FF:AR1B67 Sigismund of Luxembourg I - Course Information

AR1B67 Sigismund of Luxembourg: A Medieval Ruler on the Threshold of Modern Times I

Extent and Intensity

0/2/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).

Teacher(s)

Mgr. Petr Elbel, Ph.D. (lecturer)

Guaranteed by

Mgr. Petr Elbel, Ph.D.
Department of Auxiliary Historical Sciences and Archive Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Martina Maradová
Supplier department: Department of Auxiliary Historical Sciences and Archive Studies – Faculty of Arts

Timetable

Tue 16:00–17:40 B2.44

Course Enrolment Limitations

The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.

fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with

there are 12 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display

Course objectives

This two-part course is an introduction to the personality and rule of the last monarch from the Luxembourg dynasty in the context of the geopolitical, social, economic and cultural history of Europe at the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries. The first part of the course focuses on Sigismund’s childhood and youth, the beginnings of his rule in Hungary, the wars against the Ottomans, interventions in Bohemia around the year 1400, struggles with the opposition in Hungary after 1400 up until his ascension to the Roman throne and the first years of Roman rule (before the convening of the Council of Constance).

Learning outcomes

Graduates of the course will be able to characterize the personality of King Sigismund in the context of European history in the late 14th and early 15th century: to describe the course of Sigismund’s life against the background of significant events and processes in European and Czech history and interpret diplomatic and narrative sources of Hungarian, imperial and Bohemian provenance.

Syllabus

• 1) Familiarization with sources and literature. Sigismund of Luxembourg’s childhood at the court of Charles IV, education of the emperor’s sons and literary works for this purpose;
• 2) Sigismund as the subject of his father’s dynastic politics, Charles IV’s efforts to acquire a share of the Anjou–Piast inheritance;
• 3–4) Sigismund’s struggle for the Hungarian crown in 1382–1387, the political system in Hungary, the rise of the power of the Hungarian nobility;
• 5-6) Beginnings of his rule in Hungary, Turkish expansion in the Balkans, the crusade and the Battle of Nicopolis;
• 7) Sigismund’s interventions in the disputes between the Luxembourgs and in the domestic wars in Bohemia and Moravia;
• 8) The uprising against Sigismund’s rule in Hungary and its suppression;
• 9) The reforms of the Hungarian kingdom in the first decade of the 15th century;
• 10) The double election of Sigismund as King of the Romans in 1410 and 1411, the political system in the empire at the beginning of the 15th century;
• 11) Poland’s great war with the order of Teutonic knights, the Battle of Grunwald and Sigismund’s role in the peace negotiations;
• 12) The war against Venice, the power-political situation in northern Italy and the Adriatic in the late 14th and early 15th century

Literature

• HOENSCH, Jörg K.: Kaiser Sigismund. Herrscher an der Schwelle zur Neuzeit 1368–1437. München 1996.
• PAULY, Michel – REINERT, François (ed.): Sigismund von Luxemburg. Ein Kaiser in Europa. Tagungsband des internationalen historischen und kunsthistorischen Kongresses in Luxemburg, 8.−10. Juni 2005. Mainz 2006
• SCHMIDT, Tilmann – GUNST, Péter (ed.): Das Zeitalter König Sigmunds in Ungarn und im Deutschen Reich, Debrecen 2000.
• HRUZA, Karel – KAAR, Alexandra (ed.): Kaiser Sigismund (1368–1437). Zur Herrschaftspraxis eines europäischen
• TAKÁCS, Imre – JÉKELY, Zsombor – PAPP, Szilárd – POSZLER, Györgyi (ed.): Sigismundus Rex et Imperator. Kunst und Kultur zur Zeit Sigismunds von Luxemburg (13871437). Ausstellungskatalog. Mainz 2006
• MACEK, Josef – MAROSI, Ernő – SEIBT, Ferdinand (ed.): Sigismund von Luxemburg. Kaiser und König in Mitteleuropa 1387-1437. Beiträge zur Herrschaft Kaiser Sigismunds und der europäischen Geschichte um 1400. Warendorf 1994.
• Emperor Sigismund and the orthodox world. Edited by Ekaterini Mitsiou. Wien: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2010, 158 s. ISBN 9783700166856. info
• KAVKA, František. Poslední Lucemburk na českém trůně : králem uprostřed revoluce. Vyd. 1. Praha: Mladá fronta, 1998, 290 s. ISBN 8020406808. info
• BAUM, Wilhelm. Císař Zikmund : Kostnice, Hus a války proti Turkům. Translated by Danuše Martinová - Pavel Kocek. 1. vyd. Praha: Mladá fronta, 1996, 405 s. ISBN 8020405437. info
• MÁLYUSZ, Elemér. Kaiser Sigismund in Ungarn : 1387-1437. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1990, 421 s. ISBN 9630549786. info

Teaching methods

The seminars consist of a short introductory talk by the teacher (ca. 30 mins), student essays related to the subject of the lesson, and reading and analysing narrative and diplomatic sources on the issue in question, which are nearly always available in Czech, Slovak or English translation.

Assessment methods

As part of the course, undergraduates will produce essays related to individual topics and sources analysed and present them at seminars. The seminar will conclude with a test for credits, which will examine undergraduates’ familiarity with the basic issues connected with Sigismund’s rule up to the year 1414 and their grasp of the sources and literature on this period. The awarding of credits is dependent upon active participation in the seminar and the writing and presentation of an essay on a given topic.

Language of instruction

Czech

Further Comments

Study Materials
The course is taught once in two years.

• Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2018, recent)
  
• Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2018/AR1B67