Investigator: Mgr. Václav Žůrek, Ph.D.

Provider: Czech Science Foundation

Programme: Standard

Duration: 2026–2028

The project will focus on the analysis of verbal violence and hate speech in late medieval Central Europe. Since the 1420s, in the context of growing political uncertainty, religious disputes, the discrediting of "legitimate" claims to rule, and the increasing number of rival monarchs, the intensity of offensive and verbally aggressive political communication rose. An example of this is King George of Bohemia, who was the target of significant offensive and hateful communication. This constitutes the primary corpus of sources to be analysed in this project. To better understand this phenomenon within a broader context, the project will also examine the use of "hate speech" and verbal attacks in communication among other political actors, as well as offensive representations associated with religious, ethnic, or gender identities. The goal of the project is to collect, describe, and comprehensively analyse examples of this phenomenon in terms of form, intention, political and social context, conventions, and contemporary reflection.