The author examines the clientele of the Bratislava booksellers Anton Löwe and Philip Ulrich Mahler in the context of the Hungarian book trade from 1770 to 1800. By analysing the extant correspondence of Michal Institoris Mošovský, a protestant pastor in Bratislava, she was able to partially identify one segment of their customer base - protestant clergymen. For many years these members of the petty intelligentsia purchased from the Bratislava booksellers, in particular imported works by the German pietists and Enlightenment theologians. The author also investigated the social and geographical limits of the distribution process, some of the contact and distribution networks, and the identity of key figures., Petronela Križanová., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
This article discusses the Enlightenment concept of theatre as formulated in the work of the Viennese playwright Paul Weidmann, who was active in the reign of Joseph II (1765-90). In Weidmann’s conception, theatre has two main functions: one is to provide a theoretical basis (the idea of a national theatre; theatre as a school of moral educational); the second is to delineate a socio-historical context. The themes explored by Weidmann are civil war and wars of religion, and the question of how to level social differences - problems that still very much beset the modern world. In the face of current religious, political and economic conflicts, Weidmann’s stage plays still carry a powerful message., Joanna Giel., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
The article tries to characterise the spiritual life of a group of members of the Czech Reformed exile community in Husinec near Strzelin in Silesia at the turn of the 18th and 19th century. It starts with a detailed analysis of a unique manuscript miscellany written there by certain senior Bureš in 1833 and containing Czech translations of various German texts, mostly sermons (especially of the famous Pietistic preacher Ludwig Hofacker), but also travel diaries of Herrnhut missionaries in North America and Greenland from the 1770s, translated by a certain J. S., probably the former local teacher Jan Sovák. It identifies both the scribe and the translator as diaspora sympathizers of the Herrnhut Unitas, striving to supply for themselves and other members of their community spiritual texts suitable for reading aloud during their worship. As a possible model for the miscellany, the article identifies Gemeinnachrichten, the German manuscript periodical of the Unitas, which also combined sermons with missionary reports and diaries and was accessible to a limited extent to diaspora sympathizers. Finally, the article characterizes the spiritual life of the Husinec diaspora as rather eclectic, but capable of active reception of various Pietistic spiritual impulses, partly, but not exclusively emanating from the Unitas. This seems to support the thesis that Early Modern Czech non-Catholic exile played an important role in the Czech-German literary, cultural and religious relations., Alena A. Fidlerová., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
Despite the state borders, and the different socioeconomical and cultural contexts, productions of Italian opera in Prague and Dresden become considerably interconnected due the activity of the impresario Giuseppe Bustelli. During his directorship (1764-1777 in Prague, 1765-1777 in Dresden) and even in the next decade, more than 50% of the repertoire was shared. Furthermore, some of the artists performed in both cities, and the same or similar adaptations of operas were used. The main difference in repertoire consisted in opera seria productions in Prague until 1777, whereas in Dresden only opera buffa was staged since 1765. Analyses of selected works reveal some of both similar and different performing strategies and their aesthetical, practical as well as political connections., Marc Niubo., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
This article presents Christian Kyrill Schneider OFM, a significant yet not widely known Franciscan missionary who lived in the second half of the 18th century and worked in Egypt and surrounding Middle East Area. His autography that is only available as a manuscript and has never been presented before is fully described here. An excerpt of one chapter offers an insight into a catching egodocument from the beginning of the 19th century. This study is set in the context of Franciscan missions with an important focus on the activity of brothers from the Czech lands in the Middle East. The introductory chapter summarizes basic bibliography of history of Franciscan missionaries and their writings., Kateřina Holanová., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
