REX IUSTUS at His Throne. Prague, Rome, and Jerusalem on the Eve of the Modern Era

Abstract

The reigns of Vladislav II and Louis I, Czech kings of the Jagiellonian dynasty, were among the most controversial and dynamic periods in the history of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown. The country enjoyed a long period of peace, which enabled its broad flourishing after decades of Hussite wars. Part of this cultural flowering was the development of art and the creation of architectural and artistic works directly linked to the exercise of royal power. In 2017, in this context, I proposed an iconological reading of the portal to the Old Diet Hall in the Vladislav Hall of the Old Royal Palace at Prague Castle. In this article, I attempt to provide further evidence that the architecture of the portal may have been intended to emphasize the role of the king as the guarantor of justice – a new Solomon. This is primarily achieved through comparisons with the visual culture and literature of the period.