Abstract: The Moháč disaster in 1526 significantly affected life in Hungary. The immediate presence of the Ottomans forced political and social changes for which the country was not ready – although a similar invasion had been threatened for several decades. Reports of the imminent danger posed by the Ottoman Empire, the life of its inhabitants and behaviour of the Turks towards those they subjugated had long been spread by travellers, prisoners and ambassadors. Most of these reports (not always justified) focused on the description of life in this exotic and unknown realm and also on capturing the incredible cruelty, which these reports attributed to the Ottomans. In any case, residents of Hungary were forced to cope with the presence of Ottomans and to change their lifestyles, to a certain extent. After the end of the major military offensive, everyday life on both sides – occupiers and occupied – had to adapt to conditions that engendered mutual respect and to respect certain rules of coexistence. The need to supply the border castles eventually led to the development of business and personal contacts, despite bans and embargoes issued by both parties. These circumstances, however, had an extremely heavy impact on the residents who did not evacuate to safer areas. Both sides, Ottoman and Christian, called for consistent performance of duties. However, the presence of Ottomans for one and a half centuries obviously had a strong cultural influence on the country and affected the everyday life of the population greatly.

Abstract: This study is devoted to the “Fear of the Turks” as a phenomenon which is present to varying degrees of intensity throughout the early modern age and which becomes a unifying element in the political and military history and also in the collective mentality of the period. The study examines, in three different forms, the perception of the Turkish danger from the perspective of the nobles of Bohemia in the 16^th and early 17^th centuries. Firstly, the Turkish threat may be perceived eschatologically (as divine punishment for the sins of Christians, a disaster which is not of this world, but originating with God) and this interpretation of the Turkish threat can be traced to the literary work of Jan Zajíc of Házmburk. A second interpretation is that fear of the Turks may well have become part of historical anti-Turkish and anti-Islamic propaganda in general, e. g. in the work Antialkorán by Vaclav Budovec of Budov. Thirdly, the Turkish threat can also be perceived objectively and pragmatically, and this attitude was possible for those nobles who took part in battles against them such as Zikmund Chotek of Chotkov, Jindřich Michal Hýzrle of Chody and Albrecht of Valdštejn and others. In the field of early modern political history an armed conflict between the Danubian monarchy and the Ottoman Empire would constitute a clear and persistent long-term threat while its local impact was constantly fluctuating and itinerant. Attitudes towards the Turks (and Muslims in general) were such that a more differentiated and dynamic approach gradually developed over time. One of the key changes was the shift away from seeing the Turks in eschatological terms to a more objective understanding of them as military opponents. This trend quickly spread into the world of professional soldiers who had personal experience with the Turks and who were, consequently and in contrast to other circles of society, somewhat immune to the emotional arguments and official anti-Muslim propaganda.

Abstract: A comprehensive research of urban sources, deposited in the Archives of Brno, in order to examine what reaction Bočkaj’s anti-Habsburg uprising provoked among the local burghers.

Unlike towns and villages on the Moravian-Hungarian border, Brno was not exposed to direct invasion by Bočkaj’s troops in 1605–1606. However, it still suffered significantly from the presence of troops in the outskirts of Brno and from the lodging of imperial troops, even in its urban centre. In addition, townspeople and suburban residents had to take great pains to defend the town, especially when working on urban fortifications, such as the Špilberk fortress. Townspeople, including members of the administrative elite, had to reckon with the deployment of their own forces in the town’s defence, and they could also be sent to escort vehicles with equipment into the military camps or to serve as spies. The system ensuring the town’s security (including penalizing of non-respecting of such measures) is best illustrated by the unique guard order, issued by the town council in 1605. This edict increased supplies of provisions, wagons, horses and other supplies for the imperial troops and of course meant a considerable (and often unreasonable) burden on the town’s treasury – thus the war exacted its price even on the prominent royal town of Brno.

The authors also note the unique (and almost unexamined) perspective on the Bočkaj rebellion provided by a former council clerk – George Hovorka from Vyškov. This truly renaissance personality and great urban diplomat compiled his description of the rebellion and transcribed it into his memoires, which are also preserved in the town files. His memoires also include some marginalized news stories and copies of diplomatic materials, indicating an attempt by the uprising’s leaders to try to establish close contacts with top leaders of the Moravian provincial administration. It also details the subsequent preparations for peace negotiations, in which the appointed town clerk was directly involved. In the interests of historical objectivity, the authors wish to assert that, although the devastation of Moravian sites by Bočkaj troops brought greater hardship than the exposure to other military campaigns, on the other hand, even imperial troops (and among them occasionally mercenaries from the countries of the Crown of Bohemia) committed comparable wrongs upon the population of Eastern Hungarian principalities: the original base of Bočkaj’s power.

