Diploma thesis Prophetia de duobus draconibus - Merlin's prophecies in medieval anglo-welsh conflicts deals with a political use of prophecies in a struggle between an English monarchs and Welsh princes. The most important among the prophecies are those revealed by Merlin. These include an interpretation of the combat between the red and the white dragon, which represent Wales and England. This thesis focuses on the character of Merlin the prophet, the medieval interpretation of the prophecies and their ultimate use in a political argumentation.

This thesis deals with the person of rabbi Avraham Abulafia with intention express his unique mystical system with respect to events of his life and his personal experiences which he had during his journeys. The first chapter follows the various mystical and philosophical systems and strives for introducing some major Jewish movements and personalities which may have been sources of Abulafia's conceptions and methods. Also it provides the information about the eschatological and millennial conceptions of that time, that may have been known to this scholar and affect him as well. The second chapter follows the life journey of Abulafia and tries to show the most important events of his life. It intends to provide the information about works which he had written as well as about his social contacts (his teachers and his pupils). The third chapter provides the information about his successors and tries to describe the various form of perception of his works, as well as it provides some interesting remarks about their censorship. There is also an intention to state the transformation of reception of his authority in last decades whether it is by contemporary kabbalists or artists. The last chapter is the apex of this work. It is focused on the description and interpretation of major conceptions of...

Sensitivity to rejection is a tendency to anxiously or angrily expect, readily perceive, and then overreact to rejection in interpersonal relationships (Downey & Feldman, 1996). This thesis examined the potential associations between rejection sensitivity and romantic relationships in an adult population. I hypothesized that rejection sensitivity will negatively influence perceived quality of romantic relationship, including these relational factors: viability, intimacy, passion, care, satisfaction, conflict, maintenance and commitment. In the research participated 296 respondents (i.e. 148 couples), which individually completed Sensitivity to rejection scale and Relationship rating form (both measures used in Czech translation). On the basis of individual analysis of all respondents (i.e. the whole sample) were found most significant negative correlations with the viability factor and care factor. Furthermore, also the low negative correlation between sensitivity to rejection and satisfaction and commitment factors. At the level of couples were not confirmed either one statistically significant result. Although hypothesis about the influence of sensitivity to rejection on the romantic relationship were confirmed only at the individuals, and not at the individual couples, this study suggest the...

Resume: The work has a special theme of social accents of the prophets in the period before the exile. There is question what the chronology of the history of the royal era, in which the prophets spoke, was, what social processes were taking place at that time and how they are documented by biblical history and archeology. The first part of the work describes the historical situation in which these prophets were spreading their message. In this epoch the King's time was at the top of its peak, after which the crisis of transition from tribal society started into the urban civilization started which was finished by Israel's exile to Assyria and Judea in Babylon. In the northern empire peaks of the prosperity are considered to be the period during the reign of Achab and Jeroboam II. In the southern Empire it is the Uzziah's period. These peak times of prosperity, stemming from the state development, successful battles, and foreign trade, brought with an increase in social inequality and damage to social relations. The work depicts this time according to biblical sources, particulary the 1st and 2nd Books of Kings and the 2nd Paralipomenon. This section is followed by a chapter on interpretations by which Biblical archeology interprets archeological finds related to the time of the kingdom, especially from the...

This thesis interprets the concept of human being in the work of Maimonides and ibn Rushd, two representatives of major Arab and Jewish medieval philosophy. It combines the ancient Greek philosophical tradition, especially Aristotle, with a religious context. When Maimonides and Ibn Rushd tried to harmonize these two traditions, they had to deal with many opposite views, that stemmed from the difference between religious and ancient world. Behind this intellectual ground have they created the original thesis and approaches to grasping reality, the world and the human being in it. The issue of human being is analyzed in three levels. The first level consists of the relationship between human being and creation, which addresses the question about origin of the world the human soul and the resurrection. The second level, i.e. the man and the world, is devoted to describing a scheme of the world, human knowledge and the theory of prophecy. Ethical and political views are analyzed on the third level, which represents the position of human being in relation to the polis. Keywords Ibn Rushd, Maimonides, Aristotle, Plato, neoplatonism, philosophy, religion, The Koran, Torah, human being, world, creation, eternity, soul, resurrection, emanation, knowledge, illumination, active intellect, prophecy, politics,...

Between Defence and Resistance: Destinies of Eighteenth-Century Protestant Communities in Eastern Bohemia and Haut-Languedoc Abstract Based on archive research and literature the thesis compares the religious life of illegal Protestant communities in the 18th century Eastern Bohemia and Haut-Languedoc. From macroanalytical perspective it assesses the strategies of protestant minorities used to resist the disciplining efforts of the absolutist state. The confessional homogeneity, economic background and social stratification of Protestants in Eastern Bohemia and Haut-Languedoc differed. Yet, the contrasting comparison opens up the way to analyse the divergent resistance strategies. Further, the thesis examines the existence and nature of attempts to simplify the religious doctrine and to modify the liturgy undertaken by the lay and ordained priests and the worshippers. The structure combines the thematic and chronological approach, while keeping a broad perspective that encompasses also the economic and cultural context. First tree chapters outline and conceptualize the problem of prohibited Protestantism in both regions during the 17th and most of the 18th centuries. While in Languedoc the Presbyterian-synodic structure was revived (albeit illegally), in Eastern Bohemia and in whole Bohemia and Moravia...