OPILSTVO A OPILCI VO VIZITAČNÝCH PROTOKOLOCH NESKORÉHO STREDOVEKU

Parish visitation records are considered one of the most interesting and revealing sources for the study of everyday life in the Middle Ages. No wonder that sometimes the reader might find in their pages people drinking alcoholic beverages, visiting taverns, playing dice and generally enjoying their leisure time. As might be expected from the nature of these sources, many of them were parish priests, vicars, chaplains or other clergymen. Some were even responsible for other more serious violations of ecclesiastical or civil law while intoxicated. Visitation records often provide a very revealing insight into their lives, sometimes much more colourful and adventurous than we would expect. This study summarizes basic information on how parish visitations were conducted and what we can learn from visitation records about drinking in the Middle Ages. The main source of this study, the visitation record of the Prague archdeacon Paul of Janovicz (1379–1382), is supplemented by several other examples.