Ein böhmischer Ritter an der Epochenwende: Peter Doudlebský von Doudleby (* vor 1492, † 1550)

Abstract

The study is dedicated to the remarkable personality of Peter Doudlebský of Doudleby (b. before 1492, d. 1550). A member of a South Bohemian knightly family, he devoted his life to serving the Lords of Rosenberg. As their official, gradually rising to the top of the Rosenberg bureaucratic hierarchy, he was in constant contact with a large number of aristocrats and was also very well informed about events not only in the Kingdom of Bohemia, but also in other parts of the then known world. He used his contacts for generous lending. He multiplied his wealth by investing in loans, which he constantly expanded by using all available funds, including interest income. Doudlebský’s activities anticipated the behaviour of later financiers from the lower nobility, but at the same time his lifestyle also had some unusual features. He showed no interest in building up his own land holdings; on the contrary, he sold the estates he had inherited from his ancestors. Peter remained unmarried and childless, so he did not have to worry about providing for his descendants. He bequeathed only half of his estate to his relatives; the other half went to members of the last generation of the Rosenberg family, to whom he was personally attached. Thanks to the preserved inventories, it is possible to gain an insight into Peter’s household, the composition of which provides a number of insights into his personality. The sources suggest that he spent his leisure time hunting game and catching birds. Otherwise, there is not a single reference to the knight’s literary interests, suggesting a “practical” rather than an intellectual dimension to his personality.