Stredovek

Missions . In the Middle Ages travelling was lengthy, dangerous and expensive; long-distance travels were therefore not as frequent as they are today. Travellers were mostly traders, soldiers, artists, diplomats and missionaries. Byzantine scholars and saints, Constantine the Philosopher and his brother Methodius may be included in the two latter categories. The natives of Thessaloniki made several journeys in the second half of the 9 th century. The study focuses on their missions to the Arabs, the Khazars, to Great Moravia, and, finally, to Rome in 867, which was their last joint mission. The paper suggests possible routes and chronology of the journeys the brothers made during the studied period.

THE COMPARISON OF SOME ASPECTS OF THE ORIGIN OF CITIES CRACOW AND OLOMOUC

The origin of institutional towns represents a result of a long-term development which culminated in the 13th century when the first towns were founded. The two basic types of a new settlement appeared: towns that grew "on a greensward" and towns built on a place of a previous agglomeration. Cracow and Olomouc presents settlements which had a few century history settlement development behind them at the point of the institutional establishment of the city. Since early medieval times the varied agglomeration has originated around Olomouc and Cracow castle, what allowed the foundation and the formation of new legal cities that were established approximately in the middle of the 13th century. The similarity of the origins ofboth cities offers a comparative method for the development of both settlements and founding processes. Although every city is unique, it looks probable to trace certain parallels and at least at the basic level to describe an origin of a new town as a general process of many stages. It also shows that the existence of a pre-foundation settlement with churches in a wider settlement around the castle in Olomouc and Cracow became crucial. They were frequently connected with a trade as well as a market. The founding process itself represents a complicated, multi-layered, legal and physical activity, of which end it is possible to find a city.