RLB34 Prehistoric Religions in Europe

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2015
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
PhDr. Dalibor Papoušek, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. et Mgr. Jan Reichstäter, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. David Zbíral, Ph.D.
Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Šárka Londa Vondráčková
Supplier department: Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
each even Wednesday 14:10–15:45 G24
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 80 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/80, only registered: 0/80, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/80
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course provides basic information about religious cultures of the European continent since the Stone age till the Iron age, finished partly by the process of Romanization and/or Christianization. Special attention is paid to the Indo-European cultural space emerging to the north of the Alpine-Carpathian mountain system. The aim of lectures is to present typical features of the religiosity of particular historical periods, to demonstrate examples of both continuity and discontinuity in the development of pre-Christian religious cultures, and to inform students about basic archaeological and literary sources and problems connected with their study.
The absolvents will
- be able to describe particular (pre)historic periods in the development of the pre-Christian religious cultures in Europe;
- know the basic data, possibilities and limits in the study of these traditions;
- be able to reflect critically the primary sources connected with these topics.
Syllabus
  • (1) Introduction.
  • (2) Religions of the Paleolithic Age.
  • (3) Religions of the Neolithic Age.
  • (4) Religions of the Bronze Age and the Iron Age – basic characterization of the religions of the northern Indo-Europeans.
  • (5) The Celts – historical context, archaeological and literary sources.
  • (6) The Celts – pantheon, cult, mythology. Continental Europe and the British Isles.
  • (7) The Germans – historical context, archaeological and literary sources.
  • (8) The Germans – pantheon, cult, mythology. Continental Europe, the Scandinavian Peninsula, England, Iceland.
  • (9) The Slavs – historical context, archaeological and literary sources.
  • (10) The Slavs - pantheon, cult, mythology. The Elbe River basin, the Baltic region and Eastern Europe.
  • (11) The Balts – historical context, archaeological and literary sources.
  • (12) The Balts – pantheon, cult, mythology. The eastern Baltic region.
  • (13) Final test.
Literature
  • DUMÉZIL, Georges. Mýty a bohové Indoevropanů. 1. vyd. Praha: Oikoymenh, 1997, 263 s. ISBN 80-86005-25-9. info
  • PODBORSKÝ, Vladimír. Náboženství pravěkých Evropanů (The Religions of the Prehistoric Europeans). 1st ed. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 2006, 607 pp. ISBN 80-210-4178-1. info
  • PUHVEL, Jaan. Srovnávací mythologie. Praha: Lidové noviny, 1997, 395 s. ISBN 80-7106-177-8. info
  • LEWIS-WILLIAMS, J. David. Mysl v jeskyni : vědomí a původ umění. Translated by Alena Faltýsková. Vydání 1. Praha: Academia, 2007, 402 stran. ISBN 9788020015181. info
  • LEWIS-WILLIAMS, J. David and D. G. PEARCE. Uvnitř neolitické mysli : vědomí, vesmír a říše bohů. Translated by Alena Faltýsková. Vyd. 1. Praha: Academia, 2008, 398 s. ISBN 9788020016447. info
Teaching methods
lectures, obligatory literature, student commentaries, written feedback by teachers.
Assessment methods
marking of student commentaries, final written test.
Language of instruction
Czech
Follow-Up Courses
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2004, Spring 2005, Autumn 2006, Spring 2009, Autumn 2013, Autumn 2014, Autumn 2019, Autumn 2021.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2015, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2015/RLB34