The second half of the 18th century marked an extraordinary flowering of music, especially church music in the Czech lands. Monastic churches, in particular, were characterised by a high level of music production performed by choral scholars whose liturgical music was conducted by chosen monks. Some members of religious orders also composed. These were for example M. J. Haberhauer (1746-1799), a member of the Benedictine order situated in Rajhrad near Brno and P. J. Marek (1748-1806) who belonged to the Augustinian monastery in Brno. Both of them got a musical education as choral scholars and remained musically active also after entering orders. Eventually these two authors both performed as chorregents in the 70’s and early 80’s of the 18th century and they collected sacred and secular pieces of music of their more famous and popular contemporaries (C. Ditters, F. X. Brixi, Haydn, etc.). Apart from a few exceptions they were only composing liturgical works. Haberhauer bequeathed 90 compositions, most of whom composed of Mass for choir and solo accompanied with instrumental ensemble as well as vespers and motets. Marek, however, composed only 21 church compositions and most of them consist of Marian antiphons and litanies of Loreto. These were necessary at the Augustinians, given the honor rendered to the picture of Virgin Mary placed in their church. The two monasteries ran a mutual cooperation which can be proved by Haberhauer music collection preserved at Augustinians in Brno. Haberhauer work can be also found in the collections of other Moravian churches and also at Prague Benedictine order. While Marek’s compositions were exclusively connected to the Augustinian monastery in Brno. Their pieces of music are purely purposeful showing features of a musical classicism. Lives and works of both composers are now the subject of research of the author and of Pavel Žůrek from the Ins, Irena Veselá., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
Under Maria Theresa, the provincial courts in Moravia continued to operate along the lines set out in the judicial reforms of 1620-1650. Although the reform efforts of the Theresian system had little direct effect on them, the character of these courts did gradually change. By the early 1740s they were inundated with a backlog of unresolved cases that rendered them slow and unwieldy. Following the cancellation of inactive disputes, however, the number of open cases started to drop rapidly, and by the 1760s the provincial court was accepting an absolute minimum of new lawsuits. This was due less to any restrictions imposed by the state than to a lack of interest among the nobility in pursuing claims in the court. The provincial court continued to sit twice a year, but the reduction in the number of cases meant that the number of sessions in each judicial period also fell considerably. The nearly fifty cases heard by the provincial court in the reign of Maria Theresa were, however, similar in scope to those we are familiar with from the preceding period - property-related lawsuits among the nobility, disputes between monasteries and towns, criminal cases and claims by subject communities against their own landlords. Significant changes can also be discerned in the makeup of the courts, with judges being appointed on the basis of their legal training rather than their social standing or other "merits" and, generally, a far closer correspondence to other types of Theresian court, particularly the royal tribunal. There thus ceased to be a meaningful distinction between the royal and provincial judicial systems in the Theresian period., Jiří David., 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
The study presents an empirical analysis of the risky practice of illegal marriage and baptism among Huguenots in 18th century France, drawing on contemporary pamphlets to trace the problematic evolution of French Calvinist inheritance law - a process that played a decisive part in efforts to relegalize Calvinism in the kingdom. Agitators for the reformed church pursued two main lines of argument: Calvinist pastors, both within the country and in exile, made increasingly active use of Enlightenment philosophical discourse that condemned religious intolerance. At the same time, especially from the 1760s on, pamphleteers emphasized the social and economic importance of the Huguenot upper class. Together, these arguments helped overcome received ideas about the risk of an anti‐state "protestant conspiracy" organized by the exile community ("conjuration de l’étranger Huguenot"), which was in turn linked to the financial power of the Huguenot banking families that had been a leitmotif of criticism since the 16th century. Instead, a positive image of the Calvinists’ social contribution was presented, stressing their usefulness and loyalty to state and sovereign. Among their supporters at court were the lawyers and ministers de Breuil and de Malesherbes, who eventually succeeded in pushing through reforms., Eva Hajdinová., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
The paper examines origin and professional background of the scribes of the 18th century Bohemian manuscripts and follows the changes in the social structure of their readers, using the information from several hundred handwritten books and documents. Received data show that the number of scribes is rising immensely in the last decades of the 18th century. The most distinct growth might be observed within the number of scribes working in the rural areas. In the first half of the 18th century the most productive group of scribes are monks. In the last quarter of the century this role goes to teachers and parish priests. Their production, however, often has commercial or official character. Besides in the late period of the century strongly increases representation of craftsmen and farmers among the scribes. Also growth of the number of readers living in the countryside, especially women, might be observed. These changes seem to be the results of educational, administrative and Church reforms performed by Maria Theresa and Joseph II in the late 18th century., Dmitrij Timofejev., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy