The transformation of the representation of space and the search for the tools of social control: Some reflections using the example of late medieval Bohemian towns
In Bohemian urban sources of the late Middle Ages, space, or rather the control of space, becomes an increasingly prominent subject of conflict between town councils and the urban population. The control of public space, the definition of the tools that enable or, conversely, disrupt this control, have already been described in a number of works. Perhaps less noticeable, but important was the effort to shift the boundaries between public and private space in the exercise of power. Looking into houses, checking guests, obtaining information from neighbours become written fixed duties of officials subordinate to the town councils. In various local variants, the all-encompassing monitoring of the town is promoted and tools of social control are created or adapted for this public oversight.
