Podrobný výpis o publikaci

The study King as Judge. The Long Road to the Establishment of the Princely Court (1498) in the Silesian Principalities aims to examine the way in which the Bohemian kings resolved disputes between the Silesian princes in a long period defined on the one hand by 1335, which is considered to be the date when Luxembourg finally annexed the Silesian principalities to the dominion of the Bohemian king, and on the other hand by 1498, when Vladislav II. Jagiello issued the so-called Great Privilege for Silesia, which also included the establishment of a new institution - the Princely Court (Ober- und fürsten Recht). The author concludes that the key instrument in the area of the court of princes was the institution of fiefs, which was skilfully used by John of Luxembourg and his son Charles IV, who were able to intervene in the disputes of Silesian princes and mediate compromises. However, this model of 'charismatic rule' was exhausted during the reign of Wenceslas IV, and Wenceslas IV attempted to use the then emerging associations of Silesian princes to resolve disputes, which was continued by his successor Sigismund of Luxembourg. The problem with this solution was the lack of tools and authority, which prevented the effective resolution of potential disputes. Sigismund of Luxembourg and after him Matthias Corvinus tried to transfer these powers to the Silesian governor, but he also had to face similar problems as the princely association. As the author of the study shows, in Vladislav's privilege of 1498 all these tendencies intersected and the establishment of the princely court can be seen as the culmination of long-standing trends. The princely court arose as a state institution, but through the figure of the chief governor, who presided over the court, the Bohemian kings retained influence over its proceedings. Vladislav II thus completed the long-term development of the Silesian principalities towards a statist society.