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Mintmaster Eberhard and His Offspring: The Activity of One Founding Family in Medieval Bohemia

Publication at Faculty of Arts |
2013

Abstract

The study presented deals with the person of mintmaster Eberhard both from the perspective of an individual and his activities and generally as the representative of a certain group of people, who appear in the Kingdom of Bohemia in the middle of the 13th c. in the sources. These entrepreneurs, the vast majority of which were of German origin, focused their interest on locational but predominantly mining and coinage activity.

The author first defines the source base on Eberhard, when he again verifies his identification in the controversial materials. He also devotes his attention to the post of mintmaster, which Eberhard held and was almost always characterised as.

The subsequent part of the study reconstructs the further generations of Ebehard’s family, when the sons of the mintmaster appear in Jihlava, Kolín nad Labem and Brno. The question remains of whether the Brno patrician family of Eberhards is one of the branches of the mintmaster’s family.

In conclusion, the author considers the social position of the group of mining and minting entrepreneurs in this country in the 13th c. and capturing them with suitable terms.