Abstract: Between 1626 and 1627 an extensive diversionary movement saw troops of Jan Ernst of Saxony-Weimar and Peter Ernst of Mansfeld, both in the service of the Danish King Christian IV, entering the territory of Moravia and Silesia. These troops met with contrasting reactions from local elites and from the simple rural population of the territory of northern Moravia and Upper Silesia. The author is interested primarily in the role of the rural population in such an armed conflict, and in an analysis of the form of its active participation (or otherwise) in events. Attention is directed to such phenomena as guiding, espionage, occasional work in military logistics, the participation of local people in plundering of their own area and their presence in newly formed hostile military units.
These observed phenomena are common places when studying various military conflicts across historical periods. Events of the years 1626 and 1627 show that the influence of the rural population as a “military factor” was quite significant during the Danish invasion. One part of the rural population of northern Moravia and Upper Silesia remained passive, but the other part participated substantially in the war effort on both sides of the conflict. Although the ideological or religious reasons for collaboration or maintaining loyalty are often cited in this conflict, other actions such as the guiding of troops, odd work in logistics and participation in looting indicate the presence of other motives involving monetary or other material profit. This study mostly employs as reference interrogation protocols preserved from the work of the Liechtenstein Inquisition committee in the region of Opava and Krnov from the time shortly after this invasion. Additional reference is made to sources such as a series of concise financial warledgers kept by Jan Ernst of Saxony-Weimar.

Abstract: This paper is devoted to the problem of relations between the political representatives of České Budějovice, a prominent royal town of South Bohemia, and representatives of the various military belligerents of the Thirty Years’ War. The specific examples cited examine the phenomenon of the “domestication” of Habsburg officers in the urban environment, where they were brought by their service, as an alternative to the usual animosity that accompanied the forced cohabitation of soldiery with civilians. The cultivation of friendly relations between military dignitaries and the bourgeois elite of České Budějovice was helped by the town belonging to the winning side after the defeat of the Uprising of Estates of Bohemia of 1618–1620. General Baltasar Marradas (1560–1638), a Spanish Officer, developed strong personal ties with the Council of this royal town, and these played an extremely important role in forging deeper cooperation. His protégé, Servatius Hurdome de la Fossa († 1650), an officer originating in the Spanish Netherlands also developed close links with České Budějovice in his private life although his importance for the community wasn’t as great as that of Marradas, whose help the citizens could count on in moments when the military machine threatened the basic functions of the town. For example, during the Saxon invasion in Bohemia, Marradas was not only personally involved in measures aimed at protecting České Budějovice but also in coordinating the potentially conflicting interests and needs of the Army and the civilians. Additionally, Marradas was perceived quite differently in České Budějovice than in many urban communities in south and south-western Bohemia, in whose historic tradition he is portrayed as an unscrupulous robber and tyrant.

Abstract: The article examines the impact of the common place presence of military troops in towns of Bohemia on their governance during the Thirty Years War. Troops appeared sporadically in towns of Bohemia even before 1618, usually as a factor of the Turkish wars. After that point, encounters with them became ubiquitous and many towns in the south-western part of the country already had experience of military conflict at that time. The failed estates-uprising reduced the authority of town councils, and the harshness of penalties imposed in the form of confiscation and loss of estate privileges was disproportionate to the actual involvement of most urban communities in the rebellion. Re-catholicisation during the following years caused significant changes in the composition of local political elites. It was the army which was the catalyst of change, and which certainly affected the relationship between citizenry and soldiery.

Yet even in this period, i.e. until the early thirties, town administration remained basically functional in most towns. Massive disruptions occurred only when hostilities moved into territory of Bohemia, during the Saxon, and especially Swedish invasions in the forties. General war fatigue played an important role in the unprecedentedly harsh practices of the Swedish army against the civilian population. Representatives of municipal authorities were usually able to put strategies in place to minimize the damage, at least for future years (an example being the protection of vital documents).

