Czech history; Middle Ages; liberties; Estates; law

The article provides an analysis of the development of assemblies in the medieval Czech state from the tenth to the fourteenth century. These assemblies were significant for negotiations between the Bohemian duke (later the king) and the early Czech nobility. The decisive role belonged to a relatively small group of noblemen ? the aristocracy (lords). The basic privileges of these aristocracy included liberal election of the duke (king). Aristocratic support was a basic prerequisite for powerful government of Přemyslid dynasty. These meetings of noblemen and the Bohemian ruler were also associated with the sessions of Provincial Court of Justice. The provincial communities of nobility as political representations of the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Margraviate of Moravia received significant privileges of 1310 and 1311 from King John of Luxembourg after his ascension to the Bohemian throne. These ?inauguration diplomas? became the basis of the privileges of Estates. The article explains in detail the essence of privileges of King John. All the Bohemian and Moravian assemblies of the pre-Hussite period related only to the nobility (lords). These meetings of noblemen did not have a formal character as the ?assemblies? but they were connected with the sessions of the Bohemian and Moravian Provincial Courts of Justice. These Courts decided disputes and they have also a legislative authority.