The so-called Political Testament, written by Charles Eusebius the Prince of Liechtenstein for his son and heir around 1680 includes, among other things, a substantial, detailed passage dedicated to music at the prince's court. Music is not just one element of court representation here. This key aspect, in the text of the instruction, comes with a detailed insight to possible problems with a music ensemble, as well as with the use and character of individual instruments. This study focuses primarily on the status of musical ensembles and musicians within the structure of the aristocratic court, beginning with Charles I (d. 1627), through a partial analysis of the situation at the court of his son Charles Eusebius (d. 1686) and finally brings an outline of the role of musicians and musical life with the third generation of princes from Liechtenstein. Certain continuity can be assumed, in particular, in attempting to adapt its own court to princely habits (for example, as regards the minimum number of trumpeters etc). In general, however, it must be stressed that the trumpeters or the trumpeter ensemble constituted an essential part of the princely court, whereas the existence of a musical ensemble always depended on the actual needs, preferences and economic possibilities of a particular prince.
In Czech history the theme of the Battle of White Mountain has repeatedly been used as a tool in political struggles. During the interwar period it was instrumentalized in connection with the extensive land reform and was presented as "redress for post-White Mountain grievances". This applied to the nobility in general and to the Liechtensteins in particular, where the actions of Charles of Liechtenstein were to be the main argument for expropriating their property without compensation. In the end, however, expropriation without compensation only affected the members of the Habsburg-Lothringen dynasty.
The bad fame of bohemian king Wenceslas IV, which was deposed by the roman electors in 1400, derives also from their well composed deposition letter, since it became the most important explanatory reference to the contemporary historiographers in the Roman Empire. The article enlightens its different influence phases as well as the slow transformation of its legal arguments into a spectrum of defaming narratives.
The study deals with notarized 14th and 15th century copies from Bavarian and Austrian charter inventories. There are some terminological irregularities in the German speaking research literature that cohere with the definition of insert ("Transsumpt"), which cannot be harmonized with the late medieval linguistic usage. Subsequently, the article describes the different forms of notarized charter copies and tries to point out if they were sustainable according to roman and canonical process law.
This study examines the role of the aristocratic Liechtenstein family during the Hussite Revolution, when it was one of the most ardent supporters of King Sigismund and the Austrian duke, and then from 1423 of the Moravian margrave Albrecht V, while also trying to recognize the importance of this period in the family's history. In Bohemia and Moravia, the Hussite Revolution led to the increase in the political and economic importance of the nobility on both sides. In the case of the Hussites, they profited from the forced confiscation of church property and from their participation in military campaigns across the whole of Central Europe. In the case of the Catholics, they benefited from the military service under King Sigismund and Duke Albrecht, and from the pledges of church and royal estates. The author shows that despite the Liechtensteins' loyal service to Sigismund and Albrecht during the Hussite Wars, they received substantially less property than other families, and any significant gains were only made in Austria where they were given part of the estate which Albrecht V had confiscated from the feudal lord Otto von Maissau. Of greater significance for the family history was its involvement in Sigismund of Luxemburg's sovereign rule over Moravia, where Hartneid V of Liechtenstein held the rank of governor of Znojmo and burgrave of Špilberk Castle in Brno. Although the Hussite Wars did not result in any significant increase in the wealth of the Liechtenstein family, and the family in fact probably suffered some economic losses, its firm commitment to the side of King Sigismund and Duke Albrecht undoubtedly contributed towards the strengthening of the family's position amongst the high nobility in the half century after the fall of the Austrian steward, Jan I of Liechtenstein (1394).
The paper deals with historical migration and integration processes on the basis of small-scale immigration into Saxon Upper Lusatia from 1815 to 1871. The focus of the analysis is on the permanent settlement of foreigners in Upper Lusatia and their acquisition of citizenship in the Kingdom of Saxony. This includes the development of immigration and citizenship policy in Saxony, with particular attention on the immigration practice of the responsible authorities. Also addressed are conflicts resulting from immigration which at the governmental level meant the rejection of poverty migrants, while at the level of the receiving communities the prevention of potential commercial competitors was paramount.
The text deals with a complicated period in German history, namely the creation of a unified state in the 19th century. It discusses the relationship of the church and the state from 1815 till the 1980s and focuses on Bismarck's "Kulturkampf" that flared up after the beginning of German empire. The author presents Birmarck's intentions and the positions of other participants, first of all Catholic and Protestant churches.
The article argues that the role of T. G. Masaryk in Czech as well as Austrian society before 1914 can best be understood as an intellectual expert on religion. It analyzes letters sent to Masaryk by his followers in order to show, that the unusually far-ranging influence he commanded was based on his perception as a sincere champion of a new kind of religion, which transcended simple, anticlerical confrontation. This function of a religious intellectual expert could work precisely only because Masaryk did not specify what kind of religion he sought, but rather appeared as a "religious type", that very different – and conflicting – opinions could relate to.
Different European states had different attitudes towards Jews and their social standing. In the Habsburg monarchy, several hundred people of the Jewish faith were ennobled between 1789 and 1918 (both in Austria and later in Hungary), while Jews were granted equal social status in 1867. In Prussia the social status of Jews had improved since the rule of Frederick II and in 1812 they were able to become Prussian citizens. However, Jewish emancipation reached a high point in July 1869 when a law on equal religious rights was declared in Prussia as well as in all the states of the North German Confederation. However, in Prussia the issue of granting aristocratic titles to people of the Jewish faith or of Jewish origin was, of course, more vexed and the ennoblement of these people was very rare.
The study is dedicated to an reappraisal of the sovereign's fief policy in late middle age Austria. While the older research tendencies were mostly based on the idea of a slightly declining system signed by a rigid formalism, a new analysis of the fief structures in the hereditary territories of the Habsburg dynasty shows a slightly different picture. The anatomy of fief letters and books, reverses and letters of conveyance show that the increasing literacy transformed fiefdom into one of the central playgrounds of sovereign chancelleries. Mostly in case of dominion divisions or changes in late medieval rulership that vassality became important. Despite the reification of fiefdom, territorial rule and vasality do not oppose each other. The sovereign fiefdom in the 14th and 15th century is considered as an important often monetarised instrument among others, used to enhance and consolidate the sovereign's rule.