Abstract
The paper "Misinformation in the Biography of Emanuel Arnošt from Valdštejn" is based on the current research of the author being done for the dissertation work "Baroque Humanist and Preacher Emanuel Arnošt from Valdštejn from the Metropolitan Chapter of St Vitus in Prague". It is about a personality who had significant impact on the developing intelligentsia but who is rather neglected nowadays.
When studying the available sources, some older information but also some newer information about Valdštejn were assessed as incorrect. The reason is supposed to be misinterpretation and lack of knowledge of sources.
The author reviewed critically the current professional literature dealing with Valdštejn and after having analysed the relevant sources he confronts some misinforming conclusions with his own findings. The reviews concern mainly the information about Valdštejn's studies in Rome and his piousness (see Eva Králíková, Vzdělávání a socializace Emanuela Arnošta z Valdštejna na základě jeho deníkových zápisků z let 1735-1742, diploma work, Faculty of Arts, Pardubice University 2008), but also possession of forbidden books (see Jiří Hrbek, Proměny valdštejnské reprezentace: Symbolické sítě valdštejnského rodu v 17. a 18. století, Prague 2016).
The aim is also to clarify the date of his birth which is stated inconsistently in the literature. The paper also mentions an extensive collection prepared from Valdštejn's legacy on the basis of which it is also possible to explain the matter of the missing sources in parish offices which was pronounced at the 11th congress of historians in September 2017 within the block "Desideria et desiderata care for parish documents".
An analytical probe was made mainly in written sources from the Valdštejn family archive (in the State District Archive in Prague, with the focus on diaries) and from the Litoměřice Episcopal Collection (so-called Valdštejn collection in the State District Archive in Litoměřice).