„Na pranýř jej namalovati dali“.
“They Painted Him on the Pillory”.

Political Communication in Late Medieval Jihlava

Summary/Abstract: The study analyses the riots in Jihlava against the town council in the years 1520–1524. In October 1520, a second disaster struck the plague-ridden city when the dykes of the suburban ponds broke and water swept away several houses, drowning more than three dozen people. The townspeople blamed the flood on the town councillors. During the funeral of one of the victims, they openly rejected obedience to the town council, and established a municipality constituted by oath. The municipality claimed a share of power in the town, and demanded influence over the selection of the next councillors, along with compensation for the flood victims and changes to the town’s economic management. The monarch and the Moravian sub-chamberlain, Kuna of Kunštát, gradually became involved in the crisis. While the sub-chamberlain’s decision was in favour of the municipality, the monarch clearly sided with the town council. This study analyses how the composition of the town councils changed during the course of the riots, and what tools and strategies of political communication were used by both sides in their internal relations and with the arbiters of the dispute.

• Details
• Contents