Královéhradecká městská kancelář zvláště ve světle přímých zpráv z tamních dochovaných register z doby předbělohorské

Pages

29–50

Citation

VOJTÍŠKOVÁ, Jana a ŠEBESTA, Vít . Královéhradecká městská kancelář zvláště ve světle přímých zpráv z tamních dochovaných register z doby předbělohorské. Journal of the National Museum. History Series. Prague: National Museum, 2013, 182(1-2), 29–50. ISSN 1214-0627. Also available from: https://publikace.nm.cz/en/periodicals/jotnmhs/182-1-2/kralovehradecka-mestska-kancelar-zvlaste-ve-svetle-primych-zprav-z-tamnich-dochovanych-register-z-doby-predbelohorske

Journal of the National Museum. History Series | 2013/182/1-2

The presented study reconstructs the appearance of the Hradec Králové city office using the results currently obtained from a long-term research study looking in this case at the preserved Hradec Králové register from the period before the Battle of White Mountain, which together with other preserved city registers represents one of the most interesting and valuable sources which come from the city environs. Current diplomatic analysis suggests that during the last quarter of the 16th century, office staff managed both a register primarily for contact with representatives of the chivalry and governing classes, and a register for correspondence with lords. We can be sure that there was at least one more register for issuing documents involving contacts between cities. The importance of this East Bohemia city means it may well be that the office may have managed at least one special register for contact with district offices, the King or Queen and their chamberlains. In both these Hradec Králové registers, we can find a number of documents mentioning the fact that the Hradec Králové office held a register of law suits, which recorded cases caught to the city court. The absence of duplicates or document concepts such as vidimus, patents, passports, receipts, notices and evidence pages in the preserved registers brings up the question as to whether the Hradec Králové office had another type of register which would have been used for concepts or duplicates of documents of this kind which were issued. Should that be the case, this would confirm an even higher level of sophistication of the book-keeping and office system used by the Hradec Králové city office. It appears that one of the ways to measure the level of sophistication for individual city offices is the method by which registers are managed. Basically, it seems that more important cities have a more sophisticated system for keeping an overview of correspondence sent and other documents in city offices. In other words, in this sense city and town registers represent a valuable historical source which also reflects the importance and sophistication of specific towns and cities. The Hradec Králové city office offers clear evidence that it was one of the most developed offices in the Kingdom, whose archives have unfortunately seen significant losses over the centuries.

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