Fridrich Vilém Braniborský a jeho místodržitelé. Panovník v kontextu vícenásobné vlády 17. století

This study deals with the issues of a composite state (Mehrfachherrschaft), using the example of the Elector of Brandenburg Frederick William I (1640-1688) and his Stadholders. They represented one of the most important means which the Elector chose to overcome the structural problems stemming from a composite state. The study analyses the manner of selecting Stadholders and their function as it was understood by the ruler and contemporary society. It characterizes the first half of the reign of Frederick William as the key period for the possibility of implementing this function as an efficient tool of government with regard to the character of statehood and the weakening of sovereign power after the Thirty Years’ War.