The Rise and Fall of the Přemyslid State

Research of the Czech Early and the High Middle Ages in Modern Czech Medieval Studies

Abstract

The origin of the regional ruling system of the Přemyslid dynasty in the 10th and the 11th centuries represents one of the most impor- tant themes in Czech medieval studies. The research of this topic is characterized by two historic concepts referring to the so-called settlement structure and the institution of servitude in the 10th century, both of which were to ensure a strong, even »centralized« state in the period of the early reign of the Přemyslids. Both concepts have been adopted by an earlier generation of scholars that have been examining them exclusively within the context of Czech history; in that, they are reminiscent of the historiography of the 19th century and its pronounced nationalist tendencies. However, in order to reinterpret the history of this territory in the 10th and the 11th centuries researchers shall have to replace their interest in »the history of the Czech lands« with studies of »medieval history«