In late Medieval Poland, and by analogy in all of Europe, luxury at the royal table was represented by the use of imported choice products that were accessible only to a selected few. Similar to jewels, valuable robes or articles of precious metals, these products were kept in the royal treasury. In addition to the obvious culinary impact (however limited it may have been) and alleged healing powers of certain spices, the choice products most certainly played their part in issues of prestige and propaganda. The use of luxury products can be considered as an interesting indicator of change, particularly with respect to relations among the estates in late Medieval Poland. The presence of such products at the table or in the diet was the very article that distinguished the royal court from other courts of the late Medieval Polish kingdom; at the same time, it brought them closer to contemporary courts of the rulers of west Europe. and Agnieszka Januszek-Sieradzka.
The library of the Order of St Augustine in the Lesser Town of Prague, comprising more than 18,000 volumes, is an extraordinary book set of significant scientific and historical value. Nevertheless, a scientific study that would cover the entire history of the library was not available until now. This article provides a brief outline of the history of the monastic library at St Thomas, mentioning some remarkable figures that have contributed to its prosperity. The introductory part brings information on the binding rules governing the librarian practice in the monastic libraries of the Order of Saint Augustine in the Middle Ages. Because of the long time span, this treatise has been divided into two parts - the medieval and modern history of the library. Particular attention is paid to two periods - the 14th and 18th centuries, during which some members of the Order held leading positions at the university in Prague and, through their pastoral, preaching and educational activities, they were actively involved in the social, cultural and spiritual edification of broad social classes., Veronika Sladká., Obsahuje anglický abstrakt a shrnutí., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Recenzentka představuje knihu francouzského historika, profesora pařížské Sorbonny a odborníka na dějiny reprezentací, symbolů a obrazů, která se zabývá fenoménem "lidské spodiny", jak se vynořil a proměňuje v euroamerické kultuře od počátku 19. století do současnosti. Zdánlivě neuchopitelné téma, unikající nástrojům sociálních věd, se autor nesnaží analyzovat metodami historické sociologie, ale prostřednictvím jeho administrativních, žurnalistických, turistických a uměleckých reprezentací. Důležité podle recenzentky je, jak autor převrací perspektivu a ukazuje, že dějiny lidské spodiny jsou především dějinami většinové společnosti a její potřeby popsat a pojmenovat své odvrácené stránky a strach z měnícího se světa, potřeby vylučovat, moralizovat a disciplinovat. Geografického omezení na frankofonní, anglofonní a hispanofonní svět lze sice litovat, může být ale také inspirující výzvou., The book under review, by the French historian Dominique Kalifa (is Director of the Centre for Nineeteenth-century History at the University of Paris, where he specializes in the history of crime, transgression, social control, and mass culture in nineteenth and early twentieth-century Europe, particularly France), is concerned with the phenomenon of the "lower depths" (or "dregs of society"), as they emerged and changed into Euro-American culture, from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the present. The author does not seek to analyse this seemingly ungraspable topic using the methods of historical sociology, for it has long evaded study by the means available to the social sciences. Instead, he turns to the ways the subject has been represented by bureaucracies, journalists, tourism, and art. According to the reviewer, it is important how the author inverts the perspective, and demonstrates that the history of the dregs of society is mainly the history of majority society. That is to say, majority society has felt a need to describe and name its dark side and its fear of a changing world, to exclude, moralize, and discipline. One may regret that the work is limited to the francophone, anglophone and hispanophone worlds, but that means also that the topic remains an inspiring challenge to other scholars., [autor recenze] Lucie Dušková., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
Italský historik a právník věnoval svou knihu atraktivnímu tématu role katolické církve, respektive Vatikánu při poválečném útěku nacistických zločinců před spravedlností do zemí západní Evropy, na Blízký východ a do Latinské Ameriky. Hutná práce, která obratně zasazuje Vatikán do mezinárodního dění po druhé světové válce, vychází z autorova dlouholetého studia ve vatikánských, evropských a amerických archivech, díky čemuž představuje fundovanou polemiku s přežívajícími ideologickými klišé některých historiků a černobílým viděním novinářů. Autor zcela odmítá vědomý podíl vatikánské hierarchie na pomoci nacistickým činitelům, takže se jeho postoj může zdát až příliš apologetický, konečný soud však podle recenzenta lze vynést až po zveřejnění relevantních dokumentů Tajného vatikánského archivu., The book under review, by an Italian historian and lawyer, is about the attractive topic of the role of the Roman Catholic Church, particularly the Vatican, in helping Nazi war criminals to avoid justice after the Second World War and to escape to countries of Western Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. This dense work, which skilfully places the Vatican into international events after the Second World War, is based on the author´s many years of research in the archives not only of the Vatican, but also of other countries in Europe and America. The result is a well-supported argument against the surviving ideological clichés used by some historians and against the black-and-white way of looking at things used by journalists. The author absolutely rejects the idea that senior members of the Vatican counsciously helped Nazi officials. This might make his approach seem too much like apologetics, but the final judgement, according the the reviewer, can only be made after the relevant records of the Vatican Secret Archives have been made public., [autor recenze] Marek Šmíd., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy