Festivities, Ceremonies, and Rituals in the Lands of the Bohemian Crown in the Late Middle Ages

Rituals and ceremonies played a significant role in medieval society by both establishing continuity with previous generations and their legacy, and temporarily allowing individuals to step out of their everyday routine. This is true for local communities, villages, convents, castles and cities, but also, for kingdoms and empires. Despite its importance, ritual in medieval Central Europe has not yet been studied to a great extent. In this volume, seven contributions deal with various examples and aspects of rituals in the late medieval Bohemian lands. The individual contributions explore particular rituals (coronation, wedding, funeral) or environments (cities, nobility, court, church). They share innovative interpretations and newly elaborated sources. Contributors are: Antonin Kalous, Frantisek Smahel, Martin Capsky, Martin Nodl, Robert Simunek, Tomas Borovsky, and Vaclav Zurek.