Family and Community. Godparenthood in a Bohemian Village Community in the 17th and 18th Centuries

The paper uses a micro-level analysis of godparenthood as a tool for studying the social structure and personal networks in the rural milieu in Bohemia. The ritual kinship created between a child and its godparents during the baptism carried an essential symbolic value. It represented the social bonds, networks and hierarchies in the village, and reflected the traditions and individual aspirations of community members. The research concentrates on the Červená Řečice domain (South Bohemia) from the beginning of the 17th century, when the first parish register of baptism appeared, to the turn of the 18th century. The Bohemian rural society underwent significant transformation in this period: from the strengthening of subjection and the recatholization after the Thirty-Year War to the birth of civil liberties. The paper examines godparenthood as an indicator reflecting both the enforcement of ecclesiastical authority and the prominence of habitual godparents – individuals commonly chosen for baptismal ceremonies.