Drobná vrchnostenská sídla a vrchnostenské dvory 13. - 17. století (disertační práce) | Lesser manorial residences and manorial farms from the 13th to 17th century (disertation thesis)
Creators: name: David Novák
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017

description: The study includes a review of theoretical and methodological basis of current castellology and shows on the specific examples how it is essential to abandon the traditional approach and build a new theoretical model involving the role of elite residences in past societies. The origins are sought in the context of contemporary European castellology and general archaeological theory, which is not sufficiently appreciated in the research of the earlier historical periods of the past. By their form and certain level of exclusivity in the organism of settlement, Medieval and Early Modern seigniorial residences attracted the attention of archaeologists since the Romantic period. Soon after, first publication involving different sites and regions began to emerge. In our conception we consider elites residences as continuous phenomenon in which played a pivotal role not only formal appearance, but a substantially wider network of purposes and meanings that constituted the Medieval and Early Modern realities. This work therefore avoids traditional terminology and tries to work with a more general, archeologically defined concept of "manorial residence". The theses introduce an approach based in the formalized description of sites and consequent search for the functional relationships and purpose of manorial residences. The main goal is to identify and describe the relation of residences to the landscape and to the settlement network. The text of the thesis follows several frameworks that are essential for the fulfilment of the stated general objectives. In the first phase, the text focuses on the past and current research discourse and presents a more comprehensive overview of the knowledge of the manorial farms. A generous extent of such summary is not caused by its substantial role in comparison to the other topics, but because there is not yet another comprehensive summary of this issue. Next follows a description of the theoretical research framework that works with the current archaeological theory applied to the topic of Medieval and Early Modern elite residences and landscapes. An important part is the definition of "manorial residence" and of the other accompanying terms (residence core, secondary parts, farmyard). "Manorial residences" are introduced as part of a landscape that forms its structural, event-based, and expression-based components. It is therefore possible to determine the intended purpose categories of the of the manorial residences, in relation to their potential functions and usage patterns. It is a driving idea that defines the next steps, processing methods, and approach to the topic. In this way, the thesis abstracts the research procedure and sets clear research objectives as well as methodological approaches, the way of recording, the choice of sample and the descriptive system. The text provides a basic statistical overview based on the analysis of an extensive sample of the 1332 sites, using the chosen descriptive attributes, and attempts to reflect the pros and cons of the descriptive system. It points to the broad analytical possibilities that have recently became widely available in combination of the computing capability, the GIS application framework, and landscape data. The thesis further develops the ideas presented in the theoretical part, respectively, it complements the specific steps to get from baseline description to functional interpretation. It defines a matrix of relationships between observable residences functional potentials and descriptive attributes. This evaluation of the partial results builds a basis for the synthesis core of the work, which, in the sequence of several chapters, draws attention to various approaches and contexts. Discussed are both the changes in the use of manorial residences and their spatial and temporal distribution, as well as the testimony of historical sources. The main product is an outline of a new classification of elite residences at the intersection of their form and spatial properties with a purpose for which they could serve. The results are compared with the evidence of other, traditionally used methods, but also with the possibilities of the upcoming approaches (i.e. network analysis). The discussion part brings a necessary generalization that evaluates the benefits of the chosen methods, and offers arguments for moving to a different view of castellology and the study of the elites. It also presents an assessment of the development of the manorial residences and their properties in the territory of Bohemia. Some parts of the work were set aside to four excursions. These are a summary of (1) the issues of archaeological evidence of the smallest medieval seigniorial residences, (2) the approaches to the modelling and conceptualizing of landscape using digital elevation models, (3) the results of an intensive survey of lesser manorial residences in the region of Křivoklátsko, and (4) the results of archaeological excavations at the manorial farm in deserted medieval village of Rovný in the region of Zbiroh. An extensive digital database of the sites, ownership relations and related bibliographies forms a last supplementary part of the thesis.