Vesnická obec a tzv. „druhé nevolnictví“ v raně novověkých Čechách

• Authors: Ogilvie Sheilagh C.

Title variants

EN

COMMUNITIES AND THE 'SECOND SERFDOM' IN EARLY MODERN BOHEMIA

• Languages of publication: CS

Abstracts

EN

This article explores the role played by the village community in the so-called 'second serfdom', using a database of manorial court records, serf petitions, and other micro-level documents for the Bohemian estate of Frydlant between 1583 and 1692. It casts doubt on 'manorial dominance' theories which assume that the 'second serfdom' succeeded because manors were all-powerful and communes supine. But it also questions 'communal autonomy' theories, according to which villagers were largely unconstrained by manorial regulations and serfdom did not actually matter. Instead, the Frydlant evidence supports a theory of communal-manorial 'dualism', whereby serfdom required both strong manorial institutions and strong communal institutions. The Frydland findings vividly illustrate the dark side of both manorial regulation and communal 'social capital', showing how overlords and village oligarchies systematically colluded to coerce weaker villagers.

Keywords

EN

BOHEMIA; CZECH HISTORY; SERFDOM; SOCIAL CAPITAL; VILLAGE COMMUNITY

Discipline

• HISTORY: HISTORY

• Publisher: Institute of History, Czech Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Český časopis historický (The Czech Historical Review)
• Year: 2009
• Volume: 107
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 46-94
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Ogilvie Sheilagh C.

• Sheilagh C. Ogilvie, Faculty of Economics University of Cambridge, Sidgwick Avenue, Cambridge CB3 9DD, United Kingdom

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

09CZAAAA06049