Zvířata a jejich lidé

History, which has experienced several paradigmatic turns in the last half-century, has recently added another one – a turn called the animal turn: animals, which have played a rather marginal role in the eyes of historians until now, have begun to take centre stage. Rightly so, since they actively participated in the development of human civilisation – they provided people with food, material for clothing and housing, they were at the origin of their primary logistics, aroused positive and negative emotions. They have inspired works of art, provided spectacle and entertainment. To consider the category of “animal” is to think in the context of politics, economics, religion, society, and culture.
In Western Europe, animal history, “historical animal studies”, has seen a great development in recent years. A number of works have emerged that understand animals as genuine cultural subjects whose behaviour is a legitimate topic for historical analysis.
The book Animals and Their People, one of the first attempts to integrate the animal turn into Czech historiography, offers a number of perspectives on the relationship between humans and animals. It presents the ways in which people portrayed their animal companions, noting their breeding and use, their “healing power”, animals as gifts, companions, and friends.