The Communication Network and Everyday Life of a Saxon Agent in Rebellious Prague (1618–1620)
Public support
Provider
Czech Science Foundation
Programme
Standard projects
Call for proposals
SGA0202600001
Main participants
Jihočeská univerzita v Českých Budějovicích / Filozofická fakulta
Contest type
VS - Public tender
Contract ID
26-23222S
Alternative language
Project name in Czech
The Communication Network and Everyday Life of a Saxon Agent in Rebellious Prague (1618–1620)
Annotation in Czech
The project examines the transformation of the communication network established by the Saxon agent Friedrich Lebzelter during his mission to Prague in 1618–1620. Combining historical anthropology and communication studies, it analyses his extensive reports and appendices, many of which contain copies of top secret documents as well as contemporary handwritten and printed newspapers. These sources, preserved in the Hauptstaatsarchiv Dresden and partly in the National Archives in Prague, reveal the strategies he used to build trust and navigate intelligence work for John George I. Special attention is paid to the transformation of the network during the Bohemian Revolt, when public opinion turned from initial support to hostility. Thanks to their exceptional narrative value, the reports provide not only an insight into wartime intelligence, but also a detailed view of everyday life in espionage. There is no similar study in Czech historiography of an agent from a bourgeois background in the Thirty Years' War, which promises new perspectives on communication in wartime Europe.
Scientific branches
R&D category
ZV - Basic research
OECD FORD - main branch
50802 - Media and socio-cultural communication
OECD FORD - secondary branch
60101 - History (history of science and technology to be 6.3, history of specific sciences to be under the respective headings)
OECD FORD - another secondary branch
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CEP - equivalent branches <br>(according to the <a href="http://www.vyzkum.cz/storage/att/E6EF7938F0E854BAE520AC119FB22E8D/Prevodnik_oboru_Frascati.pdf">converter</a>)
AB - History<br>AJ - Literature, mass media, audio-visual activities
Solution timeline
Realization period - beginning
Jan 1, 2026
Realization period - end
Dec 31, 2028
Project status
Z - Beginning multi-year project
Latest support payment
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Data delivery to CEP
Confidentiality
S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů
Data delivery code
CEP26-GA0-GA-R
Data delivery date
May 6, 2026
Finance
Total approved costs
1,715 thou. CZK
Public financial support
1,715 thou. CZK
Other public sources
0 thou. CZK
Non public and foreign sources
0 thou. CZK