preaching and preachers 595Virgin in about 885, the basilica of Saint George between
915 and 921, the church of Saint Guy shortly before 935,
and a BENEDICTINEmonastery in 970. The bishopric of
Prague was established in 973. Another residence of the
Premyslid princes was built in the 10th century at
Vysehrad further south on the right bank of the river
Vltava. Between these two castles there developed a net-
work of roads and houses. In the late 11th century, com-
mercial activities moved from the left to the right bank
and from the mid-12th century, a more sophisticated
urban settlement developed, complete with dressed stone
buildings, impressive houses, and workshops of artisans.
At the start of the 13th century, the town was still small
with maybe 3,500 inhabitants, but it was encircled by a
fortified wall from 1231. King Premysl Ottokar II (r.
1253–78) in 1257 undertook to build a planned town at
the foot of Prague castle.
In the 13th and 14th centuries, Prague’s political and
economic importance grew. CHARLESIV in 1348 created
another planned an urban center called the new town
(Nove Mesto). This enlarged city formed by the four
urban cells, founded at different times, soon numbered
perhaps some 50,000 inhabitants, rivaling PARIS or
BRUGES. In the reign of Charles, 1346 to 1378, the Gothic
cathedral of Saint Guy and a new stone bridge were built.
Charles University or the University of Prague, the first
in central Europe, was founded in 1348. The city was at
the center of the Hussite Wars with the Germans in the
15th century as it declined in wealth and importance.
Further reading:Albert Kutal, Gothic Art in Bohemia
and Moravia,trans. Till Gottheiner (London: Hamlyn,
1972); Karel Neubert, Portrait of Prague, trans. John
Eisler (New York: Hamlyn, 1969); Karel Stejskal, Euro-
pean Art in the Fourteenth Century, trans. Till Got-
theinerová (London: Octopus Books, 1978); Lisa
Wolverton, Hastening toward Prague: Power and Society in
the Medieval Czech Lands (Philadelphia: University of
Pennsylvania Press, 2001).
prayer and prayers(Arabic, salat;Hebrew, tefillah)
Prayer held a fundamental place in religious life in the
Middle Ages, when it was believed that the order of
things and the destiny of each person depended on a
providence influenced by his or her requests or prayers.
In both Christianity and JUDAISM, one could influence the
course of events by asking GODfor help, or at least divine
mercy. Along with FASTINGand almsgiving, prayer recon-
ciled the sinner with God. It could foster spiritual soli-
darity with one’s fellow Christians, the heavenly spirits,
and the saints and even help the dead. It had to be sin-
cere and well intended.
Common or public prayer was offered to God in the
name of the people by the clerical ministers of the
church, an intermediary way to God. It consisted of
external acts of worship, the divine OFFICE, PROCESSIONS,
and PILGRIMAGES. Private prayer could be vocal or inte-
rior, performed by an individual.
The earliest collections of prayers were Celtic or
Anglo-Saxon. They consisted of invocations and suppli-
cations addressed to the Trinity, Christ, the Virgin MARY,
the ANGELS, and the saints. Litanies solicited the protec-
tion of HEAVENagainst spiritual or temporal dangers. The
Carolingians favored the spread on the Continent of the
PSALTER. Later Saint ANSELMtried to facilitate more sus-
tained personal meditation by favoring simple adoration,
praise, and prayer celebrating God’s greatness, goodness,
and mercy. This would produce humility and trust within
the person who prayed. Group prayer was promoted for
religious and clerics, lay brothers, penitents, members of
CONFRATERNITIES, and LAITYof all conditions. For the
more educated, in the later Middle Ages, BOOKS OF HOURS
appeared. Theologians at the same time speculated on the
structure, forms, and degrees of prayer. Programs were
devised that if followed would lead the praying Christian
to a better relationship with Christ and to SALVATION
itself. In the later Middle Ages movements such as the
Modern Devotion or DEVOTIO MODERNApromoted these
programs of prayers.PRAYER IN ISLAM
Prayer, or salat,was derived from the HADITHand was
regarded as the second of the five major duties of the
Muslim, ranking only after the declaration of FAITH.
ISLAMrequired direct communication with God, so that
no priest or intermediate performed this function. Prayer
was to be performed five times a day, each with particular
qualities of performance. The prayers could be done with
a group or alone. All must be accompanied by a ritual
purification, declared a prayer, and be done in the direc-
tion of MECCA, with prostrations and formulaic recita-
tions. These rituals were to create a sense of community
and group solidarity.
See alsoFRIDAY PRAYER.
Further reading:Richard C. Trexler, The Christian at
Prayer: An Illustrated Prayer Manual Attributed to Peter the
Chanter (d. 1197)(Binghamton: Medieval & Renaissance
Texts & Studies, 1987); Megan McLaughlin, Consorting
with Saints: Prayer for the Dead in Early Medieval France
(Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1994); Sergius
Wroblewski, Bonaventurian Theology of Prayer(Pulaski,
Wisc.: Franciscan Publishers, 1967).Preachers, Order of SeeDOMINICAN ORDER.preaching and preachers (homiletics) Medieval
preaching might be defined as explicating in the VER-
NACULARthe texts of the liturgy of the day. According to
a CAROLINGIANcouncil in 813, bishops and their CLERGY
were to preach at least on Sundays and on feast days.
Collections of sermons by AUGUSTINE, Caesarius of