Krajiny českého středověku – Klimek Tomáš (2014)

The perception of space and landscape is one of the fundamental features of human thinking, but its form varies across different cultures and time periods. This multilayered theme relates to cosmography as well as to the everyday encounters of people with the landscape. Specific perspectives manifest in the creation of philosophical and theological concepts, in the way of orienting oneself in the landscape, and in the forms of its description, whether with artistic or practical intent. The author focuses on the period of the 12th to 14th centuries in the Czech lands. In addition to reflecting the philosophical concepts of the time in various types of texts, he particularly examines the perception of three types of landscapes – forests, watercourses, and mountains. In the second part, he addresses the ways of orienting oneself in the landscape and localizing individual places in the terrain. Overall, the book "Landscapes of the Czech Middle Ages" captures a significant shift in the conceptual thinking from the world of the old agricultural society to the birth of a modern conception, the traces of which are already evident in the remnants of texts from the High Middle Ages.