Abstract: This paper focuses on selected aspects of the rural environment of Mělník manorial estates during the 17^th century, i.e. a rather small type of agrarian aristocratic unit, which was situated in the fertile lands along the river Elbe. Thanks to its accessibility and situation in the most fertile area of Bohemia, the manorial complex under consideration was one of those complexes, which emerged greatly damaged from the Thirty Years War, with a high proportion of deserted and ruined farmhouses.
The study follows the issue of property transfers of serf’s real estates against a background of overall development. A more complex analysis pointed out that the Thirty Years’ War had consequences for forms of land holding: the overall dynamic and frequency of property transfers changed and alterations made during the life of the tenant decreased primarily. It also changed the priorities of buyers who sought smaller farmhouses by preference. The biggest change, however, was noted in the financial aspects of property transactions; overall, a considerable decline in the economic wellbeing of Mělník’s serf farmers is observable. Even during the war years there was a noticeable decline in the price of farmland around Mělník and the existing framework of real estate repayments changed accordingly. The institutions of pledge disappeared almost completely and the size of regular payments for property purchases also significantly decreased.

Abstract: The royal town of Pilsen was one of the few towns in the Kingdom of Bohemia which provided continuous support to the kings of Bohemia, especially the Habsburgs. Also, in 1618 Pilsen refused to side with the uprising of provincial estates, resulting in estate directors sending Peter Ernst II, count of Mansfeld with an army against this Catholic town – they succeeded in capturing and occupying it.

This occupation lasted for more than two years and ended with a surrender agreement concluded on 26^th March 1621. The town was subsequently passed into the hands of representative of General Tilly. The population had to expend considerable resources not only to defend the town, accommodate the Mansfeld entourage (and to simultaneously sustain a rural population who had taken shelter from the enemy behind the town walls), but also to support the troops of Emperor and of Catholic League. The town council did not have enough money, so it had to pawn the church jewellery and other valuables and borrow cash from the nobility and from the wealthy burghers of Prague. Ferdinand II appointed a board that had to devise a way Pilsen could be relieved of its debts which were still growing due to the cost of accommodating military forces and interests. The situation was critical because the town could not get money and as a result craft and trade in the towns lumped and also the number of burghers declined. It was necessary to resolve these protracted disputes with creditors, too.

The Emperor eventually freed the town from its obligation to pay all outstanding beer tax and from its contributions, but tax collectors did not respect this due to the lack of currency in circulation. Neither debt reduction nor deferral of payment helped and the forced financing of Mansfeld’s occupying troops resulted in Pilsen (however prosperous it may have been before the war) being on the verge of financial ruin in the early 1630’s – at the same time as the next phase of the Thirty Years’ War was starting. Municipal debts grew to more than eight times the pre-war level and the town continued to be burdened by the consequences of this war until the end of the 17^th century; in fact, the royal town of Pilsen never recovered the standing it had among other towns in Bohemia before the Battle of White Mountain.

Abstract: The Thirty Years’ War proved the position of Rakovník to be strategically disadvantageous. The town is situated between Prague and Pilsen and this area often served for gathering armies. This was first put to the test in late October and early November 1620 and it was last occupied by the Swedes in July 1648 when it served as a base for an attack on the left-bank of Prague on the 25^th of that month. This study examines the time when Rakovník had to face military attacks and, based on sources of urban origin which are deposited mainly in the State District Archive in Rakovník, it outlines how these events are reflected in the life of the town. Nothing extraordinary is learned from this study about the situation in the town during the Thirty Years’ War; instead we are treated to close observation of the differences between the behaviour of imperial and enemy (especially Swedish) soldiers’ behaviour. Imperial forces adhered at least partly to certain rules, didn’t destroy local churches and the town’s people could defend themselves by appealing to centralised authorities through diplomatic channels. Also, military organization in the region, developed after the expulsion of the Saxon imperial troops in December 1631, meant accessibility to legal recourse, something not guaranteed by Swedish and Saxon armies. In the early thirties Rakovník town office served also as the military administrative centre and ensured the organization of gathering provisions and commissary benefits throughout the region. It also looked after security and order in the town. Paradoxically, civilians actively contributed to the parlous state of this security by trade with the soldiers, buying stolen cattle and attacking military convoys and plundering them of various goods. The town office found itself in a difficult situation, because it had to provide supplies and organize for the accommodation and feeding of soldiers, and yet endure the pressures of military commands and explain payments to enemies to the central authorities in Prague. As a direct result of military incursions, the population of Rakovník begun to decrease. This loss was compensated for by an influx from the countryside and surrounding towns. The rural hinterland thus became an important human resource for urban renewal. Finally however, despite the supply system being highly advanced and spreading commissary supplies among several suppliers in the area (which further alleviated the financial burden), the costs that Rakovník bore to support imperial soldiers became intolerable.

