Renesanční pitaval z Podbrdského kraje 1 – Sankot Jiří (2021)

The Middle Ages were already a thing of the past. The sixteenth century brought many changes to the life of the Czech kingdom. The first Habsburgs ascended to the throne, and the new era infused confidence into the veins of the entire society – the burghers, nobility, clergy, and serfs. Scribes across the country had their hands full recording human fates and everyday stories. This was no different in the region between Brdy, Šumava, and Český les. Here too, in disputes among people before the Thirty Years' War, swords and muskets spoke, jails filled, and executioners with their assistants did not idle. A significant source for understanding life, everyday concerns, crime, and punishment in western Bohemia are the rarely preserved official books of the town of Rokycany. After centuries, they are opening up again, and from their dusty pages, long-forgotten fates speak. The first of three volumes of the book Renaissance Pitaval from the Podbrd region introduces the reader to municipal justice, presents various types of prisons, and brings stories of witchcraft, ritual murders, blasphemy, gambling, arson, disobedient serfs, theft, and poaching. A glossary of period terms is included at the end of the book.