AEB_A14f Early Middle Ages in Central Europe

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2021
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Renáta Přichystalová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Renáta Přichystalová, Ph.D.
Department of Archaeology and Museology – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Jitka Šibíčková
Supplier department: Department of Archaeology and Museology – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Tue 10:00–11:40 M22
Prerequisites
The basic knowledge of the historical development of Central Europe from the turn of the eras to the end of the Middle Ages.
It is recommended to combine the workshop with the course AEB_A15f Early Middle Ages in Central Europe - workshop
Both courses are greatly complementary.
At the same time, we recommend to attend the course AEB_A07d Material culture knowledge in the early Middle Ages
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 30 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 1/30, only registered: 0/30
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course will familiarize the students with the issues of Early Medieval Slavic settlement in the Czech-speaking countries and Slovakia from the 5th to the turn of the 12th/13th centuries, with reference to other ethnic constituents in the peripheral areas that have influenced the Slavic development (Germans, Avars, Old Magyars).
Its goal is to provide critical information on the basic written sources, periodisation of the studied epoch, milestones and criteria of periodisation, the history of research on the topic and the state of answering the fundamental historical questions (economic and social development); ideological and cultural streams which influenced our countries; state formation; Christianisation; political orientation in individual stages of development etc.
The focus of the lecture rests on the characteristic of archaeological sources in their entire factual and interpretational scope (types of burial grounds, settlements and fortified settlements; types of residential, production, economic, religious and settlement features; hoards; pottery; arms and weapons; jewellery; agricultural and craftsmen’s tools, etc.), in their territorial and spatial variety (within Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia and separately in the 7th–8th cent., 9th–mid10th cent., and mid10th–12th cent. ). The teaching will be targeted at key issues of their classification, development and dating.
Learning outcomes
After the course, students will be able to:
- describe the key issues of current research on the Middle Ages in Central Europe
- define and summarize important features of particular early medieval periods
- characterize the basic geopolitical development in the studied region
- compare the differences between historical and contemporary interpretation models
Syllabus
  • Syllabus:
  • 1. Goal and programme of the course. Basic literature - compulsory and recommended. Archaeological and written sources. Classification of written sources. Overview of the research on the Slavic past in the Czech-speaking countries; basic stages of development; relation to the all-European context of Slavic studies. Issue of the Slavic ethnogenesis; arrival of Slavs in our territory; historic sources to this question.
  • 2. Division of the Slavic period on the territory of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Development of the classification system. Issues of periodisation. Question of waves of the Slavic expansion. Influences of the Przeworsk, Chernyakhov and Zarubintsy cultures. The structure of Slavic society at the time of expansion. Written and archaeological evidence.
  • 3. Slavic settlements and burial grounds from the period of expansion. Economical and social conditions of the period. Material culture of the period of expansion; the Prague-type pottery (the question of genesis, dating, and decline of the Prague type). The most recent state of research.
  • 4. The Avars – history, social structure, way of living. Military organization. Share of the Avars in the Slavic expansion; the Slavic-Avar symbiosis. Samo's Empire – history and sources. Economic and social situation in the Samo's Empire and in the 7th – 8th centuries.
  • 5. Settlements, fortifications and burial grounds of the Slavic-Avar period. Barrows with cremation graves. So-called Slavic-Avar inhumation burial grounds. Contacts of cremation and inhumation graves; the origins of inhumation. The oldest fortified settlements and the question of Vogastisburg or Canburg. Archaeological sources - basic overview.
  • 6. History of Great Moravia. Christianization and ecclesiastical organization of Great Moravia. Sacred architecture of the Great Moravian period. Great Moravian society and its economic foundations. Settlements of the Great Moravian period. Fortified settlements, their classification, significance and function.
  • 7. Burial grounds of the Great Moravian period, their classification. Demographical conclusions.
  • 8. Great Moravian personal ornaments (female, male). Danubian type; Byzantine-oriental style. Issues of dating of the Veligrad horizon. Great Moravian arms and weapons. Warfare, retinues. Great Moravian pottery and other vessels made from various materials (wood, metal etc.). Domestic and specialized production in settlements; social relations; means of payment; trade, market places; trade routes.
  • 9. The decline of Great Moravia and Moravia in the 10th century; survival of Great Moravian influences in other territories (Bohemia, Austria, Poland, and Slovakia). The origins of the Bohemian Přemyslid state; annexation of Moravia and subsequent historical development; Church organisation.
  • 10. Settlement development from the 10th to the 1st half of the 13th century; fortified settlements; burial rites; burial grounds and sacred architecture.
  • 11. Development in Slovakia and in the Carpathian Basin in the 10th to 12th centuries; Old Magyar culture, Bijelo Brdo culture.
  • 12. Slavic culture in the 10th to the 1st half of the 13th century; pottery, iron artefacts, weapons and jewellery - basic overview.
Literature
    required literature
  • MĚŘÍNSKÝ, Zdeněk. Morava na úsvitě dějin. V Brně: Muzejní a vlastivědná společnost, 2011, 655 s. ISBN 9788072750887. info
  • MĚŘÍNSKÝ, Zdeněk. České země od příchodu Slovanů po Velkou Moravu I. 2., opravené. Praha: Libri, 2009, 568 pp. ISBN 978-80-7277-407-4. info
  • BERANOVÁ, Magdalena and Michal LUTOVSKÝ. Slované v Čechách : archeologie 6.-12. století. 1. vyd. Praha: Libri, 2009, 475 s. ISBN 9788072774135. info
  • MĚŘÍNSKÝ, Zdeněk. České země od příchodu Slovanů II (Czech lands after arrival of the Slavs). 1st ed. Praha: Libri, 2006, 967 pp. ISBN 80-7277-105-1. info
  • LUTOVSKÝ, Michal. Encyklopedie slovanské archeologie v Čechách, na Moravě a ve Slezsku. 1. vyd. Praha: Libri, 2001, 431 s. ISBN 8072770543. info
    recommended literature
  • KOUŘIL, Pavel. Cyrilometodějská misie a Evropa : 1150 let od příchodu soluňských bratří na Velkou Moravu. Brno: Archeologický ústav Akademie věd ČR, Brno, v.v.i., 2014, 387 stran. ISBN 9788086023502. info
  • Great Moravia and the beginnings of Christianity. Edited by Pavel Kouřil. Brno: Archeologický ústav Akademie věd ČR, Brno, v.v.i. ve spolupráci s Moravským zemským muzeem, 2014, 517 stran. ISBN 9788086023533. 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
  • LUTOVSKÝ, Michal. Hroby knížat :kapitoly z českých dějin a hrobové archeologie. 1. vyd. Praha: SET OUT, 1997, 196 s., [8. ISBN 80-902058-3-6. info
  • LUTOVSKÝ, Michal and Naďa PROFANTOVÁ. Sámova říše. Vyd. 1. Praha: Academia, 1995, 89 s. ISBN 8020004203. info
  • KLANICA, Zdeněk. Počátky slovanského osídlení našich zemí. Vyd. 1. Praha: Academia, nakladatelství Československé akademie věd, 1986, 259 s. info
Teaching methods
lectures
Assessment methods
Oral exam; the prerequisite for admission to the oral exam is a successfully passed written test.
Exam requirements:
Reading of literature in a given structure (see study materials)
Language of instruction
Slovak
Follow-Up Courses
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught once in two years.
General note: Je-li vypsán, absolvovat v 1. r. st. a zakončit PZk. Posl. 1-obor. st. musí mít 2 PZk (min. 1 z pravěku), posl. 2-obor. st. 1 PZk v I. cyklu.
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2023, Spring 2025.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2021, recent)
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