Great Moravian Statehood as Viewed by the History of State and Law
Great Moravian Statehood as Viewed by the History of State and Law

Summary/Abstract: The article describes the issue of viewing Great Moravia as a state. The first part of the article describes when and how the term "state" was used for Great Moravia for the first time in legal-historical literature, as well as how other authors view Great Moravia and what defining features of the state the authors used. The article further points out that currently the basic features of the state are considered (in a simplified form) state territory, population, power and law, and seeks to find these defining features in the conditions of Great Moravia. He points to the fact that the use of the term state for medieval power structures is a neologism, unknown to the language and the thinking of the people at the time (including lawyers). At the same time, the author poses a question about the meaning of applying modern legal definitions to medieval formations. At the end of the article, the author points out how the understanding of the history of Great Moravian statehood could be changed or supplemented. The author proposes to mitigate the exactness of determination of the "beginning" and "end" of the Great Moravian statehood by 833 and 907, and also points to the problem of integrity of the territory of Great Moravia (with reference to the impossibility of merging the hereditary domain of the ruling Moymirid dynasty, with controlled or more freely affiliated territories).

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