Abstract: Krupka, a town beneath the Ore Mountains, preserved the memoirs (exactly their modern transcription) of the years 1629–1649 of a local tanner and a prominent but historically little known personality, Michel Stüeler. The first section of the paper summarizes Stüeler’s life stories, often recounting the tragic circumstances of war (especially in the case of his own family circumstances). Besides fatal disease, his main enemies were soldiers, both of Habsburgs and of their foes. From Stüeler’s memoirs, it is possible to piece together quite a vivid picture of the military of the time and it is interesting that his observations are not always negative. Stüeler got on particularly well on with one particular imperial sergeant, who was billeted in his house; and another imperial soldier married his stepdaughter! The majority of his experiences weren’t positive however and Stüeler and his close family usually fled from advancing enemy forces to forests and the surrounding mountains. He often had to suffer the Habsburg and allied troops in his own home – or at least contributes to their upkeep. His distress eventually reached such a peak that he was freed from both of these obligations. Like many of Stüeler’s contemporaries he found it impossible to avoid the military despotism and aggression of the age and it nearly cost him his life.

Abstract: The study seeks to enrich the knowledge of relationships between military and urban society in the early modern period by analysing their interaction during the Swedish invasion of Bohemia in 1639, when general Banér occupied the whole Elbe area. Confrontation between soldiers and the urban populace was very diverse and variable. Some of the upper social echelons and religious dignitaries fled from the troops to relative safety. Despite there being many documented cases of villagers and townspeople collaborating with the Swedish army, this does not necessarily indicate mutual good relations. The dividing line between friend and enemy was among the urban population and the soldiers, regardless of affiliation to either war party, and defined rather by the life experience and social position of each individual.

Mutual negotiations and bargaining between the towns and the army were highly ritualized and almost always mutual compromises were concluded. In this sense, threats of destruction by fire and sword by the Swedes often were just a standard bargaining chip, which would never be fulfilled as it would destroy a valuable economic resource for the military.

If it were possible (and there was no imperial garrison staying in the town) towns did not form an armed resistance against the Swedes. Archives contain mention of long haggling (often over several days) over contributions. In the turmoil encountered during the Swedish invasion, when imperial power representatives, soldiers and most clerics fled from the towns, there was a significant relaxation of circumstances. A town’s administration usually dramatically reduced production of official documents and recordings in the town archives in advance of the arrival of the first military units of the Swedes. The sale and transfer of property was less reduced. Neighbour disputes begin to escalate and become increasingly anarchic in nature.

Additionally, any solidarity among the occupied towns disappeared: the citizens of Kolín were buying Swedish booty taken from Čáslav, just as the people of Náchod along with imperial troops plundered the possessions of Nové Město nad Metují (whose population took the Swedes in). In some places, armed citizens attacked passing imperial troops. The situation in towns abandoned by imperial military garrisons and left to the mercy of the Swedish army was very complicated and diverse. It can not be said that the Swedish army in the occupied territories limited itself to wanton destruction as both parties were forced to work towards a sustainable conservation of resources. Towns had to find the best possible way of living with the army, which minimized damage, while the army had to restrain their demands to avoid the premature exhaustion of stocks.

Abstract: In her contribution, based on the example of military excesses committed between 1632 and 1634 in the royal town of Slaný, the author addresses the question as to what extent one can talk about specific strategies for survival (and make a general judgments) based on only two cases captured in Slaný’s Book of Conscience. At the same time the question is raised as to whether a micro-analytic study like this, with all its methodological pitfalls, is useful beyond illustration of the historical context.

Abstract: 

This study deals with the records of the Turkish threat to Europe from the 16^th to the 18^th century in the chronicles of town of Zittau. Although Upper Lusatia was never occupied by the Turks, the prevalent expression of fear of the “Turkish danger” occurs in nearly fifty manuscripts and chronicles from the town of Zittau. It consists of records of battles with the Turks, transcriptions of songs about military engagements with them, Christian prayers against the Turks, but also Turkish prayers against Christians and even threatening letters sent by Turkish rulers and high officials to the Habsburg emperors from the 16^th to 18^th century. That some of the songs originated in the German lands as a hidden polemic between Lutherans and Catholics (who were represented by the Habsburgs in this case) can not be ruled out.

