In the context of Maria Theresa’s educational reforms, the article analyses the introduction of new school textbooks in Bohemia as an attempt to build a new type of state economic enterprise. For the first twenty years after compulsory education was introduced in 1774, a balance had to be struck for the publication of textbooks between standardization and adaptability, in order to over- come the obstacles and conflicts inherent in the reforms. In implementing the reforms it was thus necessary to deviate from certain fundamental principles - dirigism, uniformity and centralization. An economic system based on the awarding of privileges was faced with the challenge of meeting public order on an unprecedented scale. Moreover, an economic model for publishing schoolbooks had to be devised that could function as an instrument of social policy while remaining financially sustainable. The new publishing house had to ensure regular high-volume distribution of the new product throughout a territory that lacked any commercial infrastructure in the field of bookselling., Claire Madl., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
The 58th article of the penal code issued by Maria Theresa (Theresiana - 1768), let as say the Article on Sorcery (1766) did not represent (as suggested traditionally in the literature) only a not very successful compromise between the traditional penal law doctrine on the one hand and new impulses of the philosophy and legal thinking of the Age of Enlightenment, though it may appear so at the first sight or by superficial reading. The Empress achieved in Theresiana the decriminalisation of the offense of magic art not only in practice but de iure as well. De facto, in practice, this stage had been reached already earlier, in the second half of the fifties of the 18th century. This manner of decriminalisation is typical for the (central)european penal law in the earlier phase of the Enlightenment through which was also just passing the Habsburg monarchy under the reign of Maria Theresa. In the same way is for this phase of development typical the strenghtening of the protection and the rights of the accused or investigated person within the penal procedure by creating different formal and real guarantees and obstacles during the proceedings. This approach was partly a continuation of the early modern and in the early stage of Enlightenment voiced criticism of magic art and sorcery trials., Petr Kreuz., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
his study traces the changing portrayals of Maria Theresa in the writings of the most important Czech historians (F. M. Pelcl, W. W. Tomek, J. Kalousek, B. Rieger, J. Svátek, J. Pekař and J. Prokeš) up until the end of the First Republic. It also considers the works of popular chroniclers, the French historian E. Denis, and school textbooks. The author shows that from the end of the 18th century to the 1930s Czech historiography presented an image of Maria Theresa as an exceptionally capable ruler whose wide-ranging reforms brought considerable progress in many different spheres of life both in Bohemia and the monarchy as a whole. From the outset, however, there was also criticism of various aspects of her policies that were perceived as inimical to the Czech nation. First there was Germanization, especially in the education system; then, from the 1860s, the centralizing tendency of administrative reforms that threatened the (albeit limited) autonomy of the Czech state and opened the door to dualism. This criticism was especially abrasive in the works of J. Kalousek, B. Rieger and J. Svátek. Some even pointed to an actively hostile attitude on the part of the empress towards the Czech Lands. As the proliferation of factual evidence consolidated the positive image of the great monarch, critical assessments became more objective, though they never disappeared altogether. It is worth noting that, with few exceptions, the positive importance of absolutist enlightenment reforms for the emergence of the modern Czech nation-state was often overlooked., Eduard Maur., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
a1_This paper considers the influence of Enlightenment thinking on the pedagogical works of Jan Valerián Jirsík (1798-1883), who earned a place in Czech history as a priest, theologian, active patriot, education campaigner, pedagogue, writer and not least as the fourth Bishop of České Budějovice (Budweis), an office he held from 1851 until his death. Primarily, it draws on and follows up ideas in the writings of the theologian Ctirad Václav Pospíšil and the church historian Kamila Veverková, who both trace the links between Jirsík the theologist and thinkers associated with Bernard Bolzano. Jirsík’s early writings, however, are as much concerned with pedagogy as they are with theology, and the aim of this study is to discover whether his ideas on education were similarly influenced by Enlightenment thinking. It analyses his views on the subject before 1851, i.e. until he became Bishop of Budweis - specifically in the period 1826-1843, when he was much occupied with questions of education and upbringing. In his years as bishop he devoted little time to literary pursuits. The study concludes that the legacy of the Enlightenment era most certainly played an important part in Jirsík’s deliberations on education. There is, however, a certain progression discernible in his thinking. In the early period, of which Sunday School (1826) is a representative text, we see the influence of contemporary Enlightenment clerical pedagogy as he advocates extending human knowledge through reason in order to improve living conditions. Faith and religion are also factors here, especially in his emphasis on the positive role of God the Creator. In the second period under consideration (1836-43), we find closer parallels between Jirsík’s pedagogical and theological thinking., a2_Within ten years of writing Sunday School, his position had shifted from that of a priest attempting to expand or improve education in the spirit of Enlightenment ecclesiastical pedagogy to that of a theologian (and so-called ‘true’ enlightener) who from theological considerations drew conclusions for the educational process. In Jirsík’s view, Christianity and Enlightenment go hand in hand, serving to elevate human life spiritually as well as materially. For him education means the enlightenment of both soul and reason. Nor does he see any contradiction between faith and rationality. It is evident from his thinking that he was convinced of the need to implement the pedagogical ideal of the Enlightenment: to educate virtuous citizens who were also rational., Rudolf Svoboda., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
The study examines the life of a Tuscan nobleman Luigi Angiolini. He was a writer, traveller and diplomat. He was active in the period of the Habsburg reforms, the French Revolution, Napoleonic rule and the restoration in Italy. His travelogue about England and Scotland (Lettere sopra l’Inghilterra, Scozia e Olanda) reflects his education and background which was strongly influenced by Tuscan Enlightenment. During the subsequent Napoleonic rule in Italy, he turned his attention to diplomacy in the services of Napoleon Bonaparte and grand duke Ferdinand III in Paris. The article shows how Angiolini was marked by ideas and trends of the eighteenth and early nineteenth century during his chequered life and how the breakthrough period formed him., Oldřiška Prokopová., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
This study aims to present the problems of the perspective of Catholic theology and Catholic historiography on the Enlightenment. In its first part it attempts to find an answer to the question: is the Church History rather theological or historical discipline? Then it shows some specifics of the Catholic perspective in the Church History discipline before and after the 2nd Vatican Council. In its second part it shows reflection of the problems of Enlightenment in the Catholic theology. In the next part this study dwells on discussion about understanding of Enlightenment in history since 1908 till now. In its last part shows reflection of theological and historical research in the Bohemian area before and after the 2nd Vatican Council., Rudolf Svoboda., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
Suicide in the Habsburg monarchy in the Early Modern Age has hitherto received almost no attention. This text considers attitudes to suicide in the context of questions of sin, conscience and individualization. It traces the changing perceptions of the meaning of these phenomena through theological and moral-philosophical texts, and does so on four levels: (1) suicide as a theme (or non- theme) in 17th and 18th century theology and homiletics; (2) suicide in the reformist theology of the late 18th century; (3) the question of penance; (4) the "good death" and individual responsibility for the salvation of the soul. The author shows that in the last three decades of the 18th century, when more notice began to be paid to the phenomenon of suicide, discourse on the subject assumed a more psychological tone, with theologians and philosophers increasingly drawing attention to the harm done by certain religious and meditative techniques which in their view overexcited the imagination and could result in melancholy and despair. This shift might well be called the secularization of the discourse on suicide., Tomáš Malý., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy