Figures
1.1 Drawing of the helmet attributed to Yaroslav (Theodore) Vsevolodovich, late twelfth/early thirteenth century, discovered in 1808 on the place of the Lipitsa battle (1216). The inscription on the rim reads: “Great Archangel Michael, help your servant Theodore.” License: Public Domain 22
2.1 The Novgorod icon of the “Miracle of the Icon of the Mother of God of the Sign,” later fifteenth century, tempera on wood, Tretyakov Gallery. The icon depicts a battle between the Troops of Suzdal and the Novgorod (1169), and the miraculous victory of the Novgorodians thanks to the Icon of the Mother of God displayed on the city walls. License: Public Domain 62
3.1 St. Wenceslas’s helmet (tenth–eleventh century). St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague 82
3.2a–b Present-day view of the southern facade of the church of St. James (ca. 1165) in the village Jakub (Církvice-Jakub) near Kutná Hora, Czech Republic. a) general view; b) Close-up of the sculpture depicting St. Wenceslas 84
3.3 Říp Mountain seen from the South-East, Czech Republic. License: CC BY-SA 4.0 91
3.4 Rotunda of Sts. George and Vojtěch-Adalbert on Říp Mountain, Czech Republic. License: CC BY 2.5 91
3.5 Prince Soběslav I’s denar supposedly minted to commemorate his victory at Chlumec (1126) over Otto the Black and Lothar III 92
3.6 Guardian Angels Chapel (ca. 1270) founded by Přemysl Otakar II, Cistercian monastery in Zlatá Koruna, Czech Republic. License: Public Domain 114
4.1 Present-day view of St. Wenceslas’s Chapel in St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague Castle, Czech Republic. License: CC BY-SA 4.0 143
4.2 Jan Žižka and his troops going to battle behind a priest carrying a sun monstrance. The Antithesis of Christ and Antichrist, the so-called Jena Codex (ca. 1490–ca. 1510). With kind permission of the Library of the National Museum, Prague, Czech Republic, IV B 24, fol. 76r 153
5.1 The miraculous image of the Virgin Mary with a Child (The second image of grace, Schatzkammerbild) from Northern Treasury in Mariazell Basilica, Austria. According to tradition a gift by King Ludwig of Hungary to a monastery in Zell as a votive offering for his victory over the “Turks.” The work created ca. 1360 is attributed to the Sienese painter Andrea Vanni 193
5.2 Detail of the tympanum relief on the Gothic main portal of the Mariazell Basilica (before 1438), Austria. King Louis the Great of Hungary defeats the Turks with Mary’s help and gives Mary a votive offering. License: CC BY-SA 4.0 194
6.1 St. Ladislas fighting with the Cuman. Mural painting in the church in Kraskovo, Slovakia 215
6.2 St. Ladislas fighting with the Cuman. Mural painting in the church in Veľká Lomnica, Slovakia. License: CC BY-SA 3.0 215
6.3 St. Ladislas fighting with the Cuman. Mural painting in the church in Žehra, Slovakia 216
6.4 Gothic fresco Siege of Belgrade (1456) in the Church of Immaculate Conception of Virgin Mary in Olomouc, Czech Republic from 1468 (unveiled in 1983–1985). License: CC BY 4.0 234
7.1 Present-day view of Holy Cross Abbey atop Łysa Góra (the Bald Mountain), from the east, Poland. License: CC BY 3.0 248
7.2 Present-day view of Czerwińsk Abbey. View from the South of the late fifteenth-century gate and bell tower (the so-called Gate of the Abbot Kula) and the front of the Romanesque basilica, Poland. License: CC BY-SA 3.0 254
7.3 Present-day view of Czerwińsk Abbey. View of the Romanesque basilica from the monastery garth, Poland. License: CC BY-SA 3.0 255
8.1 Banderia Prutenorum by Jan Długosz (1448). The likeness of the banner of the bishopric of Warmia (Ermland) that was used in the Battle of Grunwald/Tannenberg in 1410. The Lamb of God on a red background. License: Public Domain 305
8.2 Banderia Prutenorum by Jan Długosz (1448). The likeness of the banner of the Livonian Master that was captured by Polish troops at the Battle of Dąbki in 1431. St. Maurice in arms holding a lance and shield with the Teutonic Cross on a white background. License: Public Domain 306
8.3 Church of the Assumption of Our Lady of Victory in Lublin, Poland. The church was built in the years 1412–1426 for the Bridgettine Order as a votive offering of King Władysław Jagiełło for the victory in the battle of Grunwald/Tannenberg (1410). License: CC BY-SA 3.0 308
8.4 Mural painting depicting King Władysław Jagiełło as a second Constantine the Great (before 1418). Chapel of the Holy Trinity at the Lublin castle, Poland. With kind permission of the Muzeum Narodowe w Lublinie 317
8.5 St. Ladislas receives episcopal blessing when departing on a military campaign against the Cumans. Mural painting in the reformed church in Mugeni (Bögöz), Romania 322
Maps
0.1 Map of Central and Eastern Europe depicting major locations appearing in the volume xviii