11. Construction of an image of social relations in Mikulčice and in the economic hinterland (model study for Great Moravia as a whole); Great Moravian population buried in Mikulčice – nutrition, migration, participation (extent and method) of individual social strata to ensure the economic operation of the entire system
• 12. Current interpretation models for the function, hierarchy and status of Great Moravian centres in the entire socio-economic system of Great Moravia (presentation of answers to the questions formulated at the beginning of the block teaching)
• IV
• 13. The area of the Mikulčice agglomeration after the demise of Great Moravia
• 14. The problem of heritage protection at Mikulčice and the presentation of research results to the wide professional and non-professional public

Literature

• Macháček, J. 2013: Great Moravian Central Places and their Practical Function, Social Significance and Symbolic Meaning. In: P. Ettel – L. Werther eds.: Zentrale Orte und Zentrale Räume des Frühmittelalters in Süddeutschland. RGZM – Tagungen 18. Mainz
• Hladík, M. – Hadacz, R. – Dohnalová, A. – Šušolová, J. – Latková, M. – Kynický, J. 2014: Fortification of the suburb of the Great Moravian stronghold at Mikulčice-Valy. Slavia Antiqua 55, 67–124.
• Poláček, L. 2014: Great Moravian sacral architecture – new research, new questions. In: P. Kouřil et al.: The Cyril and Methodius Mission and Europe – 1150 Years Since the Arrival of the Thessaloniki Brothers in Great Moravia. Brno: The Institute of Arch
• Hladík, M. 2020: Mikulčice and its Hinterland. An Archaeological Model for Medieval Settlement Patterns on the Middle Course of the Morava River (7th – Mid-13th Centuries). East Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 450–1450, Volume 61. Leiden.
• Mazuch, M. 2014: Findings About the Early Medieval Fortification of the Mikulčice – Valy Acropolis. Slavia Antiqua 55, 7–65.
• Mazuch, M. – Hladík, M. – Poláček, L. 2018: Úpravy hrobových jam, konstrukce v hrobech a fenomén tzv. hrobek v Mikulčicích. Přehled výzkumů 59(2), 87–117.
• Poulík, J. 1957: Výsledky výzkumu na velkomoravském hradišti „Valy“ u Mikulčic. I. Zpráva za r. 1954–1956. Historie a poloha hradiště „Valy“. Památky archeologické XLVIII(2), 241–387
• Hladík, M. – Mazuch, M. – Látkova, M. 2022: Great Moravian Settlement in Mikulčice-Trapíkov and Economic Hinterland of the Power Centre. Studien zum Burgwall von Mikulčice XIII. Brno.
• Poláček, L. 2008: Great Moravia, the power centre at Mikulčice and the issue of the socio-economic structure. In: P. Velemínsky – L. Poláček eds.: Anthropological and epidemiological characterization of Great-Moravian population in connection with the so
• DRESLER, Petr. Břeclav-Pohansko VIII. Hospodářské zázemí centra nebo jen osady v blízkosti zázemí centra? (Břeclav-Pohansko VIII. Economic Hinterland of a Centre, or Merely Settlements in a Centre’s Vicinity?). 1st ed. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 2016, 276 pp. ISBN 978-80-210-8417-9. info
• HLADÍK, Marek. Hospodárske zázemie Mikulčíc : sídelná štruktúra na strednom toku rieky Morava v 9.-1. polovici 13. storočia. Edited by Michaela Látková - Jana Šušolová. I. vydání. Brno: Archeologický ústav Akademie věd České republiky, 2014, 353 stran. ISBN 9788086023441. info
• MAZUCH, Marian. Velkomoravské keramické okruhy a tzv. mladší velkomoravský horizont v Mikulčicích. Brno: Archeologický ústav Akademie věd České republiky, 2013, 180 s. ISBN 9788086023397. info
• MACHÁČEK, Jiří. The Rise of Medieval Towns and States in East Central Europe : Early Medieval Centres as Social and Economic Systems. Leiden - Boston: Koninklijke Brill NV, 2010, 562 pp. East Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages. ISBN 978-90-04-18208-0. URL info
• PROCHÁZKA, Rudolf. Vývoj opevňovací techniky na Moravě a v českém Slezsku v raném středověku. Brno: Archeologický ústav Akademie České republiky Brno, 2009, 383 s. ISBN 9788086023984. info
• POULÍK, Josef. Dvě velkomoravské rotundy v Mikulčicích. I. vydání. Praha: Nakladatelství Československé akademie věd, 1963, 235 stran. URL info

Teaching methods

Lectures (discussions), essay as an optional output.

Assessment methods

1. study of recommended literature
2. orientation in the key topics discussed during the course
3. active involvement in the discussion with the lecturer and course participants
4. essay (optional with an extra credit)

Language of instruction

Czech

Further comments (probably available only in Czech)

The course is taught once in two years.
The course is taught: in blocks.
Information on the extent and intensity of the course: bloková výuka na základně v Mikulčicích.
Credit evaluation note: V případě odevzdání eseje 4 kredity.

Teacher's information

The teaching will take place at the research centre in Mikulčice in June.

• Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
  
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