Inclusions of socio-political matters and matters considered in terms of outlook in the medieval art history research. Case studies

Medieval art frequently had political functions. After depicting the scope of political aspects and an example of political thoughts in Ottonian illuminated manuscripts there is an analysis of perspectives on medieval art. For example, point of view at Romanesque architecture can be marked in terms of outlook typical for a particular period. All the more important is the large-scale recent research on Romanesque architecture in Poland. There are attempts at demythologization of art and attempts to free the approach to art from ideology. Two different examples of well-known Gothic equestrian statues were discussed. Approaches to both sculptures and reception of them became politicized. The aim of discussions in this article was to point the political aspects in approach to works of art and in analyses of them. One of the conclusions is that the changing within the space of time political factor should be in many cases taken into consideration. In addition to that, the works of art should always be treated first of all as aesthetic, artistic objects.

Financial carieer of Przecław Potulicki, the castellan of Rogoźno, in late medieval Wielkopolska

The second half of the fifteenth century saw the growing importance of the magnates of Wielkopolska, supported by King Casimir the Jagiellon, who sought a counterbalance to the hitherto leading role of the nobles of Małopolska. This was the beginning of lasting political and property careers of a number of families from Wielkopolska.

Confraternity of the Żagań Convent of the Canons Regular from 1401

In this article, the authors present an edition of preserved and to date unpublished documents demonstrating the origin of confraternities between Convents of Canons Regular in Żagań and in Kłodzko. The documents were issued on 5 and 19 March 1401.

Bohemian and Moravian influences in the material culture of the Polish lands during the formation of the early Piast state and their genesis

The text analyses Bohemian and Moravian influences on Polish lands during the formation of the Piast state in the tenth and eleventh centuries. It looks at various levels of material culture: construction, pottery, jewellery, coinage and, more generally, funeral culture. The analysis aims to identify the routes of transmission of southern impacts to Polish lands and to answer the question about the possible migration of Bohemian population into the Polish lands.

Aleksander Gieysztor and Gerard Labuda as Researchers in Universal History

In concordance with the scholarly profile of the Warsaw historiographical school of the time, Aleksander Gieysztor’s early research, which begun in the 1930s. was devoted to the Carolingian monarchy and the origins of the crusade movement. It was not until after the Second World War that Gieysztor turned his attention to the Slavic studies, conducted from the very beginning by the Poznań historiographical school, to which Gerard Labuda remained faithful throughout his research career. Labuda was primarily interested in Western Slavdom, the origins of Slavic states (Samo’s Empire) and the political and legal aspects of the functioning of early states in Central Europe. Aleksander Gieysztor’s studies on Slavic Europe focused mainly on early medieval Rus’ and on comparative research confronting the phenomena of the history of culture and the history of state and social institutions in Central and Eastern Europe with analogous phenomena and processes known from Carolingian and post-Carolingian Europe.

The state of research into the history of hermitages in medieval Slovakia

In this historiographical paper, we map the latest state of research into Christian hermitages in medieval Slovakia. We focus on literature on the subject of hermits, the Order of Carthusians and the Pauline Fathers, published after 1989.

Mendicant orders in the academic discourse on medieval Slovakia after 1989

The changes in Slovakia that followed the Velvet Revolution of November 1989 created a new exploratory atmosphere in historical science, including the history of medieval monasticism.

On the Kutná Hora election of Vladislaus II of Hungary in the light of his obligations and Czech demands

In this article I studied the undertaking of King Vladislaus II of Bohemia (1456– –1516), which he have to oblige to became a czech king after the death of George of Poděbrady and the demands of Czechs expressed on the Diet at Kutná Hora.

The founding of the oldest Benedictine monasteries in Bohemia in the light of written sources (from the 960s to the 1060s)

The article is devoted to the establishment of the oldest monastic institutions in the Czech lands in the 10th and 11th century and the scriptural sources dealing with the circumstances of their establishment. It deals with the founding of the female monastery of St. George at Prague Castle and the male monasteries of Břevnov, Ostrov, and Sázava.

A woman and coins: Euphemia of Hungary’s contribution to the minting

Euphemia (d. 1111) was the wife of Otto I the Fair, prince of Moravia. After her husbands’ death, she ruled as a regent for her minor sons. Together with her offspring, she issued two types of denarii. The present article aims to distinguish the iconography of these coins and of the models they were likely to be based on, to establish th context of their creation and determine the propaganda message they conveyed.