The author of this study seeks to present several explanations as to why there is so much attention paid to such a seemingly regionally insignificant issue in the Zittau chronicles. In addition to preserving a record of events for future generations, there could also be evidence here of a moral and religious appeal, to show the bravery of the Zittau burghers who campaigned against the Turks in Hungary, or to justify the financial demands (tax) of the war against the “pagans”. The Zittau Chronicles also demonstrate the comprehensive knowledge of current affairs held by their authors. The frequency of entries about the Turks in these chronicles could also be a function of the archiving of memories associated with the collection of relics from the Turks: booty brought back by Upper Lusatian expeditions to Hungary, and which then came to Zittau Museum at the beginning of the 18^th century. A comparative examination of the chronicles of the neighbouring town of Bautzen shows much less interest in anti-Turkish wars and military conflicts with the Ottomans. Only further research of the chronicles of Upper Lusatian towns such as Bautzen, Görlitz, Kamenz, Lauban and Löbau can show whether the Turkish focus of the chronicles of Zittau is indeed exceptional or merely circumstantial. This study is accompanied by an edition of an anti-Habsburg pamphlet from 1683.

Abstract: Skalica, lying on the present Czech-Slovak border near Hodonín and Strážnice, was an important town of Upper Hungary in the past. With the siege of Vienna by the Turks in 1683, the insurgents of ImrichThököly captured Skalica. After their retreat, the town was besieged by four companies under Colonel John Baptist Dippenthal and between 1684–1686, the town and its inhabitants were gradually impoverished by their obligation to accommodate troops fighting against the Ottomans. Generally, troops would arrive in November and reside in the town until May of the following year. Between 1683 and 1684, these forces consisted of Prince Louis Baden’s soldiers and officers; in the winter of 1684–1685 it was the Heisler and Gondola regiments; and in the years 1685–1686 colonel Gondola with his family, officers and military entouragewere billeted there. The cost to Skalica to upkeep  these units in 1683–1684 reached 6783 golden florins and 86 denars; in the years 1684–1685 it was 5398 florins 73 ? denars and in years 1685–1686 the sum amounted to 3570 florins. The town gained its municipal funds primarily from fees paid by citizens and from excise taxes on wine. Even so, the town’s debts grew and by 1702 they already amounted to 20 000 florins. During this difficult period, Skalica was directed by the reeve JánPograny, burgomaster JánTaynay and towngovernor Žigmund Bársony.

Abstract: The relationship between the rural population of Bohemia and the occupying forces was, in comparison with previous military conflicts, during the wars of the Austrian Succession, quite complicated. Itincluded expectations (“abolition of statute labour”), various forms of cooperation (sale of food to the enemy, service in an invading army, collaboration of secret Protestants with Prussians), passive resistance (escapes into the woods, escapes of recruits) and minor forms of public hostility. These complicated reactions reflected the specific nature of this war, in which opposing armies presented themselves as legitimate armies of the landlords, but also followed their own specific interests. This is the explanation for their specific, often highly variable attitudes towards the serfs which began by promising the abolition of statute labour and ended in open violence.

Abstract: František Václav Felíř (1700–1756 or 1757), a citizen of the Old Town in Prague, kept a life-long chronicle, which includes the years 1723 to 1756, and included his impressions of the Franco-Bavarian occupation of Prague in the years 1741–1742 during the War of the Austrian Succession. At the beginning of the occupation Felíř wrote in his chronicle lauding and legitimizing the new sovereign, the Elector Karl Albrecht of Bavaria; but later he returned to Habsburg patriotism. This led him to write slightly different versions of the chronicles, albeit only resorting to this once in his work. Rather than being seen as evidence of collaboration and opportunism, this revisionism should be viewed as a function of his naive monarchism and his peculiar interpretation of events in the spirit of his Catholic land patriotism. Both versions of the chronicles have been preserved and, despite a certain naivety, they aim at an objective interpretation of events, and are peppered with many interesting details of life within an occupied town. The chronicle is stored in the State Regional Archive in Litoměřice and is currently being prepared for editorial disclosure.