Christianisation and formation of states in Nothern and Central Europe

Project implementation stage:
Emancipation of the Church in the High Medieval Ages and Completion of Christianisation

Since 2002, the project on the Christianisation of European society has involved many European institutes under the supervision of Dr. Nora Berend from the Cambridge University. For the Czech part, scientists of the Institute of History of the ASCR and the Centre for Medieval Studies of Charles University and the ASCR are participating in this project. The first publication on the project focused on the comparison of the development of the first phase of the Christianisation in European states is currently in press (Cambridge University Press).

The spread of Christianity brought into the area of Central and East Central Europe not only a new faith but also a new culture, in particular, legal and administrative structures which soon began to penetrate the whole society. In the first phase, Christianisation contributed to the formation of Medieval political wholes. However, this process could not be completed only by acceptance of the Babtism by all inhabitants of a country or, at least, by most of them. It was necessary to create an administrative background, to educate bearers of ecclesiastical legal and administrative offices and to teach them the ecclesiastical law. Institutions were also being established and entitled to supervise the observance of newly introduced orders and to punish offences.

The Institute of History of the ASCR and the Centre for Medieval Studies of Charles University and the ASCR are jointly preparing an international conference devoted to the ecclesiastical law and administration in the period of the High and Late Middle Ages, to be held at the end of November 2006. The Conference will seek answers to questions especially of how the final phase of the Christianisation of society was brought about, i.e., the reception of ecclesiastical law, the finalisation of the ecclesiastical administration, and the development of the Christianisation processes will be compared in individual Central European countries: in the Czech Lands and Moravia, in Sileasia, Prussia, Poland and Hungary, and in their surroundings.

CONTACT PERSON:

Prof. PhDr. Josef Žemlička, DrSc.
PhDr. Eva Doležalová, Ph.D.
e-mail: hostivit@centrum.cz
e-mail: dolezal@hiu.cas.cz
Institute of History ASCR