The article presents German pamphlets originating in Lusatia, dedicated to the devastating fire that destroyed the town of Görlitz in March, 1691. The tragedy was a milestone in the history of the town and it was an opportunity to look back and evaluate the history from the current perspective. The importance of the event as the „point of historic memory“ was strengthened by the fact that a catastrophe of the same kind was, in legend, the reason for the founding of the town by Přemyslid duke of Bohemia Soběslav. The authors of these multi-paged pamphlets were mostly the citizens of Görlitz who lived at a time when the town was no longer royal town of King of Bohemia, instead it was a part of the Saxony electorate. The history of their town was a source of inspiration and pride for them and gave them strength to rebuild their hometown for the better. The author deals with the content and social context of these pamphlets, paying special attention to the reflexive passages about the Luxembourgs, John of Görlitz and the Görlitz Duchy.
The article challenges the stereotypes of historiography and it deals with several examples of reference of various political figures of the Kingdom of Bohemia to the period of the rule of the House of Luxembourg, namely Sigismund. The “dark legend” of this ruler stands in sharp contrast to the actual historic resources from the second half of the 15th century. Even a cursory analysis shows that the political and confessional modus vivendi established during Sigismund’s rule became a valued norm, defended by the Czech utraquists during the rule of king Vladislaus. Even King Vladislaus Jagiello presented himself to the public (the Powder Tower in Prague) as the heir to the Luxembourg legacy. It was only later, when historians drew from the Hussite era resources, that the image of “evil Sigmund” came to life. During 15th and 16th century, Sigmund was remembered as a good king.
The article deals with the dynastic policies of Charles IV. and his ideas about the arrangement of government in the Crown of Bohemia. It refers to so-called emperor’s testaments where the emperor describes in detail the succesion of the male members of the Luxembourg line and denotes their rank in rule. The pillar of the whole structure was the King of Bohemia, the absolute sovereign over all of the lands of the Crown of Bohemia. The remaining Luxembourgs were to hold their lands as a royal tenure. In this spirit, Charles IV. created a whole new duchy of Görlitz for his son John.
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