Charles Explorer logo
🇬🇧

Legal contents of Mikuláš Dačický of Heslov's Paměti

Publication at Faculty of Arts |
2015

Abstract

The article deals with one of the most famous sources of citychronography that were being created in Bohemia in the 16th and early 17th century. The most competent and prolific literary author of Dačický's Paměti was Mikuláš Dačický of Heslov - a very controversial figure of the KutnáHora society before the Battle of the White Mountain.

Paměti reflect the diverse crime of the time, that's why is possible to consider this chronicle as a specific source of knowledge about early modern times law in Bohemia. The article makes an effort to answer a question, how literary talented citizen of early modern times Kutná Hora and also an active participant of criminal proceedings reflects known deliquency.

Beside brief introducing Dačický's personality and his own experience with the judiciary of the times, the article focuses mainly on killing - special attention is paid to the agreements on the head (smlouvy o hlavu), female crimes or suicides - further affrays, duels, slanders and questioning of somebody's impeccability, frauds, thefts and robberies. The most frequent offence in Paměti is killing, others are repeated less.

It is obvious, that the spectrum of offences in Paměti does not answer to representative range of period deliquency. Exactly because of the interest in scandals was the strongest motivation to their immortalization in cronicle.

What was common, standard and "normal" (like crimes against property, the most often offences), was not attractive, according to chronicler's oppinion. Nevertheless, this cronicle provide a unique view into an everydayness of early modern times town before year 1626 and a thinking of noble, rich and educated, but also immoral, licentious and rebellious burgher Mikuláš Dačický of Heslov.

I addition, it is definitely suitable tool for comparison of law, legal practice and legal consciousness in Kutná Hora.