The medieval Cult and processional Veneration of the Eucharist in Central Europe. Festive Culture in the Royal Cities of Cracow and Buda in a comparative Perspective

This study analysis the late medieval central functions and festive culture of the both royal residential and capital cities of Cracow and Buda in the Kingdoms of Poland and Hungary with a special focus on the country-wide and capital specific features of the cult and processional veneration of the Eucharist. Providing a historical and comparative context the paper first presents the fourteenth-fifteenth-century central and festive functions of the two cities and the arrival of the Eucharistic cult, confraternities and processions to the bishopric and civic spheres within the two countries. In the following part, as a main focus, the article intensively explores how late medieval secular, especially local civic and royal political intentions introduced their agenda and exploitation strategies into the festive celebration of Corpus Christi in Cracow and Buda.